Bill Cosby explains why he doesn't plan to testify in sex assault trial
Bill Cosby (Randy Miramontez/Shutterstock)
Bill Cosby says he doesn’t plan to testify in his upcoming sexual assault trial because he doesn’t want to open “a can of something that my lawyers are scrambling.”
Cosby, 79, gave a sometimes rambling interview to SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish in advance of jury selection on Monday in his trial for the alleged sexual assault of a former Temple University employee, report the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN.
Cosby told Smerconish his lawyers had limited what he could say. When asked if he wanted to testify in the Pennsylvania trial, Cosby said, “No.”
“Once again, I go back to my lawyers,” the comedian and actor said. “When you have to deal with examination, cross-examination, et cetera, et cetera—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—objection; sustained.
“But I just don’t want to sit there and have to figure out what I believe is a truthful answer to whether or not I’m opening a can of something that my lawyers are scrambling.”
Smerconish also asked Cosby about his daughter Erinn’s assertion that racism played a role in the scandal. Cosby said it “could be” racism and could be partly revenge.
“When you look at the power structure and when you look at individuals, there are some people who can very well be motivated by whether or not they’re going to work or whether or not they might be able to get back at someone,” he said.
