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Case Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Doubt; Anthony Trial in Recess 'Indefinitely'; New Tax in California on Online Shopping; Ex- IMF Chief Let Go On Recognizance; Alleged Victim's Attorney Talks to Press
Aired July 01, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's celebrate the 4th a couple days together. Shall we?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we'll be here.
PHILLIPS: We'll have beer and barbecue. We'll hit the road.
MALVEAUX: We'll be here for the holiday. We'll be celebrating, right here at CNN. We're not leaving our perch.
PHILLIPS: There you go. We're patriotic to our job.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Have a great weekend, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: See you, Suzanne. All right.
MALVEAUX: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for this Friday, the 1st of July.
The case against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be falling apart. He has a quickly-called court hearing. That is happening in 30 minutes.
Now, sources say that prosecutors will outline significant credibility issues with Strauss-Kahn's accuser. A maid claims that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her six weeks ago in his New York hotel suite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Even with DNA evidence, the prosecution is considering dropping the case. That shows how bad her credibility may be, that even with DNA evidence, they may not be able to bring this case. It's a shocking, shocking development.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And a big surprise in the Casey Anthony trial. Prosecutors in Orlando planned to call rebuttal witnesses today, but instead, the judge called an indefinite recess, putting the trial on hold. That is because the defense team has to take the deposition of one of the state's rebuttal witnesses. Now, closing arguments set for tomorrow are now in doubt.
Minnesota State government is closed for business today. The governor and lawmakers, they failed to close a $5 billion budget gap by the deadline. Critical services remain open, but state parks, campgrounds, the Minnesota Zoo, they are all shut down for the holiday weekend.
France may give weapons to Libyan rebels holed up in Misrata. Moammar Gadhafi's troops have surrounded the city on three sides for months now. Russia immediately objected. It says such a move would violate the U.N. mandate for Libya, which is to protect civilians.
Moammar Gadhafi's daughter says no matter what happens, her father is not going to walk away from his country or his people. Ayesha Gadhafi's remarks came in an interview with French television.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYESHA GADHAFI, MOAMMAR GADHAFI'S DAUGHTER (through translator): I see my father once in a while. He is as strong as you have always known him. He's the one who cheers us up, who makes us patient. Contrary to what has been said, our family is still very tight. These events have brought us closer than ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Leon Panetta took over as secretary of Defense today. He replaces Robert Gates, who retired after four-and-a-half years on the job under Presidents Bush and Obama. Panetta's focus, winding down two wars and trimming the Pentagon's massive budget.
General David Petraeus will take over Panetta at the CIA in September. The Senate unanimously confirmed him on Thursday. Now, Petraeus led the troop surges in Afghanistan and Iraq. In between, he led U.S. Central Command.
Well, the NBA joined the NFL today and locked out players. Talks over splitting the NBA's $4 billion in annual revenue, that collapsed. The league says 22 of its 30 teams are losing money. It wants players to take a pay cut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: The goal here has been to make the league profitable and to have a league where all 30 teams can compete.
DEREK FISHER, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: A lot of our fans and people that follow our game, although we're not going to miss any games at this point, still just don't like the prospect of a lockout. We don't like it either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The NBA season, it's supposed to begin in late October.
Well, the accusations made headlines around the world, but new information could shatter the sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn. A source close to the case tells CNN there are serious issues with the credibility of the housekeeper who claims that Strauss-Kahn attacked her in a Manhattan hotel room. Now Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, they want him released.
Richard Roth is in New York with the latest.
Richard, this is quite a bombshell when you think about it. Part of the maid's story is actually in question here.
What do we know about the credibility issues?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to sources talking to CNN and other media, the alleged sex assault victim has problems in telling the truth to prosecutors, who had previously claimed that she was an excellent witness, and they were certainly going to lean heavily on her testimony should this go to trial. They seriously considered what she had to say and stopped Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French financier, from leaving the country that day, as you man remember. And though they have DNA evidence that indicates there was some type of sexual encounter in that hotel room, they are going to ask the judge to really change the bail conditions, the severe bail conditions, and he indeed may be set free on his own recognizance.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn left his home in New York City, part of his house arrest conditions, and he arrived a short time ago at court with his wife, Anne Sinclair, the journalist. This time, Suzanne, you may remember the last time there was an organized demonstration of hotel maids yelling, "Shame on you!" well, that chant may be yelled at people in the prosecutor's office. We'll have to see.
