Dominique Strauss-Kahn's rape charges to be dropped? 5 lessons

Prosecutors are expected to drop the hugely damaging sexual assault charges against the former IMF boss. What can we learn from this tawdry affair?

Former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss Kahn
(Image credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is widely expected to formally drop rape charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing Tuesday, effectively ending a legal case that has roiled French politics, international finance, and the New York City legal world. Former prosecutors speculate that Vance believes the credibility of Strauss-Kahn's alleged victim, Sofitel hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, has been so compromised by a number of apparent lies and contradictions that he can't win a conviction. What lessons can we draw from this high-stakes debacle? Here are five:

1. Reputations are easier to destroy than build

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