Is Bill Cosby in legal jeopardy after sedative admission?
While Bill Cosby admitted under oath in 2005 to obtaining sedative drug Quaaludes with the intent of using them on women he wanted to have sex with, and that he gave them to one woman and "other people," it may only put the comedian in "some" legal jeopardy, according to CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman.
"We do know at least that the defamation lawsuits are still pending in Massachusetts. It could be introduced as an admission. But, we don't know, and there's no way to find out, as to what Quaaludes he bought and who he used them with, and are these three specific women 'victims' of those Quaaludes?" Klieman said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."
During a deposition in a 2005 sexual assault lawsuit filed by former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, Cosby, who said he got seven Quaalude prescriptions in the '70s, didn't say whether he used them on other women in the '90s, Klieman pointed out.
"One of the things that his lawyers did in the deposition, which is not receiving a lot of news coverage, is that they stopped the deposition and that Bill Cosby says he misunderstood the question," Klieman said. "Yes, he used the Quaaludes, but with one woman. But again, there was a time in recreational drug use when people used Quaaludes consensually for sex."
More than two dozen women have accused the 77-year-old actor of sexual misconduct, including former supermodel Janice Dickinson, actress Beverly Johnson and Joan Tarshis.
- Bill Cosby's accusers -- A timeline of alleged sexual assault claims
- Bill Cosby addresses allegations: "I've never seen anything like this"
In the court of public opinion, Klieman said this admission is "the most damning evidence of all."
"We have many people ... women and people close to Bill Cosby, relatives and cast mates, who have said that he did not do this deed. And if you wanted to believe that he was America's dad, then you've wanted to believe he didn't do it. This admission is dynamite against him," Klieman said.