MALVEAUX: And also, this is somebody who could have been the next president of France, really someone who was very popular there. If the case goes away, as some people might believe, is there a chance that he can rehabilitate his public image here?
ROTH: Look, you remember that famous trial with the former U.S. labor secretary, Ray Donovan, in the Bronx, where he walked out after he was found not guilty. And he, I believe, said, "Where do I go now to get my reputation back?" a quote that sadly has been aired may times by other defendants who were then exonerated.
The Socialist Party in France has still not chosen their candidate yet. You never know.
MALVEAUX: And Richard, in the meantime, if his lawyers get their way and he's released, would it be possible that he could go back to France?
ROTH: Well, it's expected the prosecutors will ask the judge to still keep Dominique Strauss-Kahn's passport, but he may be told, you can stay free in the United States instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on this massive private security system that was imposed upon him, extraordinary bail conditions. That is probably going to be eased now.
MALVEAUX: All right. Richard Roth, thank you.
On the phone with us is CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
And Jeff, I understand that you spoke last night with Strauss-Kahn's defense team. What does this mean for Strauss-Kahn? What do they believe this means?
TOOBIN: Well, I think we've got to take this one step at a time. I think today will probably be limited simply to a relaxation of the bail conditions, but obviously the prosecution is going to have to reevaluate what, if anything, they can still prove.
This case may proceed. It may proceed with damaged credibility of its witness, but it wouldn't be the first time.
There could also be some sort of deal on lesser charges. Or, if the problems are so profound, the case could wind up being dismissed. I don't think we'll have a resolution to the case today other than a reduction in bail conditions.
MALVEAUX: And what does that mean?
TOOBIN: And in terms of how the case will be resolved, obviously the circumstances have changed a great, great deal, but we don't know at this point how it's all going to end up.
MALVEAUX: And Jeff, when you say relaxing the bail conditions, remind our viewers what the situation is. It was $6 million in bail and bond that he put up. He's under house arrest.
Do they think that this means he'll be able to walk out of that condominium that he's been spending a lot of money on, walk into the street and be a free man in that sense? Is that what they're hoping for?
TOOBIN: Yes. I mean, I think the main condition that they will look to have relaxed is the fact that he would no longer be under house arrest, that he would be able to move freely within at least the five boroughs of New York.
I think it's very unlikely that the prosecution would agree to allowing him to return to France. That's essentially giving up on the case. But just no longer have electronic monitoring, let him live essentially like an essentially free person in New York City, while his lawyers push for a resolution of the case on, they hope, very favorable terms.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Jeffrey Toobin will have more on this. We'll be following this very closely in the next 30 minutes or so. Should have some news.
Well, here's a rundown on some of the other stories that we're covering in the next two hours.
First, why did the judge in the Casey Anthony murder trial unexpectedly call a recess? We're waiting for word on when he gets back.
And shopping online just got more expensive in California. We'll tell you why the same thing could happen in your state.
Then, the space shuttle program goes into retirement this month after 40 years. Was the program ultimately a success? We're going to take a look back.
And later, big spenders. You know who you are. You're hiding your purchases. Well, that can hurt your relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of times, like, the girls, we do secretly shop. You know? That's just what we do. It's fun.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Casey Anthony's murder trial is in recess indefinitely. That unexpected move came from the judge just two hours ago.
Our David Mattingly, he's outside the courthouse in Orlando.
David, this is somewhat surprising. We've been watching this. The court was set to hear some from rebuttal witnesses today.
What happened?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we fully expected right now to be pretty much done with seeing witnesses being called to the stand in this case. The prosecution was just going to call a few rebuttal witnesses to refute some of the findings that the experts had when they testified for the defense, but we never really got to that. Everything ground to a halt very quickly today when we heard a very common complaint.
The defense was complaining that the prosecution was going to call a witness to provide testimony that they were not prepared for. So the judge has allowed them to take that witness, to depose that witness, to do whatever they can, take as much time as they need to prepare. But he warned them that everyone right now needs to be thinking about the jurors.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, ORANGE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: Remember, you all can take as much time as you want, but you've got jurors back there, and they have been sequestered. And there are real problems and there are imaginary problems. And I hope this is a real problem and not an imaginary problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: If we manage to get back on track today, and the prosecution wraps up its rebuttal, then tomorrow, we could see closing arguments in this case where the defense and the prosecution both have their last words in front of the jury before they hand it to them to begin deliberating over this holiday weekend -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: David, what did the judge mean when he said there were real problems and imaginary problems? What was he talking about?
