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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Bill Cosby Charged with Assault; Floods in Missouri. Aired 12- 12:30p ET

Aired December 30, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: News happening today. LEGAL VIEW starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody, I'm Randi Kaye, in today for Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

First we start with live pictures of the widespread flooding in Missouri. We've seen homes and businesses under water, people rescued from their cars and their homes. This is the area of Valley Park, Missouri. The rivers are several feet over flood stage at this point, and the rivers still have not crested. That won't happen until tomorrow night. Several feet over flood stage already.

This house in the St. Louis area floated completely off its foundation. And there it is right there. And it started moving as the floodwaters suddenly engulfed it. Just look at that mess there in that floodwater. And so far as we can tell, nobody is inside that home. Hopefully they were heeding those evacuation orders.

And this man and his dog made it to the roof of their home. You see that pup right there. Just in time for rescuers in a boat to grab them and take them to safety. A very patient homeowner and a very patient puppy. It is just one of hundreds of rescue operations going on right now across that flooded Midwest. There he goes. Get that guy in the boat. And there he is. There he goes. Nice - nice rescue there for those two folks.

And we'll continue to watch these live pictures throughout the hour there on LEGAL VIEW.

Our breaking news is by far the most serious legal bombshell to date in the sexual assault scandal engulfing Bill Cosby. As you may have seen live right here on CNN, a Pennsylvania prosecutor today announced charges of aggravated indecent assault. That is a second-degree felony for which Cosby is due to be arraigned in person before a judge later this afternoon.

These are the first criminal charges to come from the many dozens of claims that the formerly beloved entertainer befriended, drugged, and abused young female acquaintances over a period of more than 40 years. Those are their pictures right there. Some of these alleged victims have brought civil suits and some have now been counter sued by Cosby himself. The alleged victim in the criminal case, Andrea Constand, was the first to accuse Cosby publically. Constand sued in 2005 when the D.A. at the time declined to press charges.

My CNN colleague, Deborah Feyerick, my colleague, joining me now from New York with much more on this.

So what do these charges mean, Deb, and why are they coming now?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the charges basically mean that after all the civil suits have been settled, after all the allegations, these really are the first charges, criminal charges, against Bill Cosby. So he's going to have to stand in a court of law and answer whether he is guilty or not guilty. He is going to be arraigned today at about 4:00.

But this is the actual criminal complaint that they released this morning. It's made out to William Henry Cosby as the defendant. And he's essentially going to have to answer to some of the charges against him, aggravated indecent assault, which is a felony in the second degree. Here is what the new district attorney, Kevin Steele, had to say earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STEELE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Mr. Cosby made two sexual advances at her that were rejected. On the evening in question, Mr. Cosby urged her to take pills that he provided to her. And to drink wine. The effect of which rendered her unable to move and respond to his advances, and he committed aggravated indecent assault upon her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And Andrea Constand had initially made the allegations back in 2004. They were dismissed by the then district attorney. But the reason that this is all happening, first of all, there's a 12-year statute of limitations that's about to run out, but more importantly, legal documents were unsealed in July. And in those documents, there was reference to depositions that were made as part of a civil suit while a judge unsealed those depositions and effectively we here at CNN, through Jean Casarez, were able to obtain the depositions in which Cosby talks about his relationships with various women, including giving them Quaaludes, he said at their own - at their own request.

Bill Cosby, we should make note, has consistently denied all of these charges against him. We have reached out to his lawyer who has not returned our calls just yet. But we do know that Andrea Constand felt very strongly about the allegations, the charges she made against Bill Cosby, and she and her team very grateful that now these criminal charges have been brought, Randi.

KAYE: Absolutely. So what - you mentioned this 4:00 p.m. arraignment. What is going to happen this afternoon? I mean is this a scene where we're going to actually see Bill Cosby brought into the courtroom in handcuffs or what might we see?

FEYERICK: Well, he will appear. It's unclear whether he's been arrested. The D.A. made no mention of that. So my sense, given the way these matters usually work, is that he will be allowed to enter the courtroom on his own recognizance, not in handcuffs. But, again, the D.A. has not mentioned how this will happen.

[12:05:05] The lawyers seem to be cooperating with the district attorney. And again, it's just the fact that the district attorney looked at all of the evidence that came out during these civil cases, they re-interviewed a number of the witnesses and the victims, including Andrea Constand, and they really felt that it was time that these criminal charges be brought against the comedian.

KAYE: All right, Deb Feyerick, thanks very much. Appreciate that.

