As you may have heard, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been released on his own recognizance for the rape charges against him:

The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials.

Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.

Since her initial allegation on May 14, the accuser has repeatedly lied, one of the law enforcement officials said.

Senior prosecutors met with lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn on Thursday and provided details about their findings, and the parties are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. Among the discoveries, one of the officials said, are issues involving the asylum application of the 32-year-old housekeeper, who is Guinean, and possible links to people involved in criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering.

What prosecutors have discovered is that:

• She had a phone conversation with a friend, who is in prison pending drug dealing charges, discussing the financial benefits of pursuing the case.
• She appears to have lied about a gang rape on her asylum application.
• She appears to have been used in, or participated in, some manner to launder cash and cell phones for her fiance’s operations. 

Seeing as how DSK was the leading Socialist candidate for the French presidency, and Nicolas Sarkosy is as about as popular as a case of the clap, I’m wondering if this wasn’t some sort of setup arranged by Sarkosy or his allies.

I don’t think that Sarko can make himself popular, but he could create a situation in which a contested primary by the Socialists could create disarray in the party^* which could be used to his electoral advantage.

Google™ Analytics™ says that I do have an occasional reader from France, and I would love to hear their take on this.

^*In fact, one could consider disarray to be the natural state of the Socialist party.