MATTINGLY: What he was letting us know was he wasn't quite convinced with the defense's argument that they really need to go depose this witness. At this point though, he has no choice but to give them the time to do that in all fairness to the defendant here, Casey Anthony, who is on trial for her life. So that was his way of saying I'm not convinced that your complaint is valid, but do it anyway.
MALVEAUX: OK. Got it. Thank you, David. Appreciate it.
We're going to take a closer look at the trial in just a few minutes. I'm going to talk to two lawyers, one analyzing the prosecutor's case, the other on defense. We're going to cover all those angles.
Also, shopping in California just got more expensive. And it could affect how much you pay when you shop online in the future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Starting today, California is requiring online retailers who are out of state to charge sales tax to their customers. Now, it's a move to help California make up for the big budget problems its having.
CNN's Alison Kosik, she joins us from the New York Stock Exchange.
And Alison, tell us, how does this work? How are they making money here?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's actually what you just said, Suzanne. The sales tax law really came out of California's budget problems. And this is actually just one way the state is trying to raise revenue.
And it essentially means that people living in California now have to pay sales tax on anything they buy from an online out-of-state retailer that actually has connections in California. Many call this law the Amazon tax law, but Amazon is actually having no part of it
Amazon wound up severing ties with 10,000 businesses and individuals who funneled their shoppers to the site. They're saying it's not going to ask its customers to do that.
Now, in the last hour, Overstock.com, which also cut off its relationship with hundreds of partners, said it's going to reward any customer in California that spent more than $300 in the past year a free Club O membership, preloaded with an additional $10 balance. Now, California customers can still buy from these companies. Affiliates, of course, they are just going to have to pay a 7.25 percent tax at the checkout -- Suzanne. MALVEAUX: Alison, some folks think, as California goes, so does the rest of the country. Are there other states that are actually considering doing the same thing to try to help out with their budgets here?
KOSIK: You know what? They are. And many states are reportedly thinking about it, you know, as they also struggle to make ends meet.
But California is actually the seventh state to put this so-called Amazon tax into effect. They join the list of Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas and Rhode Island. They also have similar laws. New York also does, though Amazon sued the state and lost.
Now, critics do say that companies like Amazon are denying states millions of dollars in revenue that they so desperately need. And you can see that with the California legislation expected to raise about $320 million -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Alison. Thank you. Have a good weekend, a good holiday.
KOSIK: You too.
MALVEAUX: Three great stories. Only one is going to air in the next hour. Choose the one you'd like to see. Here are your choices.
First, "Libya's Fighting Women." They say they are answering Moammar Gadhafi's call by training to defend their country. Are they just for show or a legitimate force? That story from inside Libya.
Second, how big is "Your Digital Footprint"? An eye-opening report on how your phone, your car, other devices are exposing your personal information in this digital world.
Finally, "Distracted Driving Challenge." Drive along as parents and teenagers see how well they can get through an obstacle course while texting.
If you're not behind the wheel, you can vote for your favorite story by texting -- that's right -- 22360. Text 1 for "Libya's Fighting Women"; 2 for "Digital Footprint"; and 3 for "Distracted Driving."
The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
Chicago has a deadly problem with guns. And last weekend, 10 people were killed by gunfire. More than 40 wounded as well. Young people especially are at risk, and there's one woman who is working to do something about this, Diane Latiker, this week's CNN Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANE LATIKER, CNN HERO: Guns, guns and more guns. These are our young people. These stones represent them. We're losing a generation to violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody is scared to come out or they'll be shot at.
LATIKER: When they start shooting, you've got to grab the kids and run in the house.
People go in the house and close their doors. They don't even talk about it. But there are some people who are not scared to go outside, and I'm one of them.
My name is Diane Latiker. We opened a community center called Kids off the Block. We're known as KOB.
There are kids that are in gangs, they're homeless. Some of them are drug dealers. So they've got a lot of issues going on.
Who signed up for youth raid (ph) of Chicago?
I tell kids this is a peace place. This is a safe place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was really wanting to be a veterinarian.
LATIKER: We have leadership workshops, music preparation, music. It's a range of things that goes on in here.
