Bill Cosby’s legal team has filed for court sanctions against Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee who accused him of sexual assault in a 2005 lawsuit. Details of his deposition in that case—in which he described his philandering and use of Quaalude tranquilizers—were released to several media outlets this month.
The New York Times says (paywall) it obtained the deposition not from Constand, but from from the court reporting service that transcribed it in 2005. The Associated Press, which wrote about a legal memorandum describing sections of the deposition, went to court to compel its release.
Cosby’s team also launched a new PR offensive today, with his lawyer, Monique Pressley, appearing in an interview (video) with Good Morning America. Cosby’s statements in the deposition have been taken out of context, Pressley, said. “If anyone is being defamed right now—through media, through celebrity onlookers, through others—it’s Mr. Cosby … The sheer volume, or number of people who are saying a particular thing does not make it true.”
Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, with many alleging that he drugged them beforehand. He has denied all claims and has not been charged with any crime.
Cosby’s lawyers also made a legal filing this week saying that Cosby had been smeared by the media over his Quaalude use, which he says was consensual. Many people “introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s,” the filing states. “Quaaludes were a highly popular recreational drug in the 1970s, labeled in slang as ‘disco biscuits,’ and known for their capacity to increase sexual arousal.”