ANN CURRY, co-host:
The hotel maid who accused
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
of
sexual assault
inside his
New York City
hotel room is expected to meet with prosecutors today, the meeting that could lead to a dismissal of the case.
NBC
's
Michelle Franzen
is in the
Lower Manhattan
area with the latest on this story. Hey,
Michelle
, good morning.
MICHELLE FRANZEN reporting:
Good morning,
Ann.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
was once under strict house arrest facing
sexual assault
charges, and cracks in his accuser's credibility led a judge to lift those restrictions and his bail. He has still had to wait out the case here in the US, renting a luxury townhome here in
Lower Manhattan
. But as you mentioned, he could be a day away from having those charges dropped all together. The
sexual assault
case against
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
, the former head of the
IMF
, will likely be dropped tomorrow at what was supposed to be a routine hearing. Sources close to the investigation tell
NBC News
the
Manhattan district
attorney plans to file a motion to dismiss all charges stemming from his May arrest in
New York City
, accused of raping a hotel maid. Legal experts say it boils down to credibility problems with the prosecution's key witness,
Strauss-Kahn
's accuser
Nafissatou Diallo
.
Mr. JAY FAHY (Former Federal Prosecutor):
There's been a number of items that if you look at carefully, it greatly affects the credibility of Ms.
Diallo
, and I think that's the reason that the
DA
is looking to get rid of this case.
FRANZEN:
In July, prosecutors told the court they had evidence
Diallo
, an immigrant from
Guinea
, lied on her application for asylum and other accounts involving her past. In an interview with
Newsweek
,
Diallo
admitted the account that she gave the
US government
on her asylum application "was heavily embellished."
Diallo
's attorney,
Ken Thompson
, says there is still enough physical evidence found at the scene, including
Strauss-Kahn
's
DNA
, for the case to proceed. But
Thompson
tells
NBC News
he also expects the
DA
to drop the case based on a letter he received from Assistant District Attorney
Artie McConnell
.
McConnell
offered
Diallo
one chance to meet with prosecutors a day before the hearing "for the purpose of my explaining to her what I anticipate will occur in court." It is the latest twist in the
sexual assault
case involving the disgraced financier who was once considering a run for the
French presidency
. Prosecutors quickly built a case against
Strauss-Kahn
based on
Diallo
's testimony he brutally attacked her inside his suite when she went in to clean the room. Last month, when prosecutors raised doubts about her overall credibility,
Diallo
revealed her identity and spoke out publicly.
Ms. NAFISSATOU DIALLO:
I'm here today to tell everybody how much I'm going through for those past two months.
FRANZEN:
Strauss-Kahn
's attorneys say he is innocent and have always maintained that any sex was consensual.
Strauss-Kahn
's attorneys say they will not comment until the
DA
announces their decision. Meantime,
Diallo
's defense team has also filed a civil suit against
Strauss-Kahn
, and
Ken Thompson
,
Diallo
's attorney, says he wants a
special prosecutor
to take over
“ ”