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Cosby Admits to Drugs for Sex; Pier Murder in San Francisco Sparks Immigration Debate. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired July 07, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The comic admitting he obtained prescription sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to sleep with.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So, Cosby admits he gave a Quaalude to one woman, but he does not admit that he actually drugged anyone against her will. So we will speak with two of Cosby's accusers in just a moment.

But first, we want to get to CNN's Sara Ganim who has the very latest on all of this.

Sara.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

This is really a fascinating admission by Bill Cosby because not only did these women, many of these women say that they were sexual assaulted, but many of them say that they believe that they were drugged first. That they remember Cosby fixing them a drink and giving it to them, and after a few sips they felt incapacitated. Many of these women said that. And in the context of this, that's important.

Now, in this deposition partially made public in these court documents, Cosby is very careful with his words. But given that he denied everything for so many years, this is the first time we're hearing him admit anything at all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM (voice-over): A bombshell in the ongoing Cosby sexual assault controversy, shockingly revealed in his own words. The admission surfacing in newly unsealed court documents. The embattled comedian testifying under oath that in 2005 he had obtained seven prescriptions of Quaaludes, a powerful hypnotic and sedative, admitting his intent to drug young women he wanted to have sex with.

His confession, testimony from a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, that was settled in 2006. In the deposition obtained and made public by the Associated Press, the plaintiff's attorney questioning the now 77-year-old Cosby. Question, "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?" Cosby answering, "yes." "You gave them to other people?" "Yes." When the attorney goes on to ask him, "did you ever give any of those

women Quaaludes without their knowledge," Cosby's lawyer objects, telling him not to answer the question. The woman in that case accusing Cosby of drugging and molesting her, giving her three blue pills.

The documents also includes Cosby's recollection of a 1970s encounter with a woman in Las Vegas. "She meets me backstage," he says. "I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex."

According to the newly released court documents, Cosby's lawyers insisting that two of the accusers were aware they were taking Quaaludes from the comedian. Over the past 40 years, more than 25 women have publicly alleged that Cosby raped or assaulted them.

BEVERLY JOHNSON, COSBY ACCUSER: It was very powerful. It came on very quickly. The room started to spin. At that point I knew he had drugged me.

GANIM: But Cosby, who starred at the loveable Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," has long denied drugging and sexually molesting these women and has never been criminally charged.

Barbara Bowman, one of Cosby's accusers, who many credit for paving the way for others to come forward, calls the revelations a game changer.

BARBARA BOWMAN, COSBY ACCUSER: I think we're going to be heard now. And i think this is just the beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: Now, Cosby fought the release of these documents, saying that they would be embarrassing. His attorney isn't commenting this morning. But throughout the deposition that was made public, you can see that they hint to the fact that Quaaludes were popular, a popular party drug that was abused in the 1970s. This is the first time we're hearing any kind of his version of the story.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. And that's what makes it so fascinating. Sara, thanks so much.

And we are now joined by two of the women who say they were drugged and raped, sexual assaulted or accosted by Bill Cosby.

BEVERLY JOHNSON, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF DRUGGING HER: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Barbara Bowman and Beverly Johnson. And I want to start with Barbara. She says she was drugged and raped by Bill Cosby when she was an aspiring actress in the '80s. And he was her accusations that opened the flood gates to two dozen other women coming forward over the last year.

BARBARA BOWMAN, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPE: Thank you. CAMEROTA: Barbara, nice to see you. Tell us what happened --

BOWMAN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: And what your thoughts were last night when these revelations came to light.

BOWMAN: Alisyn, it was -- it was a glorious moment. It was -- it -- it -- it -- it made my heart skip a beat.

CAMEROTA: I bet, Barbara, because all along you have been saying that this happened to you. Many people have not believed you and Bill Cosby has never let on that anything happened to you. And yet you always maintained that he drugged you. Does this answer some questions for you?

