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Interview with Cosby Attorney Monique Pressley; Sandra Bland's Voicemail from Jail; Family Demands 'Transparency' In Sandra Bland Investigation. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 23, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to bring in Monique Pressley, an attorney for Bill Cosby. Thank you for being on NEW DAY.

MONIQUE PRESSLEY, ATTORNEY FOR BILL COSBY: Thanks for having me. Good morning.

CAMEROTA: It has been a challenge for the past nine months to cover this story without hearing from Bill Cosby.

[08:30:04] So what does Mr. Cosby say about these now more than 25 women who have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault and rape?

PRESSLEY: I'm not certain what you mean by saying that you never hear from Bill Cosby since, through his attorneys, he from the very beginning has denied repeatedly the accusations and allegations that have been lodged against him.

CAMEROTA: We have had written statements from the attorneys. You are the first person we are able to speak to live. But we haven't heard from Bill Cosby personally. So I'm wondering what has he told you about these accusations?

PRESSLEY: And certainly I'm not going to reveal client confidences on counsel for Mr. Cosby and anything that he says to me is said in confidence. But when his attorneys speak, we're speaking for him. So when we speak and say that he denies all of the allegations and accusations, then that is the statement of Bill Cosby.

And when you look at the recent filings just as recently as two days ago in another case in Pennsylvania, those are the statements of Mr. Cosby. It's not necessary for him to do anything more than what he is doing, which is relying on able counsel to speak for him in a situation where he, one, has neither been charged with nor, two, convicted of any crime.

So even though we hear excerpts from accusers and we see headlines that discuss things like calling him a rapist or saying that he has committed sexual assault, the case actually is in a civil court and there are no criminal charges filed. And I think it is important, no matter what manner the attorneys are speaking for him or the media is covering it, that that's a point that stays clear.

CAMEROTA: It's not just excerpts from accusers. We have heard Mr. Cosby in his own words. These are revelations that have come out of this deposition from the 2005 Andrea Constand case. One of the big headlines from that is that Bill Cosby admits that he got seven prescriptions for the powerful sedative called Quaalude not so that he could use them, but so that he could give them to women that he wanted to have sex with. And we have heard from the accusers that he did give them a powerful sedative, so powerful that they could not consent to sex with him. What is your response to that revelation?

PRESSLEY: And it's not really a revelation that Quaaludes were used in the '70s. They were commonly used as a partying drug and they were also known to be used to increase sexual arousal. And Mr. Cosby admitted in his deposition to offering one person, who he was in a relationship with, Quaaludes during that time period and that that person accepted it.

And so when we see, again, excerpts saying that is a powerful sedative but not talking about the fact that it was also a commonly used party drug during the '70s.

CAMEROTA: Not by these women. Ms. Pressley, I have interviewed 11 of the accusers. None of them were Quaalude users. Furthermore, none of them consented to using Quaaludes. They accepted a drink, sometimes a cappuccino, not even an alcoholic drink, and afterwards became unconscious. Then --

(CROSSTALK)

PRESSLEY: The interesting part about you saying that you have interviewed them and then you accept what they said is true. However when you listen to the denial of the accusations by Mr. Cosby through his attorneys repeatedly from the beginning, that's looked at it and scoffed. To me --

CAMEROTA: So why did he get seven prescriptions for Quaaludes? That sounds like more than just one woman that he offered a Quaalude to. That sounds like he wanted to give them to women. And in fact, in his own words, he says they were for the purpose of giving to women. Plural.

PRESSLEY: And what you are discussing is not a crime, for a person to offer a substance in a consensual relationship to a person with knowledge, and for them to choose to accept it is not criminal. It isn't even new actually for that to happen.

CAMEROTA: Sure. They said that they had no choice, that he slipped it to them. What is his response to that?

PRESSLEY: And as he said a number of times, that's been denied that, one, that he ever slipped without a person's knowing, male or female, a drug of any sort to them. And, two, that there was ever, between him and any other adult, nonconsensual sex. Those two things.

And actually if you look at the manner in which the people who are lodging the accusations have done so, we're seeing cases that come forward 10, 20, -- and even 40 such as the California case -- 40 years later where it leaves the very precepts of our justice system unable to be followed through. What do I mean? We go to a court of law to determine how to mete out justice. We go there to figure out what is true and false.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you're right.

