Bill Cosby’s lawyers say the recent sexual-assault charges against him are “illegal” and should be dismissed, the Associated Press reports. The comedian faces three counts of aggravated indecent sexual assault stemming from a 2005 allegation from Andrea Constand, who claims that Cosby drugged and assaulted her while she was working for Temple University. The Montgomery County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute Cosby a decade ago, and the star’s lawyers now say that he was given a pledge that he would never be charged in the matter; that pledge, they add, is what led Cosby to agree to give testimony in Constand’s civil suit, which reportedly plays an important role in the state’s new case against the comedian. (Portions of Cosby’s deposition were widely interpreted as a confession when they became public last summer.) Cosby’s lawyers also argue that the prosecution — which was a key issue in last year’s MontCo D.A. race — is “politically motivated,” and say that the 78-year-old comedian is too blind to identify his accusers in court.