BOWMAN: Well, it doesn't answer any questions for me because I -- I was -- I'm very, very positive and know exactly what happened to me. But you're right, I have been working so hard to get this story out, to be heard. At least since 2005, that became, you know, the time of my life when I said, I will not sit in silence anymore. And my whole objective back then was just to really support Andrea Constand back then because when I heard about her story, I couldn't believe it. I said, I believe her because it happened to me.

[08:05:22] So for the next 10 years, I was screaming my story. And, unfortunately, you're right, I was not heard. No one was listening to us. And so it was just -- it was quite a moment to say finally, finally somebody is listening. And now everyone is listening and knows the truth.

CAMEROTA: I mean not only is somebody listening, somebody is talking. And that person is Bill Cosby.

BOWMAN: And admitting it.

CAMEROTA: And admitting it. And all of this --

BOWMAN: That's right.

CAMEROTA: These revelations, these court documents came out in that Andrea Constand case of which you were a Jane Doe.

BOWMAN: That's right.

CAMEROTA: You came forward to support Andrea Constand when she accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault.

BOWMAN: That's right.

CAMEROTA: And it's interesting because in these court documents, as we just heard from our reporter, Sara Ganim, he admits that he got seven prescriptions for Quaaludes. Not seven Quaaludes, seven prescriptions from doctors for Quaaludes.

BOWMAN: That's right. CAMEROTA: Meaning, he had hundreds of Quaaludes. He also talked about why he settled in 2005 with Andrea Constand. Instead of going to court if he were innocent and letting this all be aired in public, he settled for some sort of undisclosed money and he explains why he settled. I know you'll find this very interesting. He says here that the reason that he settled -- "the only reason Mr. Cosby settled was because it would have been embarrassing in those days to put all those women on the stand and his family had no clue and it would have been very hurtful" to the women and his family, including you. He didn't want to embarrass you back then. His lawyers just released that statement last night. What's your response?

BOWMAN: Well, if he was embarrassed then, I think he better get ready because it's going to be a much worse situation now. I would like to know where and how he got all those Quaaludes.

CAMEROTA: Barbara, I know that you said last night when you first heard the news this is a game changer. How so? What do you think really happens now since the statute of limitations has passed?

BOWMAN: I think this is just the opening of Pandora's box. And I think the issue of statute of limitations is only a small part of this big scenario. I think that -- I can't imagine that as these last few months have unfolded and how quickly everything has happened, that he hasn't gone through some moments of knowing that it's just a matter of time and having some anxiety over that fact. So it's hard to say really what's ahead, but whatever is coming, it's coming fast and furious.

CAMEROTA: Barbara, nice to see you. We're happy that this has brought you some measure of relief this morning.

BOWMAN: Thank you. Much. Yes -- yes, it certainly has.

CAMEROTA: And we will -- we're happy to hear that and we will check back in with you as this progressed.

BOWMAN: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: We want to bring in now Beverly Johnson. Beverly was a supermodel, as you all know, and an aspiring actress when she says Cosby drugged her but she was able to fight him off.

Good morning, Beverly. Nice to see you.

JOHNSON: Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: What -- tell us what your thoughts were when you heard that Bill Cosby himself had admitted to getting drugs in order to have sex with women in these court documents.

JOHNSON: Well, I wasn't surprised. I think that it's an opportunity to have -- because women are expected to be voiceless. And I think it's an opportunity for women to use their voice. And that's why I'm here in this interview. And hopefully this will send a message to women out there to use their voice and to speak up when there's a wrong. CAMEROTA: Because it took -- it took many of you who accused Bill

Cosby many years, some decades, to come forward. But then, this fall, there was a ground swell and all of you getting strength from each other came forward and finally told your stories. And now to hear that in 2005 he admitted in these court documents -- let me just read you a portion of it. Of one of the things that he admitted. It says, "when you got the Quaaludes," because he admitted to getting seven prescriptions of Quaaludes, "was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" Bill Cosby answers, "yes."

And, Beverly, I know that this is significant to you because you say he drugged you, but you didn't exactly know what happened, what drug he used. You had a cup of coffee, so you didn't really understand why you suddenly felt so incapacitated. Does this answer a question for you?