PRESSLEY: And we can't do that in these cases.

CAMEROTA: Yes, the statute of limitations has passed for these women.

[08:35:00] That is true. They say that at the time --

PRESSLEY: They didn't pass four of the women. But it didn't pass four of the women. But they chose to not come forward until after --

CAMEROTA: That's not exactly right.

PRESSLEY: -- the statute of limitations.

CAMEROTA: They say that they did try to get attention for what happened to them in the '70s and the '80s. They told friends, they told employers, they told lawyers, and all of them advised them don't mess with one of the most powerful men in the world.

But let me ask you this, Ms. Pressley. Why do you think in that case, if you don't believe any of these women's accounts, why do you think more than 25 women would be coming forward to tell this very private and very upsetting account? You think they're all lying?

PRESSLEY: Here is the important and critical fact. It's not about what I believe. It's not about what I think. It's not about even what the truth of the matter is 40 years later when we have no way of accessing witnesses who could verify the fact.

The important matter is that, in our system in the United States, and I love this about our country, we have a way for people who are accused of a crime to actually step forward and defend themselves. And for people who are accusing or bringing allegations to prove them in court.

CAMEROTA: Of course.

PRESSLEY: And when that system doesn't work --

CAMEROTA: But times are different now, as I think you'll admit. But you say it's not about the truth of the matter. It is about the truth of the matter. Do you believe these women or do you think that they're liars?

PRESSLEY: I am here as counsel for Mr. Cosby. I'm not here to assert a personal belief, nor am I here to call them names. What I'm here to say is that, in this country Mr. Cosby is, one, innocent until proven guilty and, two, because of no fault of his own these women did not come forward there will not be an opportunity for him to disprove claims that are four decades old.

CAMEROTA: OK, next -- PRESSLEY: And I think that the fact that the sheer volume of the number of people who have come out is increasing others' ability to then be tagalongs and say, OK, if one is getting away with lodging accusations with no proof, then perhaps two can, then perhaps ten can, but that does not make it so.

CAMEROTA: Next month, Mr. Cosby will have the opportunity. Because as we've just reported this morning, this civil case of sexual assault, a judge is allowing this to move forward. This is the one that involves a 15-year-old who she claims was sexual assaulted at the Playboy Mansion. And in fact, Gloria Allred, her attorney, says that she will -- she expects to depose, to be able to depose Mr. Cosby in the next 30 days. Will he appear for that deposition?

PRESSLEY: Well, I read the press release by Ms. Allred and I understand that that is her hope and her intention. But what this California Supreme Court did was really just put this case at the beginning posture that it was in. They were ruling on a technical issue about whether the case -- the filing could be amended or not. And they said that that would not be heard.

CAMEROTA: But if called to give a deposition, will he give a deposition?

PRESSLEY: An certainly I'm not going to reveal strategies, tactics, or intentions of my client to testify or not or advice of counsel about that matter. We will deal with that with the able counsel who are in California who are handling this case.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you've been saying that you need him to -- that this has to be aired in a court of law. This is the opportunity. This is the opportunity next month for this to happen in a court of law. This is what you say Mr. Cosby has been waiting for. Will he be heard in a court of law?

PRESSLEY: And I what I said to you is that, through the court system, when court cases are brought appropriately, then it's handled by the defense and by the plaintiffs in the manner that it is supposed to be. And that means that they make all of the decisions that are available to them in a court of law. That doesn't mean that I'm going to sit here today and tell you what I advise Mr. Cosby to do or what his Los Angeles counsel would advise him to do. Or what his intentions are.

It means that that's the forum. That the forum is not headlines from 70 years ago with one question and one answer from a deposition about the use of a party drug. Instead, we will see, in the courtroom in this case and in others, whether a defamation suit can hold up for a person who speaks up and says I deny the claims that are being lodged against me. We will see whether this claim that the police refused to prosecute will also become frivolous to the court in a civil case.

All of those are things that we'll find out in time. And I know that that is the way that the system should work, and I pray that it will work that way in this case.

CAMEROTA: We will be watching along with you. Monique Pressley, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

PRESSLEY: Thanks so much for having me.

CAMEROTA: Let's get to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, for the first time, we are hearing from Sandra Bland while she was in police custody. She was arrested after a confrontation, found dead in her jail cell some three days later. Ahead, you're going to hear the voicemail that she left a friend.