We started out with 10 young people. And the next thing I knew, I had 15, then I had 25. At one point, I had 75 young people in three rooms of my house. And that's how Kids off the Block started, in my living room.
We open the doors for the new KOB center in July. Last two weeks, 301 young people. If they knock on the door, they can come in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 12 when I got in there. Robbing people, stealing. Diane, she just changed my life. I love her for that.
LATIKER: I'm no different from nobody else. I just opened up my door. Why can't you all come outside and see what's going on in our neighborhoods?
There are people who care, and I'm one of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Last year, Diane Latiker's center helped more than 300 kids stay off the streets and out of trouble.
Remember, all CNN Heroes, they're chosen from people that you simply tell us about. To nominate someone that you know who's making a difference in your community, go to CNNHeroes.com.
Well, the judge in Casey Anthony's murder trial orders an indefinite recess after a fight between state and defense attorneys. I'm going to talk to two lawyers, one analyzing the prosecutor's case, the other the defense.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown on some of the stories that we are working on.
Next, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is now in a Manhattan courtroom as his lawyers try to get him released because of credibility issues with the maid who accused him of rape.
We are monitoring. We're going to bring you the latest on all those developments as well.
We're also watching the Casey Anthony murder trial, still in recess after the judge called a timeout for the defense.
And are you a secret spender? Why hiding those designer shoes or the new set of golf clubs from your spouse can do some real damage to your relationship. That story is coming up in 15 minutes.
Right now, back to Casey Anthony's murder trial.
We were all geared up to hear from rebuttal witnesses today. Somewhat of a surprise, though. Proceedings came to a screeching halt.
The defense has questions about one of the witnesses the prosecutors plan to call. And the judge has ordered an indefinite recess.
Joining us to dissect all of this, defense attorney Holly Hughes. She's a former prosecutor. She's going to be analyzing the prosecutor's case, that side. And criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, who joins us from Las Vegas, he's going to tackle defense.
So, we've got three questions for each of you. First, closing arguments could come tomorrow. What are the main points the prosecution and defense need to make?
So, Holly, for the prosecution side, what's the point?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The two biggest points, the human decomposition, and that hair band with the death band on it in the trunk. Second point, Casey's crazy, inexplicable behavior for 31 days while her child is missing.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Richard, main points the defense has to make?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The main point is that the complete burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove their case, each and every element, beyond a reasonable doubt. You need a specific intent to kill to get first-degree murder. They have not proven that.
The forensics that they put up were junk science. The jury can absolutely disregard all of them, including the sniffer machine, which has never been used in any court, in any land, in any world.
MALVEAUX: Wow. OK.
Holly, back to you. Three reasons you think the prosecution made its case?
HUGHES: OK. Again, Casey's really crazy behavior.
The defense wanted to say it's because she was sexually abused. There's no evidence of it. They can't argue it in close. Try to explain that nutty behavior.
Again, not junk science, cutting edge. Remember this, Suzanne, there was a first time DNA was used too. They said it was junk science, and Jeff Ashton was the prosecutor. We all remember that.
So, the science, her crazy behavior, and just no other explanation for what happened to that baby. She's the last person who had control.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Richard, three reasons you think the defense proved reasonable doubt?
HERMAN: Junk science, because, yes, DNA was used, but it was peer reviewed before it was used in court. This Dr. Vass and his sniffer machine has never been peer reviewed. Nobody knows what he's doing.
It's science, it's experiments. It's not reliable for a jury, and especially a first-degree death penalty case. So that's for starters.
They have not proven motive, the government. They don't have to prove it, but, you know, when you want to kill someone, you have to prove it.
And the only evidence that came into this case was that show was a loving and good mother. They have not proven what made her snap to all of a sudden want to kill her child.
And just because she's a liar does not mean she's a killer and a murderer. Two different things. Crazy behavior by her does not mean she's a murderer. Her family was dysfunctional, and, look, she had to survive in that family environment.
MALVEAUX: All right. Of course, the most important question of all of them, do you think that Casey Anthony is going to be found guilty? And if so, is she going to get the death penalty?
We're going to ask both of our lawyers after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Casey Anthony's murder trial took an unexpected turn today when the judge ordered an indefinite recess. He's giving the defense time to take the deposition of one of the state's rebuttal witnesses.