Meanwhile, we do have a statement from Andrea Constand's legal team. It reads, "we wish to express our appreciation to the Montgomery County District's Attorney's Office, the county detectives and the Cheltenham Police Department for the consideration and courtesy they have shown Andrea during this difficult time. We have the utmost confidence in Mr. Steele, Ms. Feden and their team, who have impressed us with their professionalism."

Joining me now over the telephone, one of Bill Cosby's accusers, Kaya Thompson, also one of the extras on "The Cosby Show."

Kaya, first, your reaction to the charges brought against Bill Cosby just about an hour or so ago?

KAYA THOMPSON, BILL COSBY ACCUSER (via telephone): Well, I was on the phone with another survivor, and - shocked. And glee - combined.

KAYE: Tell me a little bit about - about your case with Mr. Cosby. You came to know Bill Cosby as an extra on "The Cosby Show." From what I understand, you claim you were 17 or - when he took you under his wing and acted as - as a (INAUDIBLE) to you.

THOMPSON: I was an extra because of meeting him through an agency in Manhattan. And, yes, I was 17 years of age when I took the train up to Manhattan to seek agencies. I was modeling in the D.C. metropolitan area. And was signed on the spot by (INAUDIBLE). And within I'd say half an hour, maximum an hour, I was sent to his studios in Queens, across (INAUDIBLE) studios, where he phoned my mother at work, director of maternal child health unit, Judith Thompson, in Maryland, and convinced my parents to let me move up there. Previously they weren't going to.

KAYE: And your story is a bit unique because many of the women involved in these - in these allegations allege that he drugged them, but you don't allege that he drugged you. You allege that he manipulated you. How did he do that?

THOMPSON: He got super creepy. I don't - no other way to say it. My intuition said something was wrong. And then he started telling me there was a dinner that we had to have and that - I - I noticed at 17, after this dinner, I must spend the night at his house afterwards. And that was noted by me. And I tried to avoid him. But eventually was at his (INAUDIBLE). He's quite powerful, he was. KAYE: I'm assuming that you will pay close attention to this

arraignment this afternoon. What do you want to see happen to Bill Cosby? I mean do you want jail time for him? Do you want to hear an apology? What do you want?

THOMPSON: Honesty would be a start. The rest is really up to, you know, God, but, you know, I'm - I am shocked this day has come, and yet I think we all have to answer in the end to our actions. So why not do it sooner. But I'm not - I'm not the person upstairs. I'd just like to say that I'd like him to be honest.

KAYE: All right. Kaya Thompson, one of the many accusers on the Bill Cosby case. Thank you very much for your time. And I do want to point out, once again, that Bill Cosby has always denied these allegations and these charges against him.

Let's hash this all out with my legal panel. Danny Cevallos and Joey Jackson are defense attorneys and CNN legal analysts, Bakari Sellers is a lawyer, CNN contributor and former South Carolina lawmaker.

Danny, to you first. It seems that these charges date back to this new information from this deposition that was made public in July this year in the case of Andrea Constand. The D.A. today even saying that the Quaaludes and the pills, that Cosby admits that he provided, was this significant factor in these charges. Also the wine he mentioned, of course. But mainly really the victim saying in one form or another that she felt frozen or she felt paralyze and unable to move, which really would have made her unable to give consent, right? I mean how significant is that?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's very significant and you need look no farther than the statute itself. The statute for aggravated indecent assault requires only penetration, digital penetration, using the hand will suffice. It does not require actual sexual intercourse. Another part of the statute, one of the subsections, is, if that penetration happens while, and then there's a list, one of those is when the victim is substantially impaired by either drugs or some other substance. So, I can only surmise that once the prosecution or the prosecutor's office had gotten wind that Cosby was essentially or allegedly admitting to using drugs during the sexual process or whatever Cosby described it as, they must have felt that that admission bolstered their case against him, their case in chief against him. That, I believe, is what we may see going forward.

[12:10:25] KAYE: And, Joey, I guess the big question is, how does Mr. Cosby defend himself when he's admitted to having these extramarital affairs and to buying of Quaaludes for the purpose of having sex with young women, all of this, Joey, in a deposition that he probably thought would never be unsealed. And let me read one exact quote from the deposition about the Quaaludes. Cosby is asked, 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 his response is simply, yes. So what do you make of that?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Sure. You know, Randi, it's compelling. It certainly is. Good afternoon to you. But I think what's going to happen is, every case turns upon, obviously, the fact and circumstances that are present with that case. Now we can speak to other issues of other extramarital affairs that he may have had, other accusations against him. I think what his attorneys are going to do, Randi, is they are going to really move to preclude a lot of that.