[08:09:51] JOHNSON: Well, I knew I had been drugged. What drug it was really didn't matter. I -- it was -- I passed out. I think that for me the conversation is about, you know, women having a voice. I mean I actually try to have a Cosby chapter, this encounter that I had with Cosby, in my memoir and it didn't pass legal. And it wasn't until Barbara Bowman and these women came out and told their story and I had a chance to tell my story that they finally said, OK, we want the chapter. I think it's a time for healing, that the healing can begin -- can begin. And also forgiveness. But also a message of women using their voice when it's necessary.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And, you know what's interesting, Beverly, is that when you came forward and Barbara Bowman this past fall, there were so many people who didn't believe you. And, in fact, there was -- there was some backlash on social media of people saying that you all were lying and why are you only coming forward now and people just wanted money out of Bill Cosby. And, in fact, there were some high profile people, some actresses and actors, who didn't necessarily believe that Bill Cosby could ever do this.

One of them was singer Jill Scott. She was vocal on Twitter saying that she didn't believe it. Back -- let me read you her Twitter from that time and now what she said last night. At that time, when people were suggesting this, she wrote back, "you know Bill Cosby? I do, child, and this is insane. Proof," meaning she wanted proof, "period." And I think you'll be interested to hear what she tweeted last night. She's changed her tune and she said, "about Bill Cosby, sadly his own testimony offers proof of terrible deeds, which is all I have ever required to believe the accusation." Is it heartening for you that people now seem to believe what happened?

JOHNSON: Well, I have a lot of respect for Jill Scott because it takes a big person to admit that they were wrong. And here is a woman using her voice to right a wrong. And that's what the other women and the women that have been victimized and myself -- that's all we wanted to do, was to use our voice to say what happened to us.

CAMEROTA: And that's what you're doing this morning. Beverly, thank you. JOHNSON: That's exactly what I'm doing this morning. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for coming on and sharing this latest chapter in this ordeal and we'll see what happens next.

We should mention Beverly is also the author of a new memoir, "The Face That Changed It All" to share what happened between her and Bill Cosby.

What's your reaction to all of this? Please tweet us using the #newdaycnn. Post your comments on FaceBook. I'm also on Twitter. You can find us at facebook.com/newday. Look forward to hearing about that.

CUOMO: It is interesting to see how this story is coming to turn now as you actually hear something from Bill Cosby about the allegations.

CAMEROTA: And how relieved all the women we've spoken to this morning feel. I mean there is some measure of closure from hearing the truth from someone.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, validation, right, because they've heard so many people -- so many critics have said, oh, these are just angry people trying to get money. They're trying to -- whatever. And to feel like a victim and then be further victimized by critics like that, is very difficult.

CUOMO: No matter what happened, it has been true that everything about these women who have come forward has been tested.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE).

PEREIRA: Very much so.

CUOMO: And, Bill Cosby, not so much until now.

All right, so the man who confessed to shooting a woman on a San Francisco pier is expected to be in court today. Francisco Sanchez is his name and he's charged with murder. The question is, why was he free to kill? Was he released unlawfully by local authorities in some federal state spat that shines a light on immigration policy. CNN's Dan Simon is live in San Francisco with the very latest.

What do we know, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hi, Chris.

Trying to quell this national uproar, the mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee, put out a statement saying everyone needs to reexamine their policies. He says San Francisco's sanctuary policy is not meant to protect dangerous and repeat felons.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIMON (voice-over): Now charged with murder, 45-year-old undocumented immigrant Francisco Sanchez awaits his arraignment later today in San Francisco.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We entrust our sister Kathy (ph) to your mercy.

SIMON: As loved ones mourn the loss of 31-year-old Kate Steinle. Authorities say Sanchez, a seven-time convicted felon, shot and killed Kate on this popular California pier nearly a week ago.

NICOLE LUDWIG, KATE STEINLE'S BEST FRIEND: Kate was an amazing soul. Everyone that met Kate knew she was very special

SIMON: Sanchez had been deported five times to Mexico. A fact that has enflamed the long simmering national debate over immigration reform.

