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Cosby Deposition Bombshell; F-16 and Cessna Accident. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired July 7, 2015 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[14:00:02] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Great to be with you.

We begin with the Bill Cosby bombshell, the first piece of evidence against him coming not from all the women accusing him of sexual assault, rather the words from the comedy legend himself. Here's the deal. The Associated Press obtained deposition documents, this goes back to 2005, this lawsuit in which this woman, Andrea Constand, was suing Cosby. During the deposition 10 years ago, Cosby admitted he obtained seven prescriptions of Quaaludes for the purpose of drugging women he wanted to have sex with. This admission caps (ph) this storm of controversy that began when comedian Hannibal Buress targeted Cosby last October referring to multiple scandals Cosby faced over decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNIBAL BURESS, COMEDIAN: Dude's image for the most part it's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) public Teflon image. I've done this bit on stage and people don't believe me. People think I'm making it up. I'm like, "Bill Cosby has a lot of rape allegations. No, you the devil!"

When you leave here, google "Bill Cosby rape." That's not funny. That (EXPLETIVE DELETED) has more results than "Hannibal Buress."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, in the past year, more than 25 women have come forward alleging Cosby drugged them, violated them over the course of the past four decades. Barbara Bowman is one of them. She said when she tried to seek legal action back in the late '80s, she only faced the doubters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BOWMAN, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: I told my agent one time. She did not believe me. I - a friend of mine in '89 took me to an attorney. He laughed me out of the office. At that point, nobody would believe me. It was - he was Dr. Huxtable. He was America's dad. Everybody loved him. I loved him. I wanted him to be my dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now with this news of this unsealed deposition, Bowman and others say they feel vindicated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTINA RUEHIL, COSBY ACCUSER: So I am relieved that this may be the punch to the gut of this liar. That may choke up other things to validate, to vindicate the stories of their actually - if you're keeping a list -- more than four dozen of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, I want to kick off our coverage here with Sara Ganim, who's been working this for us today.

And I think it's really important to be precise in the language from the deposition. I want you to explain to me exactly what Bill Cosby admitted to and then what he didn't when his lawyer jumped in.

SARA GANIM, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Right. So this is really important. I want to run some of these Q&As by you.

BALDWIN: OK.

GANIM: Remember, this is a deposition, so a lawyer is asking him questions. Here's one of the interesting ones. The lawyer asks him, quote, "when you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" And Cosby responds, "yes."

Another question, "you gave them to other people?" Cosby again responds, "yes." Question, later on he's asked, and this is important in the context of the allegations of rape, "did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?" Now here, Brooke, the lawyer jumps in, interrupts, objects. They never get an answer. They fight back and forth about this, will not let him answer this question.

But later on he is also asked questions about the women that he gave Quaaludes to. And he recalls a meeting with a woman in Las Vegas. I want to read this one for you. He says he meets this woman in Las Vegas. Quote, "she meets me backstage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex."

Now, Brooke, I think it's fascinating and important to put this into context. You know, a lot of these women who have made allegations against him, it's not just allegations of sexual assault. They've said, many of them from the beginning, they believed they were drugged. They remember Cosby giving them a drink, fixing them a drink, handing it to them. They took a few sips and then they felt incapacitated. So in light of that and the consistency of that, this is really important. It's also the first time we're hearing his side of the story at all in any kind of light.

BALDWIN: That's right.

GANIM: He's said nothing for many, many years or denied everything. This is his first admission of anything. Now just one quick thing, his lawyer said he's not commenting today.

BALDWIN: Right. You know, it's also huge because, listen, this was the Associated Press. They wanted these, you know, documents unsealed. The judge finally said yes and he did much more than that. Can you just briefly explain to me why the judge finally relented?

GANIM: Right. So the judge wrote this memorandum, why he decided after 10 years to bring this out into the public.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GANIM: And it has to do with Cosby's moral high ground, essentially, that he's taken, his public persona. The judge wrote this. He said, quote, "the defendant has donned the mantel of public moralist and mounted the preverbal soap box to volunteer his views on a variety of things, child bearing, family life, education, crime." We've seen him give speeches on this, notably a big speech in 2004 that made a lot of headlines.

BALDWIN: The pound cake speech.

GANIM: Made a ton of headlines. We were all talking about it, right? That's the reason. You know, he's been publicly denying it, publicly going after these women saying that they're liars and so the judge felt apparently that this side of it should also come out.

