Bill Cosby after a judge ruled the criminal case against him would proceed in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Dozens of women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, but Andrea Constand is the only one to get the comedian criminally charged. Cosby faces three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and assaulting the former Temple University basketball employee in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The case was launched by Montgomery County Prosecutor Kevin Steele after Cosby's deposition in a 2005 civil action brought by Constand was unsealed this past summer. The original, decade-old suit concluded with an out-of-court settlement and confidentiality agreement, which Cosby's lawyers tried to argue precluded any criminal prosecution. But Steele, who made a campaign issue of Cosby's alleged crimes last fall, was determined to go forward, and a judge sided with the prosecutor early this month.
But even as Cosby's lawyers were petitioning to have the case thrown out, they filed a lawsuit alleging Constand violated the terms of the 2006 deal. The comedian's attorneys argue the woman and her mother breached the settlement by voluntarily cooperating in the criminal investigation; they're also going after Constand's lawyers for playing ball "despite being under no legal obligations to furnish her files voluntarily to the District Attorney," as well as National Enquirer parent company American Media over the outlet's stories about the allegations.
Cosby's suit is ostensibly about recouping the initial payout. But with assets totaling approximately $350 million, it's money the man clearly doesn't need. Alongside the defamation of character suits he filed against several of his other accusers last year—Cosby's wife Camille was slated for a deposition in one of those cases Monday—this latest legal broadside is best understood as part of a multi-pronged offensive designed to quietly achieve what society did for decades: keep Cosby's accusers silent.
We asked seasoned New York criminal defense attorney Isabelle Kirshner for her take on the former icon's aggressive legal strategy so far.
VICE: How does this kind of confidentiality agreement that Cosby's lawyer say blocked prosecution even get set up in the first place?
Isabelle Kirshner: It's not an enforceable thing to say that, "I won't bring criminal charges against you." That is against public policy. So if a prosecutor reaches out to you but says, "I know that you signed the agreement but I want to talk to you or I'm gonna subpoena or I want you to cooperate with law enforcement," again, this is all part of an overall strategy for him to discourage people from coming forward and continuing to talk to the press. He's able to afford to undertake this strategy when most people can't.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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