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Cosby Arraigned; Affluenza Teen Caught. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 30, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Back on 5:00 Eastern on "The Situation Room." For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next. And for our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go, top of the hour. You're watching CNN, here in the United States and all around the world at the moment. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me because today is a big one.

We begin with a bombshell involving one of America's most famous dads. Bill Cosby is being charged with sexual assault. This is a felony. He is due in court in Pennsylvania minutes from now.

Let me back up. At least 50 women have accused him of allegations ranging from drugging them to sexual assault. But this is huge because it's the very first time the 78-year-old comedian has been charged with a crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STEELE, FIRST ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MONTGOMERY CO., PENNSYLVANIA: These charges stem from a sexual assault that took place on an evening in early 2004 at Mr. Cosby's home in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Mr. Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This charge stems from a case involving the very first woman to publicly accuse Bill Cosby of sexual wrongdoing. She is former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. She went to police - this was back in 2004 - saying Cosby drugged her, fondled her inside his mansion near Philadelphia. Prosecutors declined to charge Cosby back then. They cited lack of evidence. But I can tell you that Constand settled a civil case with him in 2006. But since then, dozens of women have now come forward telling their own stories, making these accusations about Bill Cosby's behavior over the course of a four- decade period. And again Cosby has said multiple times, he didn't do it, denying. He has not been charged with a crime, but obviously that all changes with the news today.

I have a lot of people to talk to about this here, so let's kick it off with CNN national correspondent Deborah Feyerick. Also with me right now, defense attorney Tom Mesereau and Spencer Kuvin, attorney for another Cosby accuser, Chloe Goins. Plus I have correspondent Jean Casarez, who is outside the courthouse where Bill Cosby will soon arrive. We are waiting to hear from Jean. But before we do, Deborah Feyerick, let me just turn to you and ask you, just in terms of, you know, painting this picture outside of this, you know, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, courthouse where I am sure the media is just -

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.

BALDWIN: The presence is tremendous. Will we have eyes on him in mere minutes?

FEYERICK: Well, we will see. We'll see what his lawyer decides, whether he will show for his arraignment, enter a charge against him. You know, this is the document, the criminal complaint against him -

BALDWIN: Yes.

FEYERICK: That basically charges the defendant, William Henry Cosby, with this second degree felony. It is the first time - and as you say, I think this woman had no idea the flood gates that she was going to open. This is a case that happened back in 2004. So many women came forward since then. But because of the statute of limitations, the district attorney was able to look at this civil case, go through the evidence, go through the testimony and the depositions and say there was cause to not only reinvest but to also bring charges, saying it was the right thing to do.

So had she not pursued this even from a civil perspective, you know, suing him for an undisclosed amount of damages, then these documents wouldn't have been available, the deposition would not have been unsealed. And so all of this happening this past summer and that's what led to this - these charges.

BALDWIN: But let me just - so I'm crystal clear, what was it about this deposition that was publicly released just this past summer that, you know, Cosby was questioned for those four days back in 2005, what was it specifically about what he said that made this - this D.A. in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, say, ah-ha, I want to reopen it?

FEYERICK: Well, there were a couple of things, including his admission that he gave women Quaaludes intending to have sex with them. He says that he never did that without their consent. But in the case of Andrea Constand, she kept saying, what are you giving me, what are you giving me? And once he did give it to her, she was so drugged, she simply couldn't even move. And that's when the assault took place allegedly.

Now, again, Cosby has denied these charges consistently.

BALDWIN: Yes.

FEYERICK: His lawyers have come out forcefully. He is counter suing several women who are suing him for defamation. And so it's sort of a circle that just keeps going on and on. And, you know, quite upsetting. He also talks about some of the things that he did to Andrea Constand.

BALDWIN: Right.

FEYERICK: And so that also raised a red flag.

BALDWIN: Tom Mesereau, to you, just sort of from a defense perspective - and, again, just to go over some of these complaint highlights, he allegedly handing Constand pills, encouraging her to taste the wine. She began experiencing blurred vision and difficulty speaking. The victim was aware that Cosby was fondling her breasts, put his hands into her pants and penetration her with - with his fingers. Cosby again has denied. He also filed a counter suit just this month saying not only are, you know, some of these accusations absolutely false, they have damaged his reputation. How would you, sir, defend this man?

