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Bill Cosby Says He Won’t Testify at Upcoming Assault Trial

”I just truly believe that some of it may very well be [racism],“ comedian says in interview with SiriusXM host Michael Smerconish

| May 16, 2017 @ 7:58 AM
Bill Cosby

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Bill Cosby does not plan to testify at his upcoming criminal trial in Pennsylvania, the comedian said in a pre-taped interview that aired Tuesday on Michael Smerconish’s SiriusXM show.

The 79-year-old comedian faces three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in a trial scheduled to begin June 5 in Norristown, Penn., outside Philadelphia.

Constand is one of 60 women who have come forward in recent years to accuse the star of sexual assault and other improprieties.

Also Read: Bill Cosby's Children's Book on Most-Banned List of 2016

In the 30-minute interview, Smerconish attempted to get some details about the trial, but the comedian was mostly silent on the matter, deferring to his lawyers and saying he wasn’t at liberty to discuss them.

However, when Smerconish did ask him if he expected to testify, Cosby told him, “no I do not.”

When pressed further, Cosby said he would continue to defer to his lawyers.

“Once again, I go back to lawyers,” he said. “When you have to deal with examination, cross-examination, etcetera, etcetera more than two sides to every story, sometimes it’s four or five. And what people want to say and want you to say and how they maneuver, and, yes, I do have lawyers protect me… But I just don’t want to sit there and have to figure out what I believe is a truthful answer as to whether or not I’m opening a can of something that my lawyers are scrambling.”

Also Read: Bill Cosby Sex Assault Trial: Judge Allows Only 1 Other Accuser to Testify, Not 13

Smerconish said he was provided audio of a conversation between Cosby and his daughter Enda, in which she asked her father about his past but also asked him what he hoped to be remembered for. He said in response to that last question that he hoped he could get some of the things back that he had lost.

“Look, if people ask you what do you want to be remembered for, it’s never been something at the front of the lobe,” he told Smerconish. “I just think now in this time we are looking at law and not things with — I mean proof has to be brought to the front. Period. Within the parameters of whatever you guys — I understand you’re a lawyer — boy the education I’m getting is absolutely fantastic. The old saying ‘there are two sides to every story’ unravels when you’re dealing with lawyers.”

Enda also commented on how she thought racism may play a role in his prosecution.

Cosby echoed those statements.

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“Could be. Could be,” he told Smerconish. “There are certain things that I look at, and I apply to the situation, and…there are so many tentacles. So many different — nefarious is a great word. And I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that.”

Later in the interview, Cosby also lamented the sheer number of women who have come forward to level accusations against him.

“The piling on, so to speak, is a way, and certainly an impressive, impressive way, to get public opinion to come to the other side,” he said.

Listen to the full interview below.

Bill Cosby Scandal Timeline: From First Accusation to Jail Sentence (Photos)

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A chronology of controversies that have tarnished the legacy of a Hollywood icon

Bill Cosby, once one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, has dramatically fallen from grace since facing multiple accusations of sexual assault and misconduct -- leading to a criminal conviction in 2018 on three counts of aggravated sexual assault. Here's a look back at the scandal.

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