Media circus descends on DSK’s accuser

Summary of story from The Telegraph, July 31, 2011

The media circus that has spent the last few months laying siege to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has shifted direction with the first public appearance of Nafissatou Diallo, the maid accusing DSK of rape.

The appearance took place at a black mega-church, a far cry from the luxurious hotel suite in midtown Manhattan where Diallo, 32, a Guinean immigrant, alleges that she was violently sexually assaulted by DSK (see WVoN story).

Just as significant as the location was the striking array of black leaders, including a prominent figure in the New Black Panther Party who flanked her on stage as she made her own powerful statement:

“What happened to me, I don’t want that to happen to any other woman.”

As if the DSK affair was not already controversial enough, Diallo’s supporters threw explosive accusations about race and politics into the highly-charged mix.

Diallo’s backers were taking aim as much at Cyrus Vance Jnr, the Manhattan district attorney who was widely believed to be on the verge of dropping the case after his investigators uncovered multiple lies by Diallo, as she was at her alleged attacker.