DSK admits ‘moral wrongdoing’
The Socialist politician and former IMF head regretted he had missed out on the chance to become president
FORMER Socialist presidential hopeful and International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn admitted to having committed a “moral fault”, but done nothing illegal, as he spoke about his recent legal ordeal on TF1 television.
In his first interview since his arrest in New York on rape charges in May – which were dropped because of doubts over accuser Nafissatou Diallo’s honesty - DSK said he was “not proud” of what he had done. He said he regretted an “inappropriate” sexual encounter with his accuser, which had led him to miss out on the chance to become president.
However he insisted “what happened involved neither violence nor constraint nor anything illegal”; nor was it “paid for”, he said.
As feminists protested outside the studio, he said he understood his behaviour had “shocked” many women and that he was “still paying the price for it”.
Speaking of his arrest and trial, he said: “I was scared, very scared, I was humiliated. When you are gripped in the jaws of this machine [the American legal system] you have the impression it could crush you.”
He paid homage to his wife, who he said was an “exceptional woman without whom I would not have been able to go on”. “I’ve hurt her and I feel bad about it,” he added.
Regarding Tristane Banon, a TV reporter who is now accusing him of attempted rape during an interview in 2003, he admitted making “advances”, but said she was presenting a “slanderous and imaginary version” of the facts.
It was possible that what happened in New York had been set up as a “trap”, he said. He had no immediate plans, would “obviously” not stand as president, and planned to take time out with his family.
While he said he would not be backing any particular candidate for the presidency, he spoke of current party leader Martine Aubry as a “friend”, who “helped” him during his ordeal.
Socialist MP Jack Lang said DSK had “spoken from the heart” and given a “remarkable presentation, very appropriate and emotional”; a view shared by colleague Jean-Marie Le Guen, who said DSK came across as “serious, with a strong sense of his responsibilities”.
However one of the Socialist presidential candidates, Arnaud Montebourg, said on Europe 1: “I was not convinced; what matters now is that we definitively turn the page”, adding the affair had tarnished France’s image and that of the political left.
One of Ms Diallo’s lawyers, Douglas Windsor, said it was regrettable that DSK gave “absolutely no details about what happened” in his hotel suite.
Photo:Guillaume Paumier