We've been analyzing the trial with defense attorney, Holly Hughes. She's a former prosecutor and she's looking at the prosecutor's case for us. That side. And then also with us, criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman. He joins us from Las Vegas. He's tackling the defense side. Final question for both of you guys. Will Casey Anthony be found guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee? And if so, is she going to get the death penalty.
Richard, you go first. What do you think?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think number one, the death penalty is unconstitutional in the state of Florida. So, she's not going to get the debt penalty. Two, they have not proven first degree murder here. So, she's no way going to get he convicted of first degree.
Three, in order to get her on felony murder, they have to prove aggravated manslaughter. And you have to prove a pattern of that. The state has not proven any pattern of child abuse here. So, they can't really come back with a verdict there.
So, the only option would be a manslaughter conviction and then a conviction on lying to authorities. So, overall, maybe she's going to do 12 to 15 years and she'll be out. And that's how I see it coming down.
MALVEAUX: All right. Holly, how do you see it?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: OK. I think what we're looking at is first degree murder. No death penalty and I'll tell you, because she didn't take the stand.
Right now, there's been enough crazy testimony by her family. They're dysfunctional -- I mean, Richard nailed that. They are dysfunctional bunch. I mean, this trial reminds me of that coffee, chockfull of nuts, OK?
So, yes, they're not going to kill her. They want to apportion the blame. You know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They watched George testify. They watched Cindy testify. They're going to blame some of that crazy Casey behavior on the parents.
So, I do think they are going for first degree, because if you look at the circumstantial evidence, it only points to her. And for those who say that's not enough, I got two words for you guys: Scott Peterson.
MALVEAUX: All right. That wraps it up. That wraps it up very well.
Holly, thank you so much. Richard, as well. We'll see. We'll see what happens.
Obviously, there'd be a lot of developments. The explosive twists, emotional turns, engaging testimony, all set for the stage for dramatic end with the Casey Anthony trial. You don't have to miss a minute of this action.
Tune in to our sister network, HLN for live trial coverage throughout the day.
Well, financial infidelity? Yes. Spouses who shop behind the other's back. Bottom line on the bank account and the marriage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: I want to introduce you to a former pro basketball player, Craig Speedy Claxton and his wife, Meeka. You may recognize her from the reality show "Basketball Wives."
Mika and her husband are just one of many couples dealing with financial infidelity or secret spending.
Our Poppy Harlow, she hit the town with the couple to see what it was like. And she's live in New York.
Hey, Poppy. What did you find out? Interesting angle on this, huh? Financial infidelity.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I know, cheating. Cheating with the wallet.
You know, it's interesting, Suzanne. This NBA lockout probably has some of those basketball wives up in arms because some of them, not all of them, like to spend their husband's money. We met one who certainly does, Meeka Claxton. And you might know her husband, former NBA player Speedy Claxton.
We decided to go shopping with them. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Call it secret spending, financial infidelity, whatever you want. When it comes to love and money, things can get complicated. Two people that know a lot about it, former NBA player, Speedy Claxton, and his wife, Meeka.
Guys, thanks for being here -- revealing the secrets of your spending.
MEEKA CLAXTON, WIFE: I think it's the secret of his spending. I own it. He's the secret.
CRAIG "SPEEDY" CLAXTON, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I'm not the secret spender. She's the known spender.
HARLOW: Shall we go shopping?
M. CLAXTON: Let's go.
I knew from early on, I had a habit.
HARLOW: What habit is that?
M. CLAXTON: Shopping.
A lot of times, the girls do secretly shop, you know? That's just what we do. It's fun.
C. CLAXTON: That's what we do on the road. They all get together and go on a shopping spree.
M. CLAXTON: We do it when you're on practice. That's where I learned the trunk trick, you know, and even the pantry.
HARLOW: This is where all the shopping bags are, in the pantry.
M. CLAXTON: Yes, but sometimes, we didn't realize that he was in the living or whatever.
HARLOW: What does she buy the most of?
C. CLAXTON: Those Christian Louboutin shoes. You know there's something wrong when I know the name.
HARLOW: I also know they're about $1,000 each.
C. CLAXTON: Each pair. And she got about 20 pair.
M. CLAXTON: We have two little girls. A daughter who is 8 who is just like mommy. I mean, crazy.
She knows now, she feels like we can go into the gas station and she has to come out with something. She'll find whatever is geared toward the kids. She'll find it at a gas station.
