By Michelle Nichols and Basil Katz
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as its head following charges against him of sexual assault and attempted rape.
"I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," Strauss-Kahn said in his letter of resignation, which was released by the IMF and dated May 18.
"I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence."
He will on Thursday for a second time request release on $1 million (618 thousand pounds) cash bail and placement under 24-hour house arrest while he awaits trial on charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid, his lawyers said. He is being held in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail. "Yes there will definitely be a bail hearing tomorrow," Manhattan District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Erin Duggan told Reuters on Wednesday.
Strauss-Kahn's arrest has dashed his prospects to run for the French presidency in 2012 and raised broader issues over the future of the International Monetary Fund.
Developing countries are questioning Europe's hold on the top IMF position, and jockeying to replace him has already begun.
TIMELINE EMERGES
New details emerged on Wednesday about the sequence of events surrounding the alleged sexual attack on the maid. Strauss-Kahn left the Sofitel near Times Square in Manhattan around 12:30 p.m. (5 p.m. British time) on Saturday and roughly an hour later, hotel security called police to report an alleged sexual assault, a law enforcement source said.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Europe would naturally put forward a candidate to replace Strauss-Kahn if he were to step down.
