Strauss-Kahn Is Free on Bail

Former IMF leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of court free on bail today after prosecutors said an extensive background investigation of the hotel housekeeper accusing him of sexual assault gave them pause. Strauss-Kahn had been under pricey house arrest for weeks in a Manhattan loft on $6 million in cash and bond. The charges, which include attempted rape, have not been reduced, but the move signals that prosecutors do not believe the accusations are as ironclad as they once seemed.

The French politician's passport remained surrendered, and he will not yet be allowed to leave the country. One of his attorneys said Strauss-Kahn would be free to travel within the US. The accuser's attorney did not back down on the seriousness of the charges. "From Day One she has described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn committed against her," said Ken Thompson. "She has described that sexual assault many times, to prosecutors and to me, and she has never once changed a single thing about that encounter." (More Dominique Strauss Kahn stories.)