non-citizens arrested all the time, and they are entitled to have contact with the embassies of their host nation. and certainly french consular officials will have the right to go see him and make sure he has a lawyer. and i understand he's hired benjamin barackman, one of the finest lawyers in new york city. he is just going to be treated, as i understand it, like any other criminal defendant who faces very serious criminal charges. >> in addition to his role as head of the imf, dominique strauss-khan was also considered a leading candidate for the president of france. but this is not the first time that he has been involved in controversy. i want to bring in our cnn senior international correspondent jim bittermann who is in paris. jim, give us some background, who is this man, what are we talking about here? >> reporter: well, he is a leading candidate.