Washingtonian profiled Strauss-Kahn as unknown, ‘Invisible Man’ right before scandal

Laura Donovan Contributor
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When the Washingtonian, a D.C. area magazine, profiled International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn for its June issue, the Frenchman hadn’t yet been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a maid in New York. As noted by FishBowlDC, the publication had produced a “glowing” write-up on Strauss-Kahn before the news surfaced last week, and copies of the mag had already been mailed out to subscribers by that point.

The print version, which has already been sent to readers and newsstands, describes Strauss-Kahn as an “Invisible Man” who “might just be the next president of France.”

The online editor’s note recognizes that Strauss-Kahn has gained notoriety due to the recent allegations leveled against him, stating, “Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who has lived in relative obscurity in Washington for the last three and a half years…[T]he profile was meant to introduce Strauss-Kahn’s neighbors here in Washington to a man considered one of Europe’s leading politicians—a man, as we say in the article, who might well be standing next to you in line at Whole Foods. We had no way to know that Strauss-Kahn would be front-page news by the time the issue arrived in the homes of subscribers and on newsstands.”

The print article, titled “The Invisible Man,” was penned by French journalist Apolline de Malherbe. The online piece is now called, “Dominique Strauss-Kahn: What Does the IMF Chief’s Arrest Mean?”, and weaves in details of the French chief’s charges.

“Strauss-Kahn has long been seen as a political survivor,” de Malherbe writes. “Prior to his arrest, DSK claimed he had made up his mind about whether to run but wouldn’t let anyone know what he was thinking…Now, however, all questions about his political aspirations—at least in the near term—have taken a back seat to discussions of guilt or innocence.”