[14:05:05] TOM MESEREAU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, this is all deja vu for me because I was Michael Jackson's lead defense council in his criminal trial. And when I got into that case nine months before the trial started, the media was jumping all over him, they were pointing out that he had allegedly paid $20 million to settle a case, then they pointing out he had allegedly paid $2 million to settle a case. They said all these young men were accusers ready to testify in court. We went to trial. It lasting five months. He was acquitted on every single charge, 10 felonies and four misdemeanors. And these witnesses were falling like dominos.

So I'm skeptical. This D.A. reportedly ran for office on a political platform that he would reexamine the Bill Cosby allegations. So he politicized it from day one. Now he files a complaint. These are not proven facts. They're just allegations. He gives a press conference and states them like they're facts. They're not. He's presumed innocent until everything is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I'm skeptical.

And by the way, I remember in the Michael Jackson trial, the prosecutors brought in a quote from an interview that Michael Jackson had given to Martin Bashir. They thought this was going to convict him. And when they did that, they opened up the whole interview so I could play tapes where he protested his innocence. He said I would never harm a child. I would slit my wrist before I would do that. And it wall backfired.

I haven't reviewed this whole deposition, but if they bring in any portions, likely the defense will bring in other portions where he says I've never done anything wrong. So be careful what you wish for, you may get it. I'm skeptical about a lot of what I'm hearing.

BALDWIN: Spencer, I promise, I'm coming to you. But, Tom, I just have to - have to ask because, as we know, one of Cosby's key attorneys is no longer working with him. Would you be interested in taking this case on?

MESEREAU: Well, I mean, I'm a criminal defense lawyer and I believe people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. And I think everyone should be accorded that - that benefit because we're American citizens and we have a great system of justice. I have no problem defending Bill Cosby or anyone similarly charged and I'm offended by the politics and the media coverage of a case like this. It makes people targets. It makes people with political ambitions go after others that they normally wouldn't go after.

So he is presumed innocent. He has not been convicted of any crime. And he has the right to defend himself under the Constitution and presuming him guilty because all these people have come forward 40 years later is ridiculous.

BALDWIN: Spencer, you have patiently been listening to this perspective. I have to get your response to this. You come from a very different place.

SPENCER KUVIN, ATTORNEY FOR COSBY ACCUSER CHLOE GOINS: I do, and thank you very much.

With all respect to Mr. Mesereau, this is nothing like the Michael Jackson case. You've got over 50 women that have now come forward. Everyone from my client, who is in her 20s, to incredibly respected and notable women that are now in their 70s, you've got producers, you have models, you have very well-respected people that have come over a period of 40 years bringing the same exact charges against Mr. Cosby. You know, this is not a bunch of children that are coming forward against a notable, popular figure. These are well-respected women that have come forward, like my client, and that want to see him put behind bars.

I spoke with my client this morning when she heard of these charges being filed against Mr. Cosby and she was very happy that they have now finally going to hopefully bring him to justice and put him behind bars for what he's done.

BALDWIN: What is so different, Spencer, about this particular case here in Pennsylvania,, of course, as you well know, the statute of limitations, right? So - in Pennsylvania for sexual assault cases it's 12 years. The window for this particular case would close beginning of next year. So this is that final sort of deadline. I'm curious, though, depending on how - what - how this result from Mr. Cosby, how could this potentially affect other cases, including potentially your own?

KUVIN: Well, as you may be aware, my client is probably one of the only other women that is within that window of statute of limitations -

BALDWIN: Yes.

KUVIN: Both from a criminal and civil perspective. So when we brought her to the L.A. District Attorney's Office, they made us well aware of the fact that they were watching what was going on in Philadelphia at the time. So our hope is that now that charges have been brought in Philadelphia, that they will be emboldened to bring charges now in Los Angeles as well on my client's allegations and claims.