C. CLAXTON: She got quick eyes.
HARLOW: What do you get the girl that has everything?
C. CLAXTON: You have to be very creative. You got to come up with something different.
HARLOW: Do you see all the bills? How careful are you at reading the bills?
C. CLAXTON: I'm very careful. I mean, she's making a home right now. So, I let her enjoy it. I still take care of most of the bills at home. So, that's how we balance it out.
M. CLAXTON: He's a great husband. I have to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Poppy joins us from New York. Poppy, two people may be in love, but how do they know if they're financially compatible?
HARLOW: It's a very good question. We're going to pull up a quiz, we can show you right here. We have this fun quiz on CNNMoney.com today. See how compatible you are.
But, Suzanne, I just want to point out one thing. Did you notice Speedy Claxton's diamond earrings and diamond watch? What I quickly find out is that he likes to spend a lot of money, too. So, let's not lay all the blame on the wife. He likes to spend money, too, on nice things for himself.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you very much, Poppy.
I want to give you some breaking news here. We have some news out of the court case here, the deal with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF. The judge releasing information here saying that Strauss-Kahn has been released on his own recognizance.
This is a very significant development. He was under house arrest. He was paying for his own security detail in New York. But he was not allowed to move about freely.
We are being told now that we are expected to hear from Strauss-Kahn fairly soon. He is going to be coming out.
We are watching tape here. I'm being told this is -- now, we are watching live pictures. I understand this is outside of manhattan courthouse. We see our own Richard Roth there. He's taking a look at some of the information he's reading from his BlackBerry.
You see an aerial shot. A lot of focus and attention around this case. It has garnered international attention. Strauss-Kahn there walking out.
I believe these are live pictures now with his wife by his side. His legal team. He is the former IMF chief who was accused of sexual assault, of rape of a maid in a hotel room.
There have been numerous reports about information, new information that has come to the attention of the court about the credibility -- questions about the credibility of his accuser, the maid. You see him getting into his car now or vehicle with his wife. He has been staying at a manhattan condominium that he has put up. He has put up the costs for that as well as his own security detail.
I want to bring in our own Jeffrey Toobin.
And, Jeff, does this come as a surprise to you, the fact that now we've got Strauss-Kahn, who is being released, let go on his own recognizance because of questions about his accuser's credibility?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): I would say surprised is an understatement -- when you have the government of New York state publicly committing itself to a major sexual assault prosecution, and then essentially overnight, virtually surrendering the case. It is a major, major surprise.
And the fact that without protest, they released Dominique Strauss Kahn on his own recognizance with no bail conditions at all, that is a shocking, major development in a case like this.
MALVEAUX: Where does he go from here? Do we know if he's actually allowed to leave the country? I would imagine they would want to keep him close by, that the court has taken his passport?
TOOBIN: That is the one thing he is not allowed to do is leave the country. That was clear from our reports from inside the courtroom. He is not getting his passport back, but he apparently can come and go as he pleases within New York City and perhaps even within the country. I'm not entirely clear on that.
He may not leave the United States, but he has no bail conditions at all, as far as I can tell, beyond that. That is he can come and go like anyone else in New York City.
MALVEAUX: I'm going to bring in Susan Candiotti who was inside the courtroom. What took place inside the courtroom? Who actually made his presentation and what was Strauss-Kahn's reaction?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, he strode into the courtroom. You might have described it as confidently because, clearly, his attorneys knew what was about to happen, and so did he. His wife accompanied him as well. The whole thing was over with within about 10 minutes.
Immediately, the first thing that happened is that the prosecutors addressed the court. They said to the court, we'd like to say first of all, this case proceeded in a very serious way from the very beginning after this hotel maid made some very serious allegations of a sexual assault. We looked into them.
They said that her allegations were very solid, that her employment credentials were equally so, and that we have evidence of some kind of a sexual encounter.
As we went on, she said we presented this information to a grand jury and as we all know, charges were filed.
But, then she said, as the state is required to do, we began looking more deeply into her background, into her statements, into her past activity. And this is part of the information that we have been reporting to you within the last 24 hours. And she said that it was then clear that we began to ask ourselves, as she put it, about the strength of our case.