[14:05:13] Now, the flip of that, too, Brooke, is that that's the only way that many of these women might ever see any kind of justice in the court of law because in most of these cases -

BALDWIN: The statute of limitations.

GANIM: The statute has run out.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GANIM: Except they're being creative. Their lawyers are now going after him in defamation lawsuits because they can't go after him civilly for sexual assault.

BALDWIN: I want to get to that coming up with Danny Cevallos.

But Sara Ganim, thank you so much.

And, by the way, we're going to talk much more about that pound cake speech at this huge NAACP event at the anniversary of Brown versus Board. This was a big deal some years ago and we're going to revisit it in its significance coming up.

But one alleged victim here, this former Playboy bunny, Patti Masten, telling CNN's Anderson Cooper how it felt to hear these new admissions from Cosby and her own story of what she calls brutal rape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTI MASTEN, SAYS SHE WAS RAPED BY BILL COSBY: Complete validation across the board for - from all of us, complete validation.

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "AC 360": To you it tells the story of what happened to lots of women?

MASTEN: Absolutely. To me and many of us. My FaceBook has been lighting up all afternoon. I was a Playboy bunny in Gray Gorge (ph) and Bill Cosby was on the Playboy circuit, so he performed in all of the clubs. So I knew him for five years even before this situation happened.

I was in Chicago as the bunny director, bunny mother, they called it. He asked me if I wanted to have dinner the next night. And I said, sure. So he called me that afternoon and said, well, meet me at the Wyatt (ph) Hall Hotel. So I didn't think anything of it. He was in town for a - he was doing a comedy show. He was doing interviews. So I met him at the Wyatt Hall. I called from downstairs. He said, well, come up to this particular suite.

When I went up to the room, there were four other men in the room and they were playing cards and smoking cigars and watching sports and Cosby asked me if I wanted to have a drink. And it was 7:30 in the evening. I wasn't much of a drinker. And I said, well, I'll have a little grand marnier (ph). Now, that's an after dinner drink, so you can tell what kind of a novice I was. And he sent a bellman out to get the bottle. Brought the bottle back up and he fixed the drink behind me. I took two sips and that's the last thing I remember until -

COOPER: Really?

MASTEN: Two sips. At 4:00 in the morning, I woke up in bed, naked, bruised and battered. And I looked over and he was there naked. And I slivered out of the bed because I didn't - didn't want to wake him and I gathered my clothes. And I got dressed and I went downstairs and I got a cab, went to my apartment, took a shower. I had to go back to work at Playboy. I had to get the girls on the floor. And I went back to work and -

COOPER: Do you have a memory of what happened between that drink and -

MASTEN: Oh, I - I don't have any memory at all of what happened but I knew - I knew that I was brutally raped. I knew it.

COOPER: And you - he reached out to you the next day, I understand?

MASTEN: Yes. And he said, why did you leave so early? And I was so startled by that conversation. I said, I had to go back to work. So he says, well, I'm sending you a gift. And about four hours later, a 4 foot ficus tree shows d up in my office and a note on there and it said, you have to groom this tree like you do our friendship. Make sure you cut the leaves and prune it and this whole big dissertation about how to take care of this plant.

And naturally I threw it out. And he kept calling and calling. And I guess he finally got the message that I wasn't going to see him again and then he kept calling and asking for different bunnies. Can I have Bunny Michelle, can I have bunny this, bunny that. And I kept writing them notes down and throwing them out. I refused to give them to my girls.

COOPER: And you - what made you finally come forward?

MASTEN: What made me finally come forward was when I heard it was a 15-year-old that he - that he raped - drugged and raped. And a 15- year-old, Anderson, is a child. That is an innocent child. And for this monster to rape a 15-year-old child and at Playboy mansion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is one story of several.

Let me bring in a woman who used to be in a relationship with Bill Cosby, also accuses him of drugging her, violating her. She is Beth Ferrier. She says when she opened up about these allegations, she lost everything. Talks about the backlash she faced with her work, with her family. Also with me is her attorney, Gloria Allred, who represents 14 Cosby accusers, and Danny Cevallos, legal analyst joining me here as well.

So welcome to all of you.

And, Beth, if I may, just to you first. You know, hearing these different women, I'm hearing words like relief and vindication from - from other accusers. What was your reaction when you heard about this deposition being unsealed?