[08:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right, here we go with the five things to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, there's new information in Sandra Bland's death. Jail records indicate that she previously attempted suicide. Police say Bland killed herself in a Texas jail cell three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop.

Donald Trump telling the Hill he would consider seriously a third party run if the RNC is not fair to him. The real estate mogul expected to tour the U.S./Mexico border today after making those divisive comments about Mexican immigrants.

A sex assault lawsuit against Bill Cosby is going forward despite the embattled comedian's actions to get it dismissed. The accuser says Cosby assaulted her back in 1974 when she was just 15 years old.

The Obama administration drafting another plan to close Guantanamo Bay. It is a promise he first made when he first took office in 2009. Since then, his plan has hit many road blocks.

A federal grand jury has indicted the gunman in the South Carolina church shooting on hate crime charges. He is accused of killing nine black church members in Charleston last month.

For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdayCNN.com for the latest. Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A haunting voicemail left by Sandra Bland. For the first time, we are hearing from her while in custody. You are going to hear the message that she left a friend before she died coming up.

[08:44:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SANDRA BLAND, DIED IN TEXAS JAIL CELL: I'm still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How does switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this? I don't even know. Um, but I'm still here so I guess call me back when you can.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PEREIRA: "I'm still here." That was a voicemail Sandra Bland left for her friend while in a Texas jail. Bland was found dead in that jail cell three days after she was arrested by a state trooper during a traffic confrontation. Police say she committed suicide. A jail report indicates she said she had tried to kill herself before.

Joining us for one of our conversations, Charles Blow, CNN political commentator and op-ed columnist for "The New York Times." Carlos Watson is here, CEO and co-founder of OZY.com.

It's haunting to hear her say those words. "I'm still here." Carlos, does it sound to you like a woman at her wits end about to end her own life?

CARLOS WATSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, OZY.COM: It doesn't and you can't be surprised when you hear the sister or the lawyer say that they have great hesitation, not only because of the edited tape that we saw, the video tape, but because of some of the other things that have happened.

PEREIRA: Other discrepancies.

WATSON: Other discrepancies in that case and other case. In fact, I thought Charles had an outstanding column where he talked about five or six substantive questions.

PEREIRA: So when you hear that, what comes up to you?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean - Right. It doesn't sound like it, right, and so I think a lot of us are questioning kind of mood and motivation. However, as someone - you know, I wrote a memorial about having suicide ideation as a very young boy and it can seize you in a moment and it doesn't take a lot of -- you don't mope around, necessarily.

PEREIRA: But you are not obviously telling people about it.

[08:50:00] BLOW: I was quite literally at a skating rink having the best -- time of my life. So you don't -- it doesn't always line up. So I try not to read too much just into that particular comment. Also, I think that that is important to remember in this entire case, you know, not to get so connected to a set of beliefs that you are not open to a set of facts.

Forensics has evolved as an incredibly sophisticated area of inquiry. It is really hard to hide, you know, how someone dies, particularly if that person -- you still have the body, you still have the room and you have the body shortly after the person dies.

PEREIRA: And we're going to see what because we know an autopsy was done, we know a toxicology report is pending. So those will fill in some blanks because, as you mentioned, there are discrepancies we are seeing and there's these details that are emerging. For example, the fact that they released the fact that there was marijuana in her system, a great deal of marijuana in her system. Should that matter here? And are you concerned, Carlos, that this could be part of the narrative here?

WATSON: I think you -- Early on today you were talk to Judge Duhon who raised that, as well, and I think your question was, would that yet lead her to suicide? How long could that have been in her system? But I think - as Charles said - I think you have to let it all play out. I think the family is right to ask for an independent autopsy to see where that comes from. I think it was interesting to hear Duhon try and separate himself from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

PEREIRA: Yeah. But they've had their own troubles there, though, too.

WATSON: Sure.

PEREIRA: We know that in that sheriff's department or in that police department, the police department, the chief, actually had left in 2008. Apparently there were charges of police brutality, charges of racial discrimination. He is now the sheriff and he now, Charles, is in charge of Sandra Bland's death. Does it point to the fact that this conversation about getting an independent investigator prosecutor in here, is that going to come up again?