And she said, as you know, we must provide to the defense any indication of exculpability (ph) factors, factors that could indicate possible innocence on this case, as we are required by law. And any other information we get from our own investigation that might amount to possible impeachment of the witness of this case, in this case.
And so she said, with that in mind, we met and provided a number of pieces of information to the prosecution.
The prosecutor in this case, lead prosecutor, did not define exactly what those issues are, but said that they have been filed with the court now so that we will all be able to see what it is. And with that, she said the state does not object to allow the cash bond that has been placed in this case by Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be, as she put it, exonerated. In other words, it goes away.
And the state does not object that he be released on his own recognizance. And with that, he smiled, the defense attorney patted him on the back, and he and his wife strode out of the courtroom, it appeared, with a smile on his face. MALVEAUX: Susan, did you get a chance -- did you hear anything? Did you see anything? Did he say anything or turn to his wife and say anything, or to anyone else in the room?
CANDIOTTI: He did not -- he was not asked any questions by the court. His attorneys did the talking for him, asking that he be released on his own recognizance. And they acknowledged that a passport will not be returned to him. He will be able to come and go as he places presumably within New York state.
His wife was sitting in the front row. So, as soon as court was dismissed. He, as I said, got a pat on his back from his own attorney. Give a bit of a smile, turned around and smiled to his wife and the two of them strode out together straight out of the courtroom and into a car waiting outside and they're out of here.
MALVEAUX: And, Susan, I understand we're getting some information that we may hear from Strauss-Kahn later today? Do we think we're going to hear from him? He's going to go in front of a camera, he and his wife? Or is it going to come from his attorneys, that there will be some sort of statement made from him later?
CANDIOTTI: Not sure whether he will make a statement, but I do have indications from the defense team that the lawyers, at the very least, plan to make a statement. Whether that holds up, that's what I was told earlier.
Also interesting to point out inside the court is the attorney representing the hotel maid in this case. Just before court began, that man, Kenneth Thompson told me he had no immediate comment but said he will have, in his words, a lot to say as soon as this hearing is over. So, it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.
Again, important to point out, the prosecutors stressed that this case is not over. That they are not talking about dismissing any charges at this time, and in fact the judge weighed in at the end of the hearing and said, let it be clear that there is no rush to judgment in this case. The case will go on and we'll be meeting again in court with Dominique Strauss-Kahn on July 18th, as previously scheduled.
MALVEAUX: Susan, thank you very much. I want to bring in our Jeffrey Toobin back in.
Jeff, what do you make of the statement that came from the prosecution? On the one hand, as well as the judge, this is a case that is moving forward. It has not been dismissed but on the other hand, they are letting this guy go? What does this mean?
TOOBIN: Well, it means the case has major, major problems. And they are admitting that and there is no reason to resolve the case today if they are letting Dominique Strauss-Kahn out on his own recognizance which is a total, total different position from when they were insisting on very strict bail conditions.
And, obviously, some negotiations are going to ensue now between the prosecution and defense and the defense now clearly very much has the upper hand in those negotiations, because obviously, these credibility problems are very serious.
This will take some time. I expect it will take weeks, not months, but it sounds to me like this case is never going to trial but will be resolved either in some sort of plea or outright dismissal.
MALVEAUX: And, Jeff, you spoke last night with the defense team. What do we know about these credibility issues? I know "The New York Times" has been reporting that she had a conversation with an inmate, either the day that this alleged incident took place, about potentially making money off this.
Do you have any information about what we are talking about when they say she lacks credibility? That she has -- having a problem with her story?
TOOBIN: You know what? I have to say I don't want to commit to saying that I know exactly what the problems are. My conversation with the defense was more general.
But, obviously, the prosecution does not take a dramatic step like this without studying carefully and recognizing a major problem with their own case. So, yes, the details that you described from "The New York Times" story --
MALVEAUX: All right. Jeff, I'm sorry. We're going to have to interrupt you real quick.
Kenneth Thompson, he's the attorney for the alleged victim. He's before the mike. Let's take a listen to what he has to say.
KENNETH THOMPSON, ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED VICTIM: -- about that account, the D.A. knows that. That was true the day it happened. It is true today.
What they did not tell you upstairs in the courtroom today is that the victim herself is the one who came forward voluntarily with the information about her asylum application. She told me that she wanted to tell the district attorney the truth, about how she first came to this country, and about other matters.
