IMF Chief May Be Freed On Bail
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, breaking news. Defense lawyers may be close to arranging a deal for bail in a sexual assault case against the head of the International Monetary Fund. We're going the hear from the alleged victim's lawyer this hour. Stand by. Top Pentagon officials say it's time to stop talking about the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. Why they're so worried about all the details emerging from that one secret mission. And presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich, apologizing for attacking one of his own party's key proposals. Will that satisfy angry Republicans? Breaking news, political headline, Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the</s>SITUATION ROOM. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.</s>BLITZER: But let's begin with the breaking news right now. Accused of sexual assault against the hotel maid, the jailed head of the International Monetary Fund could be released on bail as early as tomorrow. That's the word we're getting from a source familiar with the case. Let's go right to our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He broke the story for us an hour ago, getting more information. Jeff, tell our viewers what you're learning.</s>VOICE OF JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what we now know is that the prosecution and the defense will be back in court tomorrow, and the -- defense will have a new package. I don't know the details of what's in it, but a new package that -- where they will ask a judge -- it's going to be a different judge than the judge who denied Strauss-Kahn bail earlier in the week. So they hope that he will not have to spend this weekend in Rikers Island which is where he is now.</s>BLITZER: Because the last time around earlier in the week, when the judge refused to grant him any bail, I think they were willing to post, what, a million dollars, make sure he wore an ankle bracelet, take away his passport. That wasn't good enough for the judge earlier in the week. Why do some folks think it -- situation might be different now?</s>TOOBIN: Well, the amount of money -- I believe will be increased. There'll be more specificity with -- there was no detail in the last proposal about where Strauss-Kahn would be. They plan to put forth where he will be tomorrow in their proposal, and it's a new judge. Frankly, Wolf, this is a pretty close case. There are some judges, I think, who would grant Strauss-Kahn bail under these circumstances. So, I think they are going at another -- just for another bite at the apple, and you know, bail applications are frequently made on Fridays. Nobody wants to spend a weekend in prison. So, it is not a surprise that they're coming back at this one, and I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that they're going to lose.</s>BLITZER: How significant is it that he has no criminal record, but, another woman has come forward in France alleging that several years ago, he tried to sexually assault her?</s>TOOBIN: Well, I think, there's a lot of bad news for Strauss- Kahn out there. This case looks like -- and again, we're very early in the process. This case looks like it's a very serious matter. It looks like it will proceed as a full-fledged criminal case against him, but the fact that he is a foreigner is the biggest strike against him. The most people who are not United States citizens have a built- in motive to plea. They don't have roots in the community. Those are major factors when it comes to granting or not granting a defendant bail. That hasn't changed. He's still a French citizen, and that's going to remain a big problem for him with any judge who hears this.</s>BLITZER: One of the arguments his attorneys made earlier in the week, including Benjamin Brafman, who is a well-known criminal defense attorney. You probably know him in New York, Jeffrey, is that his face now has been plastered all over the media and newspapers, on television. Everybody knows what he looks like. And so, there's no way he could simply escape. Is that an argument that a judge would listen to?</s>TOOBIN: Absolutely. I mean, bail is not supposed to be punishment. There are always two factors that courts consider most when it comes to bail which is, one, is the person a danger to the community? And two, is the person a risk of flight? Given the set of circumstances that the defense can bring forward here that he will be isolated, that he will have an ankle bracelet, that -- he -- he will be under a very narrow range, and the fact that he's so famous now or infamous. It is an argument that many judges may well find persuasive. That he is simply not going to flee, and he's not a danger to anyone, and he should be granted bail.</s>BLITZER: Jeffrey Toobin reporting for us. Thank you, Jeff. We'll continue this tomorrow, but just a little while ago, I spoke with the attorney, Jeffrey Shapiro, who represents the alleged victim in this case. Listen to this.</s>JEFFREY SHAPIRO, ATTORNEY FOR ALLEGED VICTIM: This is a woman who's an observant woman. She is strong. She came to this country from guinea under, you know, adverse circumstances, had a lot of difficulty there, came here essentially under an asylum-type arrangement with her young daughter. She's a single mother with limited education and limited -- virtually no opportunity for professional career in her homeland. She came here and found this job and was able to support both herself and her daughter, was very grateful to have this job, very great until to be in a country which there are laws and justice and freedom. Hope for a better life for her daughter as, I think, anyone who comes to this country does. And I have to tell you, I have great, great admiration for her. And based upon the hours that I've spent in talking to her.