Dominique Strauss-Kahn celebrates wedding anniversary as plot rumors swirl

Dominique Strauss-Kahn — accused of sexually assaulting a maid in a New York hotel in May — has celebrated his wedding anniversary with wife Anne Sinclair in Paris.

Meanwhile, Strauss-Kahn's supporters suggested that a story in the New York Review of Books provided evidence that the sex scandal was part of a plot the party of President Nicolas Sarkozy to disgrace the former International Monetary Fund chief.

According to The Independent, the article, written by Edward Jay Epstein, a veteran American journalist with a fascination for conspiracy stories:

raised a number of disturbing questions about events before and just after Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York in May for the alleged attempted rape of a chambermaid in the Manhattan Sofitel.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, had been the front-runner to win France's presidential election next year in a contest against Sarkozy. The scandal forced him to drop out of the race.

He later successfully argued in court that he had consensual sex with Nafissatou Diallo, a 32-year-old Guinean woman.

Epstein's article suggests that hours before Strauss-Kahn's arrest, a friend had warned him that his BlackBerry had been hacked and personal email compromised, and links Sarkozy's ruling UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) party.

Club DSK, a Strauss-Kahn support group, has reportedly dubbed it "BlackBerry Gate" and called for a parliamentary inquiry. 

However, on Monday denied involvement, dismissing claims of a plot as "fantasy" and "grotesque," according to the Daily Telegraph.

UMP leader Jean-Francois Cope said his party had never attempted to spy on or trap Strauss-Kahn, The Independent reported. 

The French Interior Minister, Claude Gueant, meantime, called the article a "fantasy" amounting to "guesswork and rumors."

Meanwhile, the French press has reportedly all but ignored the article — Le Monde on Monday did not even mention it, noted The Economist.  

The Daily Telegraph writes that if Strauss-Kahn and Sinclair were concerned over the set-up claims, they didn't show it Monday night.

The former International Monetary Fund chief and his wife Anne Sinclair stepped out to mark their anniversary with a romantic dinner.

The couple did not appear to have a care in the world as they strolled the streets of Paris, looking relaxed and happy as they walked.

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