BLOW: I think what it points to is kind of people's loss of faith in the system. I think that all of the questions - I mean, the questions I raised today in my column - These are not necessarily to say, oh, she didn't commit suicide -- I don't know if that happened or not happened. I think that we will absolutely find the answer to that. I do believe, however, you know, the kind of bungling sense of not having answers to very basic questions leads to a suspicion that is very dangerous for our system of justice in America.

PEREIRA: Well, and it makes it difficult when we hear and we see the tape of the initial stop. The fact that she was stopped -- you can be stopped for not making a signal when you are changing lanes. We have all done it. OK, raise a hand. Who has done that once or twice?

BLOW: How many times do I got to raise my hand? Like a million?

PEREIRA: Right - Yeah, I know. But the fact is, the fact that she was then told, Carlos, to get out of the car because she wouldn't extinguish her cigarette, I mean -- and the fact that the tape jumps and we don't know if that was a glitch -- we all work in TV, we all know that can happen -- or was there something more sinister there?

WATSON: Michaela, you know what's interesting here, President Obama, first sitting president to visit a prison recently, you've seen Senator Cory Booker on the Democratic side, Rand Paul on the Republican side going and talking about prison reform. But really, the question is for the first time in 40 years, will there be a serious conversation about police reform?

And you remember 40 years ago it was about corruption in our police department, "Serpico," the famous movie, the book kind of captured that. But you wonder whether Sandra Bland and a whole series of other things will finally be a conversation about the training of young police officers, how you de-escalate in certain situations and what is the difference between authority and commanding versus influence?

PEREIRA: Interesting conversation we can have there. I can't let a moment pass with the two of you, with brilliant minds here with me. We have been talking an awful lot about Trump today and you both have been very vocal, writing columns, tweeting, etc. about this so-called "Trump effect." Well, he is headed to the border today. I'm curious, first of all, what you make of the trip, what you think is going to happen there, what it will net, and his comment about blacks love him. Go. React.

WATSON: Charles, do you -

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Do you love Donald Trump?

BLOW: Listen, let me tell you - It's a quick story, right. I have only met Donald Trump one time, right, and so - It was a cocktail party. He walks in and someone introduces him to me. And I don't know him - I know him but he doesn't know me at all. And he launches into this thing about how black people love him. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever heard in my life and about like how all the hip hop people are trying to get him to run. This is the last election cycle, not this election cycle. I find that -

PEREIRA: Were you the black guy there?

BLOW: I was -

(CROSSTALK)

BLOW: -- the black guy. And thought it -- particularly odd because, you know, I am of the mind that that, as a journalist, that sends off red signals to me because when -- you have to be that demonstrative about who likes you.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: How about you, Carlos? (INAUDIBLE).

WATSON: Look, I think the Donald has been the best candidate so far on the Republican side -

BLOW: For Hillary.

WATSON: -- meaning the most interesting. You know what? He is thinning out the Republican field. He, along with that first debate, is thinning out the field.

[08:55:02] Remember, this time four years ago we were talking about Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain. So this is the early audition season and the question is, can he last longer? Can he go as long as Howard Dean did, who at the time was seen as quite a hot candidate, or will he even go as long as Ross Perot? He was a third party, you guys talked about that today.

PEREIRA: There will be plenty of fodder for us to watch and listen to and soundbites galore. Carlos, Charles, men of similar names but very different takes - Well, not so much actually. Great talking to you both. Thanks so much. We got "The Good Stuff" coming your way up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: "Good Stuff." 11-year-old Logan Fairbanks, he and his pop, they post videos pranking each other online. It's funny but the comments on the videos are not funny. Mean, awful comments all too often directed at the cute kid on your picture. So we decided to do something about it. As painful as it was, he read the comments directly to camera. The question is why?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOGAN FAIRBANKS, TOOK ON BULLIES IN VIRAL VIDEO: I hope that people don't bully other people online anymore. And people that have been bullied, don't let these words effect you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A million views. One of them was Valerie Jarrett, the presidential adviser. She tweeted Logan, "You are stronger than anyone's hurtful words. If you are ever in D.C., please stop by the White House. "

So that's exactly what happened.

CUOMO: Oh my gosh.

PEREIRA: He went! That's so great.

CUOMO: That's great. That's a great outcome.