BALDWIN: Spencer Kuvin, thank you. Tom Mesereau, thank you. Deb Feyerick, appreciate it. MESEREAU: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And, again, we have a correspondent we're going to talk to any moment now as Bill Cosby will be arraigned for this felony charge he now faces in this case, this sexual assault case against him in Pennsylvania.

Meantime, another legal bombshell, the affluenza fugitive and his mother now fighting extradition back home to the United States after they were caught in Mexico. Hear what just happened in their fight.

Plus, first on CNN, President Obama getting briefed on a threat to three different U.S. cities involving possible attacks between Christmas and New Year's. We have those details for you from our justice crew ahead.

[14:10:10] Also, millions under flood risk across the country. The pictures here, unreal. Specifically we're looking at Missouri, where the National Guard has just been activated and crews are rescuing people who are trapped by the floodwaters that are rising.

Stay with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And this is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, breaking news here on CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let me just give you a heads-up as far as what we're watching and waiting for. We are waiting to see - to potentially have eyes on Bill Cosby as this is the very first time he has been charged with any kind of crimes involving myriad accusations dating back four different decades, 40, 50 women or so coming forward, telling their stories, saying they were sexually assaulted by America's favorite dad. And today is the day we should seeing Bill Cosby, for the very first time ever, sort of facing this system of justice, as he's facing one felony charge with aggravated indecent assault. It is a second degree felony. All based upon this case dating all the way back to 2004 that was closed initially because of lack of sufficient evidence. It was settled civilly two years later, but it has been thus reopened based upon what Bill Cosby said in a deposition that was then made public just this past summer.

I have the A-team with me here today. I have sitting with me on set, Paul Callan and Joey Jackson, two attorneys. I also still have with me Tom Mesereau. He defended Michael Jackson. Spencer Kuvin, attorney for another Cosby accuser, Chloe Goins. And at some point we should also be hearing from one of our producers on the ground outside of this courthouse in this particular township in Pennsylvania.

[14:15:06] Tom Mesereau, let me just go back to you. If you are one of, you know - and I imagine Bill Cosby is still sort of shopping around for his defense A-team. But if you are representing Bill Cosby today and you know this is the first time facing many, many cameras, he'll be walking inside this courtroom, how do you handle it? What guidance do you give? MESEREAU: Well, basically, you tell your celebrity client to not say a

word, go into court, you plead not guilty and you leave. It's about that simple. You don't let the media dictate how you behave. You don't make comment that people are going to likely distort or chop up or try and, you know, use to put a bad light on you.

You basically go in there with dignity. You are presumed innocent. You have not been convicted of any crime. You address the court with dignity. You or your lawyer pleads not guilty and you leave.

BALDWIN: The fact that this is the first, you know, this is the first criminal charge, this felony that he's now facing, the fact that, as we were just discussing, he has vehemently denied all of these accusations since the story, you know, truly broke, moving forward, if you're advising him, he has not spoken publicly, how would you advise him?

MESEREAU: You know, again, I don't know the fact of the case and I don't know what the evidence is or is not, but I've been in this drill before with Michael Jackson, with Robert Blake. And the media pounces on certain things that they can benefit from. They convicted Robert Blake before he even went to trial and he was acquitted. They convicted Michael Jackson before he went to trial and he was acquitted. And the same thing may happen here. You can't get carried away with the media ground swell.

I have great faith in American juries. I this when they take that oath, they do their best to follow the law. And they see and hear everything eight hours a day in a courtroom, whereas the media will focus on some sound bites and a few little tidbits here and there that they think will sell on television. You can't worry about the media. You need to worry about 13 people, 12 jurors and a judge.

BALDWIN: I will take that as a member of the media and just respond by saying, we have offered to speak with Mr. Cosby multiple times to get his side of the story. And as you well know, he is saying nothing.

Stand by, Mr. Mesereau, if you will. I've got Paul and Joey with me.

