Erin Burnett (00:00):
“When Tamara Green first spoke out about this incident, it was in 2005. It was an interview on the Today Show with Matt Lauer. Cosby’s attorney said in a statement at that time, I’ll quote him, ‘Ms. Green’s allegations are absolutely false. The incident she describes did not happen. The fact that she may have repeated this story to others is not corroboration.’ So explain how that is defamation.”
Joseph Cammarata (00:15):
“Well, is it a false statement that can be proven as a matter of fact to be false? In addition, that statement back in 2005 said that Mr. Cosby didn’t even know Tamara Green or Tamara by her maiden name, and that the incident didn’t happen in any way, shape, or form. So when you take that type of a denial, it by implication calls a person a liar, brands them publicly a liar. And so in a courtroom, you can determine by reviewing the evidence whether or not that statement that Tamara Green and her allegations are true or not. If they in fact are true, she wins her lawsuit.”
Erin Burnett (01:00):
“Alright. But we’re getting back to, and what I find fascinating about this then, and tell me if I’m interpreting what you’re saying wrong, but what I’m hearing is that in order to win your defamation lawsuit, you have to prove that he lied. In which case, you have to prove the assault happened. How do you do that when it happened 30 years ago?”
Joseph Cammarata (01:20):
“Well, there are ways to prove these types of cases. I can’t—the rules in the U.S. District Court prohibit me from commenting on the evidence. But I could speak generally and tell you that there’s testimony from the victim, there’s testimony from the aggressor, there would be testimony from persons that the victim may have confided in, there may be testimony from other persons who were similarly treated by the person that’s being accused of being the sexual predator. So there are a lot of ways to prove these types of lawsuits. As to how it would be proven in this case, I can’t specifically tell you because the federal rules in Massachusetts prohibit me from doing so.”
Erin Burnett (02:00):
“Well, you’re the first telling me that you actually think you can prove it from that long ago. I mean, others have said, well, look, I mean on basic things, there weren’t rape kits, there weren’t things like that. Never mind that most of these women at the time say they were so humiliated they wouldn’t have even subjected themselves to such what they perceived to be indignities at the time. What damages are you asking for?”
Joseph Cammarata (02:30):
“Well, the complaint asks for damages to compensate her for her reputation, for damage to her good name and reputation, her standing within the community, her standing within her circle of friends and relatives. And the exact amount is to be determined by a jury after listening to all the evidence.”
