LAPD Reports Open Case on Bill Cosby
PAUL: The Los Angeles Police Department has said it has an open investigation concerning comedian and actor, Bill Cosby. The LAPD won't provide details because it concerns sexual allegations, obviously. But Cosby has denied all of those activations. Let's talk about this. Joining me from Los Angeles, defense attorney Tom Mesereau who represented the late Michael Jackson in his 2005 molestation trial, currently representing murder suspect and former rap mogul Shug Knight. So thank you so much for being with us, Mr. Mesereau. I wanted to ask you, the LAPD, what specifically are they going to be looking into when these allegations are coming to light? And how would you, if you were representing Mr. Cosby, how would you defend him at this point in the game?</s>TOM MESEREAU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, they are probably going to be approaching witness after witness. Reportedly and allegedly, a number of women claim that he either gave them a pill to take, the nature of which they didn't understand and that they suddenly woke up and they felt they had had been raped or molested in some way. They are going to be interviewing witness after witness. They are going to check the statutes to see if there is any way a case could be brought today. And they are going to particularly focus on this woman who claims she was underage at the Playboy Mansion when she was raped. If I were going to defend him, first of all, I would enter with the clean slate. I wouldn't believe what the media said. I wouldn't believe what the accuser said. I wouldn't believe what he or his lawyers or agent said. I would want to spend hours with him first of all to find out who had human being is. And I would not care if this person is a celebrity or not. I'd want to know who the person is, how were they raised, what ups and downs have they had. I would ask key questions to figure out how they perceive the world. I would then gradually get into the facts of the case. Second of all I would look at all the available evidence. I would want to see what's in the police reports, what's in witness statements, what's in transcripts. What has the media reported and what were their sources? And third of all I would want a thorough investigation of these accusers. I would want to know what kind of lives they've led. Have they made allegations like this before? I'd want a litigation check to see if they had been in lawsuits before. I would find out what kind of people they are, because it is a little strange everybody is coming together so late. What caused these delays? What is their agenda? Things like that.</s>PAUL: This report came out earlier this week when a judge released some sealed documents saying, what Cosby said that he had gotten some drugs to use with women. How does that play into this? And because he has come out in the public and called them liars and said that this didn't happen and called them names, is there a chance for the women then to sue him for libel?</s>MESEREAU: Well, I mean, first of all, some quotes were taken out of what I believe is a lengthy deposition. You want to see the entire deposition. Were these quotes taken out of context? Were there other statements that qualify or explain the quotes that have been reported? You can't just take a few things out of context. On their face, they are very damaging, if you ask me. Take this woman who says she was raped when she was underage. What is she doing underage at the Playboy mansion? Who brought her there and why? Did she make misrepresentations about her age or anything else? I mean, a lot of these things have to be thoroughly, thoroughly examined. You can't just give a surface reaction to what looks like damaging information. A lot of work has to be done in this case to find out what happened. And as far as these drugs go, was there consent? Did these women take them with full knowledge of what they were taking? I know one accuser says he showed her a pill. What was the reaction to the pill? Did she ask him what it was? Did he misrepresent what it was? Maybe he told her exactly what it was. I don't know. I know in the '70s when some of these alleged acts took place, pills were rampant at clubs, at parties, Quaaludes, cocaine, things like that, different time period. Do they have any culpability themselves? You have to examine all this very deeply.</s>PAUL: Tom Mesereau you certainly gave us a lot of food for thought here, no doubt about it. And a lot of those questions that need to be answered. We appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.</s>MESEREAU: Thanks for having me.</s>BLACKWELL: Live pictures now as we continue to watch this mass that the Pope is delivering now near the capital of Paraguay. Thousands there, maybe close to a million watching this. Live report straight ahead at the top of the hour.