Bill Cosby's lawyers say charges are politically motivated


A day after he was charged with sexual assault, Bill Cosby's lawyers launched a campaign on Thursday to discredit the case against him as false and politically motivated.

The charges "fulfill a campaign promise" that prosecutor Kevin Steele made this fall while running to be Montgomery County district attorney, Cosby's spokeswoman, Monique Pressley, alleged. 

The claim was part of the message Pressley delivered during a round of interviews on TV morning shows, decrying the prosecution of the 78-year-old actor and comedian as unsubstantiated and foreshadowing possible defense arguments in court.

It also marked one of few occasions in which Cosby's team publicly went on the offensive to counter a specific claim.

Through his lawyers, Cosby has repeatedly denied assaulting any women. But the denials typically have come in terse statements and legal filings.

Pressley's appearances followed Cosby's arraignment last Wednesday on allegations that he drugged and assaulted former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004. 

If convicted of the felony charge of aggravated indecent assault he could face five to 10 years in prison.

Constand, one of Cosby's earliest accusers, first reported the allegation to police in 2005.

Bruce L. Castor Jr., then the Montgomery County district attorney, examined the claim but declined to arrest Cosby, citing insufficient evidence to support any charge.

But his successor, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, and Steele, her first assistant, reopened the investigation after the release of a potentially incriminating 2005 civil deposition from Cosby and after dozens of other women came forward with similar accusations of sexual misconduct by him.

Then Cosby's potential prosecution or lack thereof unexpectedly erupted this fall as a central issue in the race for district attorney between Steele and Castor.

Steele did not discuss the case on the campaign trail. But he ran TV ads citing the Cosby case, attacking Castor for "not looking out for the victims," and promising to work for justice.

SOURCE: Blackworld