A criminal defense attorney warned Friday afternoon that embattled comedian Bill Cosby's criminal cases could come back to bite President Donald Trump in court.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper brought on attorney Bill Brennan to discuss a new filing just from Attorney General Pam Bondi, signed by Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The filing said the reason they're taking the unusual move of releasing the grand jury testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case is because it is in the public interest.
"Of course, none of this mentions that a lot of the public interest — and why the public is talking about it — is really driven by the actions of the attorney general and people around President Trump, who have really driven some of the conspiracies around the Jeffrey Epstein case," said CNN's Evan Perez.
He read part of the four-page filing, submitted to a judge in the Southern District of New York overseeing the case.
"Given the public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Justice Department and the FBI, the Justice Department moves the court to unseal the underlying grand jury information in the Epstein case, subject to appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information," the filing reads.
Perez called the section a "very important part of this discussion." The judge must now weigh whether testimony presented to the grand jury is in the public interest to release, and "whether there is potential harm to some of the victims and accusers.
"Now, keep in mind: even if their names are redacted, a lot of people may be able to figure out who is being discussed based on the circumstances and context of the testimony."
Tapper turned to Brennan for his thoughts on the filing.
"Do you think public interest will be a persuasive argument for this judge to release this grand jury testimony in the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell?"
"Jake, it may well be," he replied. "I mean, there is some quasi-precedent for this type of argument. I recall here in Pennsylvania, my home state in the Eastern District, when the comedian Bill Cosby had his case opened, a now-retired federal judge, Judge Robreno, was persuaded by an argument that said that sealed records and depositions could be released because Mr. Cosby had made himself a public moralist in his monologue. That led to eventual prosecution."
Brennan warned, "When you raise the issue of public interest, it takes the presumptive secrecy of sealed records or grand jury proceedings and puts it into play."
Cosby was accused by more than 60 women of a range of sexual offenses, including rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. The allegations led to both criminal and civil cases, and Cosby was convicted in 2018 of aggravated indecent assault. His conviction was overturned three years later due to violations of his due process rights.
Watch the clip below or at this link.