A new report has surfaced accusing Bill Cosby of hiring private investigators to discredit the women who accused the Cosby Show actor of sexual assault.
While the reports are yet to be confirmed, the move is one that has some legal experts raising a brow.
Cosby already has “at least one Glendale, Calif.-based firm with a half-dozen LAPD detectives on staff” under his belt, according to the New York Post.
The private investigators, however, would serve the sole purpose of prying into the lives of the alleged victims and finding any information that would discredit their stories or their overall “character and motives,” Page Six reported on Monday.
The problem is that many people are questioning whether or not Cosby needs to come out the gates swinging at the alleged victims.
“Sometimes in a case like this, less can be more,” said Benjamin Brafmen, a criminal defense lawyer who represented Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to the NY Times. “Attacking someone who is perceived to be a ‘victim’ can often be unproductive.”
He added that he would have recommended a more “softly spoken” approach that would deny all the claims and allegations without challenging the “integrity of the women now coming forward.”
“Simply put, it may be better to say nothing than try and engage so many,” Brafman said.
For Cosby’s camp, however, playing hardball is just the name of the game.
Cosby’s attorney, Martin Singer, has been known for his aggressive tactics and all throughout the latest scandal his aggressive nature has been on full display.
“Mr. Singer’s intensity was on full display in the first week of December after Judy Huth filed a civil suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that in 1974, when she was 15, Mr. Cosby plied her with drinks and forced her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom at the Playboy Mansion,” the NY Times reported. “In court papers, Mr. Singer said Ms. Huth’s claim was ‘meritless’ and nothing short of ‘a shakedown.’ “
Taking aim at the victims’ motives for coming forward with the stories of alleged sexual assault hasn’t been the only aggressive tactic Cosby and his team have used.
Back in November the Associated Press released a video of Cosby pressuring an AP reporter to “scuttle” his response to a question about the accusations.
He has also tried to blame and criticize the media for their reporting on the accusations but deciding not to run slanderous information about the women.
“The media has consistently refused to look into or publish information about various women whose stories are contradicted by their own conduct or statement,” Cosby said in a letter he wrote to The Daily News.
He sent similar angry letters to other media organizations including CNN.
Of course, it is important to note that no conclusive evidence has been presented against Cosby.
Legally he may not be in serious hot water just yet but when it comes to PR, the veteran comedian is in the midst of a serious nightmare.
