Cosby’s trial lawyer in closing arguments Monday, told the jury that the comedian and the woman who accuses him of drugging and raping her were lovers who had enjoyed secret “romantic interludes.”
“You know why we’re here,” McMonagle said scornfully. “Let’s be real.”
Then he began pounding the defense table, sending the thunderclap sound of his palms on the wooden surface ricocheting off the white, columned courtroom walls.
Rather than focus on the sexual-assault allegations, McMonagle tried to present jurors with a broader sense of Cosby as a flawed man, an “unfaithful” husband, but also a brilliant comedian, “who not only taught us how to smile but how to love each other no matter what we look like.”
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Declining to take the stand in his own defense, the 79-year-old TV star left it to his attorney to argue that Cosby’s 2004 sexual encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual. Lawyer Brian McMonagle said in his closing argument that while Cosby had been unfaithful to his wife, he didn’t commit a crime.
McMonagle pointed out that Constand telephoned Cosby dozens of times after the alleged assault. Constand told the jury she was merely returning his calls about the women’s basketball squad at Temple University, where she worked as director of team operations and he was a member of the board of trustees.
“This isn’t talking to a trustee. This is talking to a lover,” McMonagle said of one call that lasted 49 minutes. “Why are we running from the truth of this case — this relationship? Why? I don’t understand it.”
Who Is Andrea Constand, Bill Cosby’s Accuser?
Cosby’s wife of 53 years, Camille — in the courtroom for the first time in the 6-day-old trial — was stoic during the defense argument. She sat in the front row, across the aisle from Constand, who didn’t react to McMonagle’s two-hour closing but smiled at the end of it.
Cosby could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
Well Cosby takes the cake! I believe the accusers and I hope the jury finds him guilty. He used his position and power to sexually assault these women. Shameful! Yep, my minds made up he is guilty plain and simple guilty.