NEW YORK—The newly surfaced problems in the sexual-assault prosecution against Dominique Strauss-Kahn represent the latest of several recent high-profile setbacks for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
On Friday, Mr. Vance's office reduced most of the onerous bail restriction on Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the former director of the International Money Fund and onetime French presidential hopeful, because of deep concerns about the credibility of the maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a posh Midtown Manhattan hotel in May. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has denied any wrongdoing.
Erin Duggan, the spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, defended its handling of the case Friday. "At every step of the way, the district attorney's office made the right decisions. We pursued an account of a sexual assault that was corroborated by witnesses, electronic evidence and DNA evidence. That evidence was more than enough to present to a grand jury, which indicted the defendant. After the indictment, the district attorney made clear that the investigation would continue and prosecutors would take the case wherever the facts led. Today, we did just that."
The news of the problems with the case capped a difficult month for Mr. Vance, 56 years old, who was elected in the fall of 2009 to succeed Robert Morgenthau, a legendary prosecutor who served for 35 years as Manhattan's district attorney. Mr. Vance's late father, also named Cyrus, served as secretary of the Army under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and later served as secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter.
No DA can be expected to win every case," said a defense lawyer who served on the transition team when Vance took the reins from the legendary Robert Morgenthau.
He said it made sense that Vance sought to indict Strauss-Kahn before his accuser could be fully vetted because "there was a fear that if he left the U.S., they would lose all control over his return."
The probe was marked from the outset by bitter debate between Friel and Alonso, two sources said. Alonso wanted to charge DSK fast. Friel said the case was still shaky. She lost the argument and the investigation was taken out of her hands, the sources said.
"Sex crimes are notorious for being difficult," a former prosecutor said. "There was no need to rush to the grand jury."
Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested May 14, was indicted June 6.
Friel, inside sources said, was pulled off the Strauss-Kahn case because she refused to work on the Sunday after his arrest.
"I am in a golf tournament," Friel told her bosses, according to one source.
Friel supporters insist she was in the office on Day One and hasn't hit the links since knee surgery in December.
Friel left the DA's office this week amid accusations she compromised another case - the prosecution of Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, the cops accused of rape.
While an HBO camera crew was filming the documentary "Sex Crimes Unit," Friel and her investigators were discussing that case.
Defense lawyers accused the DA's office of not turning over the footage, which had not made the final cut, to them as the law requires.
Friel had no comment yesterday, but in an email to her staff, she said she left "for financial and other reasons."
No comments:
Post a Comment