Strauss-Kahns, Thomases, Clintons’ “laws” sledgehammer Women’s rights
Edited from news sources, comment by Carolyn Bennett
If the Manhattan district attorney elected to protect mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and loved ones fails to stand up for them when they are raped or sexually assaulted … — who will stand up for them?
In the future, “victims will think twice about coming forward when they are true victims…,” said counsel for the accuser.
The district attorney in New York with the cooperation of a willing judge has dropped charges against the accused, French politician and former head of the enormously powerful maker and breaker of nations, the International Monetary Fund.
Lawyers for the accuser had asked that New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. be removed from the sexual assault case for several reasons — not least of which that “a lead attorney on the prosecution team … is married to a lawyer representing the accused.” Vance knew of this conflict of interest and retained the lawyer on the prosecution team.
The DA, counsel for the accuser said, has “‘turned his back’ on forensic, medical and other physical evidence that showed Strauss-Kahn was guilty of a brutal attempted rape.” Counsel went on to say, “‘If the Manhattan district attorney, who is elected to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives and our loved ones, is not going to stand up for them when they’re raped or sexually assaulted, then who will?’”
Strauss-Kahn and his powerful allies, as in the Clarence Thomas case, may have won this day, but Kahn faces other charges of sexual assault in France. In one case, a 32-year-old writer has filed a complaint (denied by Kahn) alleging that, in 2003, Kahn tried to rape her after luring her to a flat in Paris. Magistrates are looking into the case.
These cases bring to mind also the stench of William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton and the sidelined wife and used (“suffering”) women.”
In a society of male entitlement and impunity in lawlessness, an inherent belligerence and criminal incestuousness of entrenched power — whose “lies” are we more accurately to judge, if not as truth, at least as believable?
Sources and notes
Free Speech Radio News headlines August 23, 2011
http://fsrn.org/audio/headlines-tuesday-august-23-2011/9009
“Strauss-Kahn charges dropped — Prosecutors filed a motion Monday to dismiss all the sexual assault and attempted rape charges against former IMF chief and one-time French presidential favorite Dominique Strauss-Kahn,” August 23, 2011, http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/breakingnews/253038/strauss-kahn-charges-dropped
Charges against Strauss-Kahn included two counts of committing a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, forcible touching and unlawful imprisonment.
“The charge sheet accused the IMF chief of having locked a maid in his room at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan, after which he grabbed her chest without consent, attempted to strip her and make further sexual contact with her.
“According to the police account, the woman entered the room around midday thinking it was empty. Strauss-Kahn allegedly emerged from the bathroom naked. He is then said to have locked the door to the suite, pulled her into the bedroom and sexually assaulted her. She fought him. He then allegedly dragged her into the marble bathroom and, using physical force, sexually assaulted her again.
The prosecution in the New York case was led by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and its Special Victims Bureau, closely advised by the New York police.
For his defense, Strauss-Kahn used “Benjamin Brafman, a New York lawyer renowned for his skills in front of a jury, and with no shortage of experience in handling tricky, high-profile cases. Brafman … was involved in the early stages of Michael Jackson’s child molestation case.”
A French journalist “‘claimed on TV that Strauss-Kahn attacked her during an interview in 2002. She said he had acted like a ‘rutting chimpanzee.’” Source: Guardian UK (Angelique Chrisafis and Ed Pilkington) guardian.co.uk), May 18 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/18/strauss-kahn-defence-likely-consent
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