[14:10:00] BETH FERRIER, COSBY ACCUSER: Well, actually, I am so thankful that we finally have our day. It's our judgment day. It's independence day. I felt and have felt that we are going to have that opportunity to, in fact - that the truth would come out and that Crosby - it was this unsealing of these documents that was key. That's where we needed - that information where he mentions my name even in the deposition, with Beth Ferrier, and he's not - my story to come forward, it's what I've been wanting since December of coming forward with Gloria, that was so important for us. So -

BALDWIN: Let me stay with you, Beth, because your story, I think what separates you a little bit from some of the others is that you do say that for a period of time you did have a consensual relationship with him. But in the very beginning, when you met him, what was it, back in the mid-1980s in his dressing room. Tell me - tell me what happened.

FERRIER: I actually met him in 1984. Actually, in New York City at his brownstone with my then at that time my booker and another - another model. We had come to New York to actually promote Colorado and the talent that we had. And then from there, from that meeting, then it was - you know, we got to have the grand tour of the - of his show and getting to see the filming of the show. And then from there, again, it just continued to evolve.

And once I met him, as I've stated, my life was pretty much over because he refused to let go of me. He stalked me. He just refused. Until 1986, when here in Denver he drugged me, left me in my car, following one of his shows. And I'm fully aware of that time that I was drugged and that I was raped, molested, maybe by - who knows - security guards who were there. Mr. Cosby himself.

But he, too, also - like P.J. mentions, he called me the very next day and my agent's the one, Joe Ferrel (ph), who was with JF Images (ph) here in Denver, who was our agent at the time, she's the one who actually called and said that Cosby forgave me. So - wow.

BALDWIN: Cosby forgave you? That's what you heard?

FERRIER: Yes, that's what I heard. And then I never had another booking from that agent ever again.

BALDWIN: Wow. Beth, let me come back to you.

But, Gloria, you know, you hear Beth's story, the other accusers' stories. We were talking a moment ago about the law and statute of limitations. You know, can any of these cases be used in current day against Bill Cosby whatsoever?

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING 14 COSBY ACCUSERS: Well, Brooke, first of all, let me say how proud I am of Beth and her courage in speaking out and also the many other accusers.

I do need to correct a bit what Sara said in her setup piece because I do have a case that is not a defamation case. I represent Judy Huth, who I think was the person that Patricia was alluding to and Ms. Huth alleges that she was 15 years old when she became the victim of sexual misconduct by Bill Cosby at the Playboy mansion.

Our case is currently before the California Supreme Court because Mr. Cosby is attempting to block the case. He's trying to get it dismissed. He was unsuccessful in doing that at the lower court, at the court of appeals in California. Now he's petitioned the California Supreme Court.

So we're hoping for a decision soon. We filed our opposition to his request yesterday. And we'd like to be able to proceed with our lawsuit because Ms. Huth would like to have her day in court. She's willing to testify before a judge and jury and take the oath and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But appears that Mr. Cosby is not willing to do that. He doesn't appear to have the confidence in the judge and jury that we do.

BALDWIN: OK. So, Gloria - so, Danny, Gloria cites one example of a case in California, but to you and I think Sara's point earlier was that just in general there are multiple defamation lawsuits. She was saying, listen, some of these attorneys are trying to get creative. My question to you and this is what a lot of people are wondering because, again, this deposition is saying he intended to give Quaaludes. Important on the language. Could he ever be arrested?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That is a difficult question. As a general rule, most of the criminal statutes of limitations have run. But in each state, that are exceptions, what we call tolling, which essentially it's the pause button on that statute of limitations. And that might be where a - where a classic example if someone's a minor child. Usually the clock does not start running until at least they reach maturity (ph). But this is a very broad statement about all of the 50 states and their different rules about statute of limitations. So as a general rule -- and Ms. Allred may disagree with me, most of the criminal liability, probably the time has run. But a creative prosecutor could probably apply a tolling statute and possibly find some way to charge Crosby with something.

[14:15:32] BALDWIN: OK. Gloria, do you want to weigh in? Do you agree with that? A possibility?