What does that mean? Not allow an impaneled jury to hear that. Why? Because every case is not about what you did yesterday, last week or the week before. It's what you did in this particular case. And if the jury gets the sense that you have a propensity to commit something, it would be inadmissible. So defense attorneys are going to say that inasmuch as any extramarital issues or any other victims establishes a propensity for Mr. Cosby to have committed this offense, it should not be permitted. However, the prosecution is going to say, no, this goes to motive, it goes to intent, it goes to a common plan or scheme and it will be up to the judge to say, and it's in the judge's discretion to allow a - to allow the defendant to have a fair trial, whether those things are admissible or whether they're not admissible.

But what this case will turn on is the actual proof that's present here. A lot of it will come down to the credibility of the actual accused. I would suspect that his attorneys are going to be looking to really, you know, attack her credibility, what she knew, what she said, when she knew it, who she said it to, any inconsistencies that she might have been given. But the depositions in terms of his admissions, if he testifies, that's going to be very problematic, Randi, for the defense, Mr. Cosby, to overcome.

KAYE: And, Bakari, would you say Cosby has already lost this case and really and many others in the court of public opinion at this point?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Mr. Cosby held himself out to be a social critic. In fact, when they were dating back to this deposition that was being released, the judge actually identified the pound cake speech in which Mr. Cosby gave the speech where he chastised, demonize and shamed many low-income African-Americans in a speech that was fraught with hypocrisy and many statistical inaccuracies. But he held himself out to be tis luminary and this social critic. Now we see that at best Mr. Cosby is a creep, and at worst he's a rapist. So, yes, in the court of civil opinion and public opinion, he's also suffered some great damage. But about his - his particular trial, it's going to be very difficult to convict Mr. Cosby in Philadelphia.

KAYE: Danny, Andrea Constand and Bill Cosby, they settled the civil suit that she brought against him years ago, but he can still be charged criminally. How does that work?

CEVALLOS: Not only can he be charged criminally, but there's a strong argument that but for that civil case, the prosecutor may not have a case today in 2015 because the prosecution may be relying in part on statements Cosby gave in a civil case. And just because a defendant settles a civil case with an accuser or a plaintiff does not bind in any way the government or a prosecutor's office from bringing charges so long as those charges are brought within the applicable statute of limitations. And it's important to know that in a case like this, it's very difficult, you won't have physical evidence like a rape kit or something like that, but make no mistake about it, under this statute, the victim or complainant's uncorroborated testimony is enough to sustain a conviction for aggravated indecent assault.

KAYE: Fascinating. We'll talk more about this, of course. Danny Cevallos, Joey Jackson, Bakari Sellers, thank you all.

JACKSON: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: And we will have much more on this developing story throughout the hour. Plus, 17 million people in 13 states affected by historic flooding. Homes, businesses, schools, all of it washed away. This picture is from Missouri, one of the states that is hardest hit. We'll take you there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:01] KAYE: It is this hour's other breaking news today, an enormous swath of the United States, the entire Midwest is either waterlogged or under water right now. Days and days of non-stop rain blasted rivers out of their banks, including stretches of the Mississippi. This is Valley Park, Missouri, just out St. Louis. The water still rising and will continuing to rise all day today, even if it doesn't rain another drop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: Now that the rain has moved out, the threat has changed, but it is not by any means over, especially for communities along the rising Mississippi River and its tributaries here in the St. Louis region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: This is just the parts of Missouri that are in flood trouble today. Take a look there. But much of Illinois and east Tennessee, Kansas and Arkansas, 13 states in all, rivers are swelling, emergency crews are shutting down interstates, and right now 17 million people are living in danger of those floodwaters.

CNN's Alina Machado is in Pacific, Missouri, on the banks of the Meramec River.

Alina, where is the water right now and how many people and homes are in danger?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, we know that hundreds of people, not only here in Pacific, but throughout the state of Missouri have had to evacuate, they've had to leave everything they own behind because of these rising floodwaters. Here in Pacific, officials tell us, that some at least 400 businesses and homes have already been flooded, and authorities will get a better sense of the extent of this damage once these waters start receding.

But I want to show you what we're looking at right now. These are businesses and homes, dozens of them, surrounded by several feet of water. What you're looking at is the Meramec River. It has overflowed its banks. And it is coming right into town. The water is slowly creeping higher. And this river is not expected to crest until tomorrow. The flood stage here is 15 feet, and it's been above that since Sunday. It is expected to surpass 35 feet before cresting. That would break a record that's been in place here since 1982, Randi.

[12:20:14] KAYE: And what are the residents being told to do by the emergency officials? Is there anywhere for people to go there?

