It was probably inevitable that Dominique Strauss-Kahn would get bail, despite being a prima facie flight risk.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus yesterday approved Strauss-Kahn’s release on $1 million cash bail and imposed a tough set of restrictions — just hours after he resigned as director of the International Monetary Fund.
Now, as he awaits trial following his indictment on attempted-rape and sexual-abuse charges, the French politician will be confined to a Manhattan apartment, with an armed guard posted outside.
He also must post a $5 million bond and sign a waiver of extradition, in case he somehow makes it back to France.
It’s easy to appreciate why prosecutors wanted Strauss-Kahn to remain in custody: France has no extradition treaty with the US — which, as Assistant Chief District Attorney Daniel Alonso noted, is why director Roman Polanski has remained a fugitive from US justice on child-sex charges since 1977.
Strauss-Kahn’s IMF resignation answers the question of whether US
taxpayer funds would be going to pay for his high-powered defense — even as it remains undetermined who’s been paying for his lavish lifestyle as IMF head.
An IMF spokesman said that Strauss-Kahn’s recent sojourn in New York — during which he allegedly attacked a hotel maid — was “personal business” and that the finance agency did not expect to reimburse him.
Strauss-Kahn obviously likes to live high on the hog — pretty unusual for a socialist. (In France, he’s said to belong to the “caviar Left.”) His suite at the Sofitel cost $3,000 a night, and he was flying first class on a trans-Atlantic flight.
It’s not as if he can’t afford what likely will be hefty legal expenses: He and his wife, a wealthy heiress, own two apartments in Paris, as well as a $3 million mansion in Georgetown and a holiday home in Marrakech.
But, hey, here’s an idea: Why not get Greece and Portugal to pick up Strauss-Kahn’s legal tab?
Didn’t he already bail them out?