ALLRED: Yes, it depends - it depends on the facts, it depends on the law. We feel that because we are alleging child sexual abuse in the case of Miss Huth, that we are within the statute of limitation to file a civil case and to proceed with that case. The prosecutor in L.A. County, however, feels that it is too late to criminally prosecute Mr. Cosby for the allegations that Ms. Huth has made. That's not a decision on the merits of whether they believe her or not, but strictly on the time limits set by California law.

We've worked to change those time limits in Nevada. We were successful. And I was just with the governor recently in Nevada where he has - he has now extended the statute of limitations in Nevada as a result of the great work of my client Leslot Lublin (ph) and we testified before the legislature there. However, the bad news is, it doesn't cover the Bill Cosby alleged victims that have allegations before that.

BALDWIN: OK. Beth, I just want to end with you because you're listening in on this conversation and potential legal, you know, machinations. But bottom line, I mean if - if Bill Cosby, he may never be arrested, he may never face time, you know, for what you and so many other accusers say he did, but in the court of public opinion, many, many people have spoken. What, in your opinion, is justice to you in this situation and, b, what would you say to him?

FERRIER: Oh, my. What can a person say to Mr. Cosby? You are a monster. You are a vile, severely ill person who has gone and taken advantage of 49 of us and we ask - we want to come eye to eye with you, Mr. Cosby. We want our time in court. That will be our justice, because we're not going away. And we're each fighting to get our statute of limitations via our states that we live in, we want to make those changes. That's the justice, that's what we need to do, each of us individually, have to suffer through but not in silence anymore. That we're all - we all share the same identical story, the same piece that Mr. Cosby alleges that we are liars and drug addicts and alcoholics and whatnot. And it's high time that the world finally starts to look and see directly at Mr. Cosby and that he is the one at fault, not us.

BALDWIN: Beth Ferrier, thank you very much. Gloria Allred, Danny Cevallos, thank you all.

We're going to come back to this story in just a little bit.

CEVALLOS: Thank you.

ALLRED: Thank you. BALDWIN: But we need to pivot - thank you - because developing right now, a frightening situation in South Carolina. An F-16 fighter jet collides with a small plane midair. These pictures, the very first we're getting in here to CNN. We'll try to explain what happened there. A live report.

Also, more trouble for Donald Trump? The billionaire presidential candidate now feeling the pressure from PGA after his controversial remarks about Mexico. This as a new report puts a spotlight on the workers currently building a Trump luxury hotel blocks from the White House.

And he is the face of the franchise. Jared, the famous pitchman for Subway. His home has been raided by the FBI. What's that about?

I'm Brooke Baldwin. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:22] BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Emergency crews in South Carolina says an F-16 military jet collided with a Cessna midair this morning. This happened just north of Charleston. CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is following what's happening here.

What do you know? What happened?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this is a rare situation. I mean, an F-16 fighter jet colliding midair with this small Cessna. What we know from the FAA is this happened about 11 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina. An investigator close to this case is telling me that there is - it is very unlikely that anyone survived in that Cessna, but officials not saying that at their last briefing, but an official behind the scenes saying that it is virtually impossible that anyone could have survived this. We don't know how many people were on board that private plane. We do know, though, the pilot of the F-16 was able to safely eject, has been taken to the hospital. So that pilot survived.

The NTSB is now on its way to investigate this. Again, very rare that we're talking about an F-16 fighter jet colliding with this private plane. Investigators, when they get there, they're going to want to know and try to find out a few things. Number one, where these planes authorized to be flying where they were? Was air traffic control talking to them? Did the F-16 pilot get information about other traffic in the area? Those are all questions we don't have the answer to at this point. And it will be critical and crucial for investigators to get that, to understand exactly what happened because clearly this was a breakdown in the system here to have these two planes collide in midair, Brooke.

[14:25:05] BALDWIN: And the pieces of the planes, as we saw, right around those trailers. Frightening for anyone who would have been on the ground at that point in time. I know you're working your sources. Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Next, the hits keep coming for Donald Trump. PGA of America announcing

they're pulling the grand slam of golf from Donald Trump's course. What could be next? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Donald Trump just doesn't quit. It has been three weeks since he entered the race for the Republican nomination. Twenty-one days since he made the "they're rapist" comment, referring to migrants from Mexico. He's not backing down. If anything he is quintupling down because in a statement just yesterday he said this. Quote, "the Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, et cetera. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border."

[14:30:11] So now it's not just Mexican immigrants, it's the Mexican government.