Judge Denies Strauss-Kahn Diplomatic Immunity

Dominique Strauss-Kahn can't get out of a civil suit from the housekeeper who accused him of sexually assaulting her by claiming diplomatic immunity, a judge ruled today, calling Strauss-Kahn's attempt to do so "his own version of a Hail Mary pass." Strauss-Kahn had already resigned his position atop the IMF when the suit was filed, the New York Times explains, and while the Vienna Convention does allow for some extension of immunity in some cases, the judge ruled this wasn't one of those cases.

The criminal case against Strauss-Kahn was ultimately dropped over what prosecutors said were issues with accuser Nafissatou Diallo's credibility, but the judge observed that Strauss-Kahn didn't assert immunity during those proceedings because he said he wanted to clear his name. "Mr. Strauss-Kahn cannot eschew immunity in an effort to clear his name only to embrace it now in an effort to deny Ms. Diallo the opportunity to clear hers," said the judge. (More Nafissatou Diallo stories.)