Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss Kahn tersely pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault Monday in what is highly likely to become an increasingly ugly legal battle. The French economist is accused of attempting to rape a maid in a New York hotel. He has fervently denied the charges. 

Dominique Strauss-Kahn (Creative Commons)

The highly publicized trial has all the trappings of a summer blockbuster. As Time notes, it "has the class conflicts of Bonfire of the Vanities, the legal star power of the O.J. Simpson trial, and the graphic details of the Starr Report."

Strauss-Kahn's defense team, which includes lawyers who have worked with such high-profile clients as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Plaxico Burress, will try to undermine the credibility of the hotel maid who accused him of rape. Details of the defense's case came out in leaks, which the lawyers have claimed would make it impossible for their client to face a fair trial."Again, it's blame the victim as a bad person," the woman's lawyer, Jeffrey Shapiro, has said. "I am really mad. I know this woman. I saw the fear in her eyes and her willingness to see this through."

The maid will testify against Strauss-Kahn if the case goes to trial, Reuters reported Monday.

The case has stirred up a media frenzy. The site of the arraignment was packed with reporters, reports the New York Times. This adds to a media season already characterized by high-profile sex scandals involving everyone from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to Rep. Anthony Weiner. In another case this summer, former presidential candidate John Edwards is charged with using campaign funds to cover up an affair. As Vanity Fair puts it, "we can expect a summer of extremely unpleasant, extremely public trials involving formerly powerful fallen men of licentious repute."

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is still without a head at a time when the international community needs economic leadership. The irony is that the clear frontrunner is a woman, Christine Lagarde.

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