DSK: The Scandal That Brought Down Dominique Strauss-Kahn [Kindle Edition]

John Solomon (Author)

Book Description

The sex scandal that toppled Dominique Strauss-Kahn gripped the world with its salacious allegations, dramatic twists, and a stunning turnabout in court. But the public saw only a fraction of what really went on behind the scenes, where justice played second fiddle to egos, political pressures, and investigative missteps. Now award-winning reporter John Solomon exposes the story you didn't know, delivering a searing indictment of American justice at its moment of intense international scrutiny.

When Strauss-Kahn arrived in New York on Friday, May 13, 2011, he was an international political powerhouse and favorite to win the French presidential election. By Monday, he was sitting in the notorious Rikers Island jail, his career in tatters.

Likewise, when hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo arrived at work on Saturday morning, she never could have predicted that a brief encounter with a VIP guest would put her at the center of a legal and public relations battle that would leave her life in shambles.

Those seven minutes in Suite 2806 would throw international politics into turmoil, eliminate one of the key players in Europe’s debt crisis, and create a trial by fire for Manhattan’s rookie district attorney. And it would all happen under the eye of a frenzied media which at first presumed guilt before suddenly turning the tables on the alleged victim. The public was left wondering: Was Dominique Strauss-Kahn guilty or innocent?

Solomon goes past the headlines to show how personal clashes, ambition, and media leaks took precedence over facts and evidence. He chronicles the personal battles that went on behind the scenes, from suicide worries to AIDS scares, and the toll they took on key players. He lays out in gripping detail all the facts, good and bad, pro and con, so that finally the public can judge what really happened in one of the most fascinating criminal cases of the last decade.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for DSK

“Solomon’s riveting account of what probably happened—and didn’t happen—in that fancy hotel room will change your mind. He presents the case the DA declined to present. Read it and decide for yourself whether the prosecution of DSK should have been dropped.” —Alan M. Dershowitz

“This is a fascinating examination of the roles of politics, race, class, social status, and egos in one of the decade’s most sensational criminal cases." —Booklist (starred review)

"Exciting." —Le Figaro

“Investigative journalist John Solomon has provided the best explanation yet for what is going on in this tightly written and altogether credible account of what happens when an ordinary sex scandal involving a prominent man turns into a dark story where scary questions still lurk.” —The Washington Times

 

About the Author

John Solomon is one of America's premier investigative journalists, whose award-winning stories over the last quarter-century have exposed scandals ranging from the use of foster children in AIDS drug experiments to what the Bush administration knew about terror threats in the days before September 11, 2001. His exposés have appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, on 60 Minutes, and in the Associated Press and countless other publications and news shows across the globe. A former executive editor of The Washington Times and director of news at Newsweek, Solomon currently runs the Washington Guardian investigative newspaper in the nation's capital and lives in Virginia.

Learn more at www.washingtonguardian.com/DSK.

Product Details

• File Size: 437 KB
• Print Length: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (June 5, 2012)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006JJP8Z8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,872 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The book I've been waiting for - if the DSK case fascinated you, John Solomon's book is a must-read July 4, 2012

By Andy Orrock TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's a privilege to post the first review for this book. 'DSK' is the book I've been waiting for...the almost-definitive account that strives to make sense of the crazed, heated eight-week period between first drop of the shocking news about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sexual encounter at the Sofitel in NYC and the subsequent decision by the Manhattan District Attorney's office not to present the case. Newsweek reporter John Solomon sets out to "slow down one of the most rushed legal dramas of the last decade and...explore the behaviors, motives and suppositions that weren't visible to the public." It's a tremendous piece of journalism. It represents everything that is great about the profession.

I said it was the "almost-definitive" account of the case. That's not a knock against Solomon. Instead, it's a way of noting that - in a book entitled 'DSK' - the only thing missing is DSK. He is present on almost every page in this book and, at the same time, not present. He's never spoken about case, not while in custody, not in court, not through any public forum and not to the author. The book's 'DSK' title refers not to the man but rather to "L'affaire DSK" - the incident in the hotel room with Nafi Diallo, Diallo's story, DSK's 'flight' (or so-called flight) and arrest, his all-important first hours in custody, the prosecution's case, the prosecution's growing uneasiness with (and hostility towards) Diallo, Diallo's lawyers' (mostly the voluble but wily Ken Thompson) attempts to counter those sentiments (often publicly), a great summary of DSK's "multiple-choice defense," Solomon's own pivotal role in the case (he scored the key interview with Diallo when Thompson crafted his go-public counter-strategy) and much, much more.

Despite 'prevailing' (in a strict legal sense), DSK (the man) is still, ultimately, the loser. With this case plus the celebrated, subsequent charges filed against him in France for "aggravated pimping" (a classic phrase sure to enter the lexicon), DSK has been convicted in the most damning of courts: the court of public opinion. With the Presidency of the French Republic having slipped from his grasp (surely he looks at Francois Hollande and thinks, "that should mine"), DSK's powerful wife Anne Sinclair - head-shakingly tolerant to this point - having dropped him very publicly, and friends and former allies all but fleeing when he enters a room, DSK is said now to be in a very bad state emotionally and mentally.

In the end, Solomon paints a very strong, compelling case that the prosecutors committed a grievous error when they declined to present. If you have any interest in this case at all, John Solomon's book is a must-read for you.

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