MACHADO: Well, we know that there is a shelter in this county, in Franklin County, and we also know that there's people from Pacific, as well as from neighboring counties who have sought shelter there. The big message to residents in this area and throughout Missouri is simple. If you see a road like this, a road that's covered in water, they're asking you not to drive through it. It sounds like common sense, but we've had people who have done that and they've had to get rescued by officials. And that's the last thing authorities want to do right now, Randi.

KAYE: I'm sure. Alina Machado, thanks very much. Appreciate the update from there.

On the phone with me now, Richard Knaup, the director of emergency management for Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, on the banks of that Mississippi River.

Mr. Knaup, thank you so much for taking some time to chat with me.

We're seeing water there at rooftop level. Some homes in your county really just washing away. How many people have you moved out, where are they going and what is your biggest concern right now?

RICHARD KNAUP, CAPE GIRARDEAU CO. EMERGENCY MGMT. DIR. (via telephone): Of course the biggest concern is the rising Mississippi River. We had a rise overnight of three foot, and we're expecting it to keep rising that rapidly. We're looking at a crest on January the 2nd, that's Saturday, of 48.5 feet. That will tie the all-time record high for the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

We've got a lot of volunteer evacuees that are staying with family and friends. We do have a regional Red Cross shelter set up that will service Cape Girardeau County, plus southern Illinois. We're on the border with southern Illinois, and we will get several displaced individuals from over there.

KAYE: You know, communication is so key in a situation like this, yet so difficult at the same time. How are you getting word to people and advising them to get out and where to go?

KNAUP: Well, of course, we have the public media like you all, and we have social media that is being coordinated through a joint public information officer - center that we get out. There's other - you can dial 211 and they can route you to where you need to be. They can call their local police agencies, fire departments, ambulance services, and they'll route you to the right authority.

KAYE: All right. Richard Knaup, fighting a good fight there on the banks of the Mississippi River. Thank you so much, and good luck to you there

KNAUP: Thank you.

KAYE: Bill Cosby charged with indecent assault, how will he respond to these charges, and will this case affect any of the others pending legal actions against him. Attorney Gloria Allred represents 29 Cosby accuser, and she'll join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:26:47] KAYE: There is no comment yet from Bill Cosby on the felony charges he now faces in Pennsylvania, but the entertainer has spoken, sort of, in various settings about various accusations that have trashed his reputation. I took a look at his responses over the years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL COSBY, ACTOR: You wear funeral clothing.

KAYE (voice-over): Once America's favorite dad, now the king of no comment, Bill Cosby has yet to directly answer a question about the allegations of sexual assault leveled against him.

COSBY: Go here -

KAYE: Listen to this response to ABC in May.

COSBY: It's interesting. This is a situation that's unprecedented. My family, my - my friends, I have been in this business 52 years, and I will - I've never seen anything like this. And reality is the situation, and I - I can't speak.

KAYE (on camera): Reality is the situation. What he meant by that answer is still unclear, but at least he answered it, sort of. On National Public Radio last fall during an interview that was supposed to be about Cosby's artwork, questions about the allegations were met with silence.

SCOTT SIMON (voice-over): This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days. You're shaking your head no. I'm in the news business, I have to ask the question, do you - do you have any response to those charges? You're shaking your head no.

KAYE (voice-over): NPR host Scott Simon shared some more color about Cosby's reaction with CNN.

SIMON: We gave what I refer to as that delightful impish kind of little Cosby smile at first, and - and then was silent. Didn't answer the question.

KAYE: When an Associated Press reporter asked Cosby last November if he wanted to comment on what his accusers have said, he got this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to ask about your name coming up in the news recently regarding this comedian. COSBY: No, no, we don't answer that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to respond at all about whether any of that was true.

COSBY: There's no response.

KAYE: And then Cosby took it one step further.

COSBY: Now, can I get something from you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that?

COSBY: That none of that will be shown?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I - I can't promise that myself, but you didn't say anything.

COSBY: And I would appreciate it if it was scuttled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear you. I - I will tell that to my editors, and - and - and I think that they will understand.

COSBY: Well, I think if you want to consider yourself to be serious -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.

COSBY: That it will not appear anywhere.

KAYE: Backstage, before one of his shows in Florida last November, Cosby wasn't up for talking much either. He told Florida today, "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact-check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:30:00] KAYE: Famed attorney Gloria Allred represents more than two dozen women who are accusing Bill Cosby of molesting them and she joins me now from Los Angeles.

Gloria, nice to see you, as always.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Thank you.

KAYE: Have you had a chance to speak with any of your clients? And, if so, how have they reacted to this?

ALLRED: No, I