SHERIFF ROSS MIRKARIMI, SAN FRANCISCO CITY AND COUNTY: I believe that I.C.E. needs to catch up.

SIMON: The sheriff's department declined to notify Immigrations and Customs officials when Sanchez was released from jail back in April because San Francisco is a so-called sanctuary city. Generally speaking, the city won't hand over non-violent, undocumented immigrants without a court order.

[08:14:59] MIRKARIMI: We need a court order or a warrant and I.C.E. has been told this many, many times and they have yet to produce that document.

SIMON: The California Attorney General saying immigration policy, quote, should not be informed by our collective outrage about one man's conduct.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, 2016: They're bringing crime.

SIMON: But Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is not backing down. Now, saying it was, quote, the Mexican government who forced Sanchez back into the U.S. because they didn't want him in Mexico.

PEREIRA: All right, that was Dan Simon reporting. New this morning, for a second time in less than a month negotiators will not meet a self-imposed deadline to reach nuclear agreement with Iran. CNN Senior International Correspondent Nick Robertson is live in Vienna watching all of these developments as they develop sort of firsthand. What can you tell us, Nick?

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michaela, we just heard from the European Union Foreign Policy Chief here. And what she said was, they are now down to - she described it touching the most difficult, sensitive issues. And she says that's painful, but that pain is necessary at this stage of the talks. She just, she just - she described these as being political issues. She also said that the talks aren't going to meet the deadline. They're going to continue, is what she said. FEDERICA MOGHERINI, HIGH REP. OF THE EU FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We are

continuing to negotiate for the next couple of days. And we are interpreting in a flexible way our deadline.

ROBERTSON: What she didn't say was one of the really tough stumbling block issues, one of them is that Iran wants a weapons ban in place by U.N. sanctions five years ago - it wants that lifted and won't sign any broader nuclear deal even though the weapons ban is not part of the nuclear issue, they say they won't sign that broader deal unless this U.N. security council resolution is lifted. That's where things stand, the day this day clearly melting into the coming couple of days at least at the moment for these talks.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It sure looks like it, Nick. Please keep us posted on what develops there. Meanwhile, President Obama making it clear that the battle to defeat ISIS will be long. He says U.S. trained troops are making tremendous gains across Iraq and Syria. But that assessment tempered by news that ISIS has reached captured a key Syrian town.

Let's go right to CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Live with the latest. What do we know at this hour, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn, that battlefield fluid to say the least as many of these towns continue to exchange hand between ISIS and the governments on the ground. Now, there have been a number of U.S air strikes around Raqqa, Syria, very important as air strikes have picked up in this region. This is the self-declared capital of ISIS, an area that's been very difficult for the U.S. war planes to get into.

President Obama at the Pentagon yesterday, getting a full update on the ISIS campaign. When he came out and talked to reporters after the briefing with his top commanders, he spoke about this very issue of what is happening in Syria.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're intensifying our efforts against Isil's base in Syria. Our air strikes will continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so much of their operations.

STARR: So why Raqqa, why now? Well, Kurdish fighters, local fighters on the ground, are just - their front line now is about 50 miles north of Raqqa as they pressure against the city the U.S. strikes have blown up a number of bridges, potential ISIS escape routes, ISIS targets in the city. The U.S. now looking to see if ISIS takes the next step and begins to move around its troops, its

commanders, its weapons. If ISIS tries to get out of Raqqa, the U.S. hopes it may been able to find them and strike them again.

Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Barbara, thank you very much. San Francisco is a sanctuary city. Is that a reason or is that the reason that a young woman is dead? We're going to ask a member of the congressional Hispanic Caucus if

this is about a failure of the administration.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: A young woman is dead, the charge is murder. And the question is, why? Why did this happen in San Francisco? There's a lot of talk about politics, about immigration policy, about a failure to communicate between federal and state authorities. And through it all, there are no answers for a family who are asking why they no longer have their loved one.

So let's see what the politics are here and see what should be happening that is not. We have congressional Hispanic Caucus member, Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro.

