Via Getty.

Reuters is reporting as of a few minutes ago that the Manhattan D.A.'s office—led by one very embattled Cy Vance—have asked for a dismissal of the criminal sexual assault charges against former I.M.F. chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The end of what has been a very long, headline-making scandal-plagued saga appears to have started, today.

The request for a dismissal comes directly on the heels of news that Kenneth Thompson, the lawyer for Mr. Strauss Kahn's accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, asked that a special prosecutor be appointed to the case (with those currently in place from Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance's office removed). In Mr. Thompson's motion, he alleged that the D.A. had "sabotaged" the case in leaking statements disparaging to his client's credibility to the press, while also subjecting her "to verbal abuse and outright disrespect."

If criminal charges are dropped against Mr. Strauss-Kahn, his accuser Nafissatou Diallo still has a civil suit against Mr. Strauss-Kahn to move forward with (or not); she also filed a lawsuit against the New York Post in July, charging them with libel after they published a story alleging that she had prostituted herself while under police protection.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn is due back in court tomorrow morning, where the criminal charges against him could be formally dismissed.

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek