Strauss-Kahn Free Again

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, returned to the IMF's Washington headquarters Monday to say goodbye to staffers and meet briefly with his successor. The visit came five days after New York prosecutors formally dismissed the criminal charges against him.

In a statement, the 187-nation lending agency said its current managing director, Christine Lagarde, met with Strauss-Kahn before he met with IMF staffers.

"These were private meetings, arranged at his request," the IMF said in a statement. "We have no further comment to offer."

After a state appeals court judge declined to appoint a special prosecutor, a lower court judge formally dismissed the charges against Strauss-Kahn last Wednesday. An assistant district attorney for Manhattan said the prosecutor's office no longer found credible all the testimony from the hotel maid who accused him (because she had lied on her immigration application). However, DNA evidence proves he did have sex with the maid, and other credible witnesses have stepped forward and said that he had tried to force them to have sex as well. One such accuser was the daughter of a high ranking official in Strauss-Kahn's own Socialist party.

Strauss-Kahn, who at one time had been considered a top contender to become president of France, has said he wants to return to France, where he will face an uncertain future that includes another investigation into an alleged sexual assault.

In the United States, Strauss-Kahn still faces a civil lawsuit that hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo has filed against him. Her attorneys have said they will aggressively litigate the civil case. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have called her account "imaginary." See Chick's ROYAL AFFAIR.