Congressman, thank you for joining us. You know the allegation, Homeland Security, ICE, can't get its act together. Local governments have done their own way, sanctuary cities is one way that local governments keep ICE away from them so they don't have to hold people forever. And then this happens. Is this about a failure of the administration?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS: No. I think it speaks to a larger problem, which is a broken immigration system. We've been saying many of us for years now that the congress needs to act on comprehensive immigration reform. And Chris, what happened in San Francisco is a real tragedy. I think everybody that hears that story is absolutely heart broken.

And there's no question that, that man should not have been on the street. It's a failure not only of the immigration system, but also the American justice system, somebody that had seven felonies on his record and was still walking the street.

But also, there's not been a single immigration advocate who argues that somebody with seven felonies should our walking the streets in San Francisco or any other American city. In fact, ,any have argued that we ought to prioritize hardened criminals like this man and remove them first.

CUOMO: Now, you can dismiss Donald Trump as more heat than light on these types of issues. But he does tap into a common sentiment when he says, see, this is what happens if you don't secure the border, you get guys like this who should never be in the country. Our immigration system doesn't work. There are a ton of people like this.

CASTRO: Oh, there's no question. Listen. Immigration is a thorny issue and there's a lot of emotion on every side. And, and there are folks who whole heartedly agree with Donald Trump. But he's sensationalizing and unfortunately, politicizing this one case and this young woman's death really to lay the blame at the feet of every single immigrant from Mexico and Latin America. And that's absolutely wrong.

[08:25:00] CUOMO: But how many Sanchez' are there out there, that becomes the point. And what is your ability...

CASTRO: Wait a minute, Chris. Wait a minute. Just that there was a Sanchez, there were folks who went and died in the Iraq war and Afghanistan who were undocumented. There are folks that are valedictorians of their class. There are people that have worked here for 20 years, 30 years never gotten in trouble with the law are paid taxes and cared for their families who have also been deported because of ICE. So I understand the emotion and the concern because of this case. And I think San Francisco should work with the federal government and ICE to do something about it and to improve their policies. But it's also not an excuse for the kind of stereo trying and blame and the dragnet that existed under some of the secure, secure communities programs.

CUOMO: Fair point. 1996, a sanctuary cities were effectively abolished by that federal legislation. And yet now they're popping up as an operative effect in cities all across this country. What do you do about that?

CASTRO: Well, what you do is you get a congress that can pass immigration reform and fix this broken system. You get a speaker of the house, John Boehner, who should have the gumption to stand up to the right wing in his party that wanted to do absolutely nothing on immigration reform. Whether it was comprehensive or piece by piece, they wanted to do nothing. And so, this is in many ways a symptom of that larger failure.

CUOMO: And now, you have a proposal where you want to get rid of detention centers. Now, you know political opponents will say, see that, another mushy lefty wanting to make it even easier for people who want to get in here illegally and make it even harder for the U.S. government to stop.

CASTRO: Well, sure. No, you're right. Some people will make that argument. We want to get rid of detention centers for women and children. And you know, ICE has gone a, a, a questionable job with these detention centers. For example, just this week there was a story about 250 children being given adult doses of vaccinations. It's that kind of carelessness and injuring the lives of women and kids. That have led us to say that they shouldn't be in these private of detention centers which are kind of like private prisons.

CUOMO: Where do you put them?

CASTRO: Well, a legions of nonprofits have stepped up. Legions of individual citizens in Texas and other states have stepped up to offer the opportunity for these folks to stay in housing. And we believe that there can be alternative arrangements made.

Now, again, if somebody's got - if somebody is a hardened criminal, if they got felonies on their record, then there are not immigration advocates who have been standing up and saying, yes, these people should stay.

CUOMO: Congressman, thank you very much for offering your perspective on this. We look forward to see how your proposal moves through the process.

CASTRO: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Thanks so much, Chris. Pope Francis paying a visit to the faithful in Ecuador. A crowd of a million is expected at mass today. We'll take you live to South America with more on his trip and his message.

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