Should the New York Post pay for calling Strauss-Kahn's accuser a 'hooker'?

The sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears to be unraveling, allegedly because of his accuser's credibility problems, but the legal and media circus shows no sign of abating. In the latest legal salvo, the hotel maid who accused Strauss-Kahn is suing the New York Post and five reporters for a series of thinly sourced stories claiming she is a "hooker" who only turned on Strauss-Kahn when he refused to pay her, and that she continued turning tricks while housed by the Manhattan district attorney. The new lawsuit says those claims are unequivocally false and "constitute defamation and libel." Does she have a good case?

This has libel written all over it: "Libel suits tend to be extremely hard to win," but in this case, I think DSK's accuser actually "has a good shot," says Hamilton Nolan at Gawker. The Post didn't just hint, but "definitively stated" in the paper and in block letters on the cover that the woman was turning tricks, citing just one anonymous source on Strauss-Kahn's legal team. The Post better lawyer up.

"DSK accuser sues NY Post for calling her 'a hooker'"

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Eh, her case isn't that strong: Despite the notoriety of the case, the accuser still probably wouldn't be considered a "public figure," says James Joyner at Outside the Beltway. That means the burden of proof in her libel lawsuit would be lower than the standard for the truly famous. Even so, given her "history of questionable veracity, I'm not sure how well she'd do if this case ever went to trial."

"Strauss-Kahn accuser sues New York Post over allegations of prostitution"

Libel or not, this is an all-too-familiar smear: Just because the accuser has lied about several things in her past doesn't mean she is lying about Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulting her, says Lauren Kelley at AlterNet. And the fact that the Post cites DSK's defense team is telling. Its sketchy designation of her as a "hooker" is "straight out of the 'how to get away with rape' playbook: Deny, smear, repeat." I don't expect "a lot of journalistic integrity from the New York Post," but we should all expect more than this.

"Today in rape culture: New York Post calls DSK accuser a 'hooker'"