U.S. prosecutors will drop sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at his next court appearance in two weeks, or earlier, because of doubts about the credibility of the alleged victim, the New York Post said on Tuesday.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed top investigator in the case who said the eventual dismissal of charges was "a certainty."
The that the charges were headed toward dismissal, but said prosecutors had not yet made a final decision.
The New York Post quoted its source as saying that the case was not going to proceed. "We all know this case is not sustainable," the source said.
"Her credibility is so bad now, we know we cannot sustain a case with her," the source added, referring to the hotel maid who accused Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her in a luxury hotel in Manhattan.
The woman, for her part, on Tuesday filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Post after a series of Post articles over the weekend said the 32-year-old was a "prostitute," and "hooker" and that she "traded sex for money."
The lawsuit says that the statements are false.
Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on May 14 at New York's JFK airport and subsequently resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
But revelations that the accuser had lied about being raped in Guinea in a U.S. asylum request and changed details of her story about what she did after the incident in Strauss-Kahn's hotel suite have undermined her credibility and left prosecutors struggling to make a case.
A judge released Strauss-Kahn from house arrest and lifted strict bail conditions on Friday, although serious charges including sexual assault and attempted rape remain in place against the man once seen a top French presidential contender.
"She is not to be believed in anything that comes out of her mouth — which is a shame, because now we may never know what happened in that hotel room," said the source quoted by The New York Post.
The newspaper said its source was at the center of the investigation and spoke only on the condition of anonymity.
Assistant District Attorney Joan Iluzzi-Orbon told the Wall Street Journal that prosecutors were not sure if the woman would be a credible witness.
"It would have to be that I believed every word that came out of her mouth, and that I believe in the criminal aspect of what occurred," Iluzzi-Orbon told the paper.
Strauss-Kahn, meanwhile, faced a new sexual assault investigation Tuesday, with a young French writer filing a complaint alleging that he tried to rape her during a 2003 book interview.
With France debating his possible return to presidential politics, Strauss-Kahn swiftly hit back at author Tristane Banon, labeling her account "imaginary" and countering with his own plans to file a criminal complaint of slander.
The sordid exchange may have deep ramifications for the 2012 presidential race in France, where the surprise weakening of the sexual assault case against Strauss-Kahn in New York last week sparked a fierce debate about whether he should return to politics if the American case against him collapses completely.