</s>BLITZER: Have you prepared her for what's in store over the coming weeks and months, maybe years?</s>SHAPIRO: Boy, you know, here's the problem. You know, somebody who's the victim of physical assault in a rape needs lots of help in many different areas. And here's someone who hasn't even had the opportunity to begin that process, you know, to find any peace at all.</s>BLITZER: His lawyers will ask for some sort of opportunity that he can be released from Rikers Prison in New York and be released on bail. What I hear you saying, what I heard you saying is you think that would be a horrible mistake.</s>SHAPIRO: Listen, you know what, I'm devoted to this woman and this client. And, I want what she wants. And I want her to feel safe. And to -- to the extent that his freedom would impair her feeling of safeness -- safety and security, that would deeply concern me.</s>BLITZER: Well, explain what -- I'm going to let you go in a second, but explain that. If he's out in New York, let's say he's got an ankle bracelet, and - he's in New York, she would feel threatened by that. Is that what you're saying?</s>SHAPIRO: Look, you know, this is a woman who comes from a world in which safety is not -- is very difficult. It's not guaranteed. There are no -- the police are not necessarily your friend. This is the background that she comes from. So, the idea that this perpetrator, the person who attacked her is free and can do what he wants to do, whether he flees the country doesn't mean that he can't do something in her mind, at least, and based upon her experience in the world, that could cause her some harm.</s>BLITZER: Dominique Strauss-Kahn was widely seen a possible challenger to the French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, in next year's election, at least, he was until his arrest. Strauss-Kahn downplayed his political prospects in an interview with CNNs Fareed Zakaria last year. Listen to this.</s>DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: I'm heading an international institution. I'm happy with what I'm doing. I think it's -- maybe it's a bit pretentious, but I think it's important for the global economy to have those kind of institution working well. I have no other projects.</s>FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: When you are done with the IMF, would you rule out the prospect of returning into French politics?</s>STRAUSS-KAHN: Maybe I will stay in the IMF for years and years and years, who knows?</s>BLITZER: And joining us now from Paris, our correspondent, Jim Bittermann. This allegation of rape leveled against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, how is the French media handling it? We know there's a cultural thing about the French media sort of ignoring politicians and their sex lives, but this is an allegation of rape.</s>JIM BITTERMANN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Wolf, and I think it's being treated differently because I saw a little mini debate tonight on one of the television channels in which the two opposite sides were basically taking the same side saying look, you know, it's one thing not to talk about somebody having an affair, having mistress on the side. It's quite another thing when there's violence involved and -- both of -- parties of the debate agreed on that. So, I think it is -- this is a different state. It's a different sort of thing and a kind of thing that's normally kept under cover here.</s>BLITZER: So, is there consensus emerging in France right now, Jim, that his political career, no matter what happens in the courtroom in New York, is over?</s>BITTERMANN: I think so. The only people seem to be still holding out hope is a thing called the Club Dominique Strauss-Kahn which were -- it is a club of his supporters who are urging him to run for president. They would like to see the socialist party primary move from June 28th to later on in the summer, I guess, hoping that maybe his legal problems would be over. But everybody else -- two letters, K.O., knocked out, and I think that's what they really sort of feel about his political career right now.</s>BLITZER: You've had a chance to meet with him, including relatively recently. What's he like?</s>BITTERMANN: Well, I've sort of run into him and done interviews with him probably four, five times over the last ten years here. You know, he is a very charming guy, and you can get very personal with him. He's very open and disarming. He's a great campaigner, I can see that. But this side, this kind of dark side, I don't think anybody spotted. I think some of the members of the press here who knew him very well -- in fact, I just interviewed yesterday a guy who spent two years doing a book on him, and he just cannot believe these rape charges. He said he's not a violent sort of man. So, I don't know. We're going to have to see how this plays out in the courtroom if they can prove that he was guilty of this violence. This is going to change everybody's opinion here, I think -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right. Jim, thanks very much. Jim Bittermann reporting for us from Paris as he always does. Appreciate it. It's one of the biggest stories of the year -- and years, I should say, the killing of Osama Bin Laden. So, why are top U.S. military officials saying the aftermath is hurting efforts to fight terrorism? Also, one leader cracking down on another. Details of what President Obama is doing to Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. And new details of Arnold Schwarzenegger's sex scandal. We know the identity of the woman with whom he had an affair and a child.