And there's so much, obviously, to talk through, as you all have, all through the day, and on the bits about the depositions that were key apparently for this D.A. in Montgomery County, to then say, hang on a second, let's take another look at the case. But first, I'm just curious, as far as the color inside of this courtroom in 13 minutes from now, who's in there? Lay the groundwork for me.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think we'll all be disappointed because it's a pretty simple preceding, an arraignment. It starts the process whereby you're entitled to what we call due process, which is notice and opportunity to be heard. So what happens, Brooke, at an arraignment is, you have an opportunity to appear, be notified formally of what the charges are against you, enter a formal plea, have the judge set or not set bail and go home. There's really not any fireworks in terms of, you know, massive arguments being made, opening statements, closing statements, the impaneling of a jury. It really just starts the process. There's a judge that presides over the proceedings. The prosecutor, of

course, has the charges that the level against the defendant, Mr. Cosby. The defense, of course, has an opportunity to digest those charges or wave a public reading of those charges, enter a plea of not guilty and then go home or somehow be detained. When I say detained, of course, the judge has the power and is in a position to set bail. Mr. Cosby, a man of means, certainly has the ability to walk out of there having posted what's appropriate.

BALDWIN: Can he just not show up? I mean they know it's going to be a tremendous presence outside of that courtroom.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The only way he could - the why this works is, when you're indicted for a felony, a very serious felony like this one -

BALDWIN: Right.

CALLAN: A warrant for your arrest is usually issued by the grand jury. And if you don't show up, that warrant can be used to cause your arrest in the future. However, the D.A. has said he's been in contact with the defense attorneys. So in that situation, usually a voluntary surrender is arranged and I would still expect Cosby to show up. If prosecutors have given him a bye on showing up for his own arraignment, that would be highly unusual and I think it would only happen if Cosby was out of the country or maybe geographically he just couldn't get to Pennsylvania when the announcement was made that he was under indictment and maybe they'll have him come back at a different date.

Now, you know, as Joey was saying, the really interesting thing, if Cosby is in court is, what's going to happen with respect to bail. He's obviously a multimillionaire. So how high will the bail be? In a case like this, the bail is usually very high. And - or has an arrangement or a deal been worked out between the prosecutor and the defense attorneys as to what the agreement will be on the amount of bail. And you could see, if there's a dispute in court, an argument about the facts of the case on the issue of bail because one of the issues when a judge is setting bail is, how strong is the case against the defendant because that might affect how much bail the court is going to set in the case.

[14:20:11] BALDWIN: Got it.

CALLAN: So if there's argument about bail, we might hear something about the facts of the case. Otherwise, I agree with Joey that probably it's going to be pretty pro forma and go quickly.

BALDWIN: Well, we have a correspondent who will be inside that courtroom. So as soon as we get any kind of information, we will get that information to you.

Meantime, gentlemen, stand by.

Any minute now we will be seeing presumably Bill Cosby walking inside this courthouse in Pennsylvania. Again, this is incredibly significant. This is the first criminal charge he has been facing amidst many, many accusations against him involving sexual assault over decades.

A quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Again, breaking news as we are waiting to see Bill Cosby arriving in Pennsylvania. Presumably he will show up for this arraignment today as he is now officially facing the very first criminal charge. This is a felony charge he's facing on a case that dates back more than a decade ago here. So we'll watch and wait for that momentarily.

Meantime, breaking news in this so-called affluenza fugitive case, the drunk driving fugitive teen deemed too rich and too spoiled for prison is now fighting his extradition from Mexico to the U.S. seeking legal shelter there. An incredible turn of event for the so-called affluenza teen who, after throwing some sort of going away party, according to investigators, hopped a car with his mother, fled to Mexico, breaking all the rules for his probation at the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta.

[14:25:00] This new video from ABC News will show Ethan and his mother, here you go, at a butcher shop there just two hours before they're captured by Mexican authorities. Captured thanks to a traced phone call to, wait for it, Domino's Pizza. The cousin, one of the four victims, drunkenly plowed down by Couch on a Texas road just two years ago, telling a CNN affiliate here, it is time for a consequence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEBURN, COUSIN OF ETHAN COUCH'S VICTIM: You can love your children to death, but there are consequences for actions. And in this particular situation, four people died. And as much as I want to go - I want him to go to jail for the rest of his life and, you know, never see the light of day, his life is going to be far from - from simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, I have Zeke Unger, bounty hunter and owner of Lil Zeke's Bail Bond.

