Cosby not expected to testify at trial
Comedian says charges ‘piling on’
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby said he doesn’t expect to testify at his sexual assault trial and suggested that racism “could be” behind the scores of accusations against him.
Cosby also said he thinks the approximately 60 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct came forward only after earlier allegations raised a decade ago died down.
“The piling on, so to speak, is a way and certainly an impressive way to get public opinion to come to the other side,” Cosby said.
The comedian spoke to SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish in a 33-minute segment broadcast Tuesday, less than a week before jury selection gets underway. Smerconish said on his Facebook page that he agreed to air audio from the Cosby family “only if I could interview Bill Cosby.” The program included about four minutes of recorded excerpts from statements two of his daughters made and an interview one daughter conducted with him.
Cosby, who turns 80 in July, said his lawyers won’t let him discuss the criminal case. However, he said he has “never, never” lost the support of his wife, Camille. They have been married for over 50 years.
Daughter Ensa Cosby said she believes “racism has played a role” in the accusations against her father. Asked to respond, Bill Cosby said, “It could be.”
Another daughter, Erinn, said her father has been condemned “unjustly and cruelly” in the court of public opinion.
“Like the cruel history of our people, the legal system and the protections of the law do not seem to exist for him today,” Erinn Cosby said.
Bill Cosby described his health as generally good but said glaucoma has left him legally blind. He said he did not do the interview to try to influence jurors. “You can’t aim at jurors,” he said.
The jury will be chosen starting Monday in Pittsburgh, then sequestered about 300 miles away for the trial in suburban Philadelphia. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, then a Temple University employee, in 2004 at his home. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.