I then called the lead prosecutor and told her that the victim wanted to tell you everything. That she was afraid. I told the district attorney's office exactly what the victim told me. And the victim then met with the district attorney alone and described some of the things that she had not told them.
Now, this is important. The only defense that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has is that this sexual encounter was consensual. That was a lie.
Now, I'm going to give you the facts that show that's a lie. Number one, when the victim walked into that suite, she did so for one reason. And that was to clean that suite. She was told no one was inside that room. And she went into that room believing that no one was inside that room.
And then Dominique Strauss-Kahn came out running out of one of those rooms naked, towards her. And he grabbed her breasts first and started to attack her. He then grabbed her vagina with so much force that he hurt her. He grabbed her vagina with so much force that he bruised her vagina.
When she went to the hospital later that day, the nurses who examined her saw the bruises on her vagina that were caused by Dominique Strauss hand and took pictures of the bruises on her vagina and the district attorney has those pictures.
The next thing that shows that their claim of consensual sex is a lie is the fact that when Dominique Strauss-Kahn threw the victim to the floor, he tore a ligament in her shoulder. That is a medical fact. She now may need surgery for the damage he caused to her shoulder, and she told the prosecutors day one, "My shoulder hurts." And she has been telling me for weeks, when she met with me, rubbing her shoulder, because she was in such pain.
I sent her to a doctor right here in New York to look at her shoulder. That doctor was concerned, and sent her to get an MRI. And then had a follow-up visit with her and determined she suffered a torn ligament in her shoulder, and that it was a recent injury and described to me that he's seen this injury with athletes who are knocked down and when they're about to fall, they brace themselves and they damage the ligaments in her shoulder.
That is exactly what happened to the victim when Dominique Strauss- Kahn threw her on the ground.
The other third point to who you show you she was violently attacked in that room is that Dominique Strauss-Kahn ripped her stockings. There are holes, rips in her stockings and the D.A. knows that.
The next thing I want to tell you is that when she was fighting to get away, when she was on her knees and he was sexually assaulted her, after he finished, she got up and started to run for that door and started spitting Dominique Strauss-Kahn's semen out of her mouth in disgust all over that hotel room.
So when you hear about the forensic evidence, the DNA evidence, she spit his semen on the wall, she spit on the floor -- and guess what? As soon as her supervisor came upstairs, she saw that. The security staff at the Sofitel, they saw that. The detectives at NYPD, they saw that, and a prosecutor who went into that hotel room on the day it happened, and she showed him where the semen was.
The other thing that's important to keep in mind is that the medical evidence supports the victim's account. The forensic evidence supports her account. She was taken from the hotel to the hospital in an ambulance. A grand jury has already found her account credible.
Now, here's the situation. The victim -- is a victim also of female genital mutilation. It happened to her in Africa, against her wishes. And she was very concerned that her young daughter that she gave birth to in Africa would also have to endure female genital mutilation and she was desperate to prevent that from happening to her baby girl and so she came to America. And so, she came to America. She came to America because the great promise of this country. And her asylum application is not completely accurate.
Upstairs, the district attorney talked about a false rape. The victim was actually raped in Africa by soldiers. The mistake she made is she was afraid to tell the prosecutors that the rape did not occur in connection with the asylum application because she did not want to be deported because she's afraid of having to go back to Guinea. She was raped in Africa.
Now, what's very, very important, all of these statements that were leaked by the district attorney's office concerning whether she's involved in drugs and so on, that's a lie.
Our concern is that Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance is too afraid to try this case. We believe that he's afraid that he's going to lose this high profile case like he lost recently the case against the two police officers accused of raping the woman who was drunk, and like he lost the two high profile cases this week involving the Deutsche Bank fire where tragically, two firefighters lost their lives.
But the district attorney has an obligation to stand up for this rape victim. And there's something else troubling, that they wouldn't tell you. When I brought this information to their attention, I trusted the district attorney. I actually trusted them. And I let them meet with my client while I went to the second circuit judicial conference a couple of weeks ago in Lake George, New York.
Those three days that I was away, they met with my client. I didn't bother them. But I checked in on the second day. And I found out something very disturbing. I spoke to the victim and I spoke to a 15- year-old daughter.
And I said, "How's it going?" They said, "Not too well." I said, "Why?" The daughter told me that they were mistreating her mother, the prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office. I told them to stop meeting until I was able to get back to New York City and meet with them.