Good to see you, sir.

And I also have Paul and Joey here as well.

But, Zeke, first in terms of the details. You know before they were caught, they were sitting apparently in some back booth of a hole in the wall restaurant in Mexico. They were staring at an apartment there. You know, not an lot of tourists hanging around this spot apparently. Is this the kind of hideout that you, as a bounty hunter, would search for fugitives?

ZEKE UNGER, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, you know, people don't disappear, they relocate. And when people have a standard of living, usually they keep to that. If they're using cash, or using credit, they're going to continue to do that and they're going to live that lavish lifestyle. An amazing investigation conducted by the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force and the Mexican government, basically it didn't take them long to find them. You know, they used electronic surveillance. They used the powers of search warrant on the provisional warrant that was issued and the end result is they're in custody.

BALDWIN: All right. Paul and Joey, you know, just talking to someone with experience with the U.S. Marshals, he was saying to me, obviously given the details, this is probably a stop on the run for them potential before he called and wanted his pepperoni pizza. A kid, halfheartedly. Let me - let me just read this language (ph) that we just got because apparently Ethan Couch's attorneys have filed a writ of emparo. Am I saying this correctly?

JACKSON: Yes, shelter.

BALDWIN: Against the Mexican immigrant - immigration authorities, extending his legal proceedings in the country. Why - why are they trying to avoid? Reality, I suppose.

CALLAN: Well, the reality of the whole situation here is that this is going to enormously complicate this case because he has to be extradited now from Mexico.

BALDWIN: They're fighting it?

CALLAN: Yes. Well, and this is not an easy thing. I mean, you know, you remember the Amanda Knox case.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CALLAN: We talked a lot about could Italy get Amanda Knox back after she had been convicted of murder when she came back to the United States initially. The question now is, what does the U.S. have to do to get him and the mother back? They're going to, if they fight it, this thing goes to, you know, the attorney general's office, the secretary of state. There's a whole process for it because it's the president of the United States ultimately whose authority issues the extradition warrant. So they'll be brought back eventually, but it could be a long fight.

JACKSON: Yes. Normally, I'm loathe to make any predictions. He'll be back in the United States. Generally speaking - well, look, we have a - very good relations with Mexico. We have a treaty. It's been in effect since 1980 regarding extradition. Can you do things legally to preserve and protect your rights in another country? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, Brooke, three things are at issue.

Number one, does the United States have jurisdiction over Ethan Couch? That's the first question. If yes, you're coming back. But then we get to the second prong, and the second prong, you know, would ultimately be, did you commit an offense? And the third prong would be, is there probable cause for that offense? And if you establish those things, he comes back. BALDWIN: OK.

JACKSON: Slight delay in the process.

BALDWIN: Let's move off of that. Let's move back to talking about Bill Cosby, since I have you and I'm also - are these live pictures, guys? Oh, my goodness. Wow. I mean we thought it would be a circus. You're looking - we're all looking that this for the first time here. Law enforcement presence. Here is the big truck rolling up. This could be it. I don't know. We're all going to watch this together and see. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Watching and waiting to see Bill Cosby, America's favorite father, for the first time, facing this - going into this courthouse for this arraignment, facing this second degree felony charge with aggravated indecent assault because of an allegation that stems way back, back to 2004. It was initially settled in a civil suit in 2006. At the time, prosecutors said, not enough evidence to file any sort of criminal charges. But that changed because of actually Mr. Cosby himself. He was questioned for four days in 2005. And that deposition was finally made public just this past July. And it was part of what he shared in that that was key according to this D.A. in Pennsylvania in leading this crew to take another look, reexamine evidence and to re-interview some of the same witnesses.

[14:30:02] So we're all watching this together. I have Paul Callen and Joey Jackson with me.

I don't even know where to begin.

CALLAN: You know, we could - the one thing that we haven't comment on so far, while we wait for him to get out of the car is, they've done --