Cosby's Lawyers Seek To Dismiss Charges, DA Fires Back

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Prosecutors asked the court on Wednesday to dismiss Bill Cosby’s defense lawyers recent motion asking for more time and for District Attorney Kevin Steele to be removed from the case.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office said that Cosby is seeking “special treatment” in attempting to have pre-trial motions heard before a preliminary hearing.

Cosby’s team first alleged that Steele used Cosby as fodder for his campaign to be elected as DA last fall. They said they Steele’s “injection of allegations” against Cosby into his campaign should disqualify him from all future proceedings involving the comedian.

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“The defendant is seeking to distract from the allegations against him by attacking the District Attorney’s office,” Steele said in a press release Wednesday. “This is an unwarranted and blatant attempt to pick his own prosecutor.

Defense lawyers Brian J. McMonagle and Monique Pressley said Steele crossed an ethical line by using Cosby, calling him a sexual predator, to improve his political standing against his opponent, Bruce Castor.

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Cosby’s team also allegedly sought to dismiss the charges because they said a former District Attorney promised them immunity.

Castor, the DA in 2005 when Cosby was first investigated, was not mentioned by name.

However, the DA’s office said only a judge can grant immunity, and that such a motion is meritless.

“We have been ready and remain ready to present our case in court, and are asking Judge Steven T. O’Neill to dismiss this improper motion by the defense,” Steele added. “These are the legal steps we must take in our pursuit of justice.”

The next step in that process, should the defense’s motion be denied, is Cosby’s preliminary hearing, where prosecutors must prove that a crime has been committed and that the accused is “probably” the one who committed it.

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