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Will Allred Offer the Cosby Deal to the Clintons?

Larry Elder

By Larry Elder

Published December 26, 2014

  Will Allred Offer the Cosby Deal to the Clintons?

Allred says so many alleged victims have called her office, she's "literally lost count." She says she told these women, however, you're "too late." By this, Allred meant that the statute of limitations has passed for both criminal and civil charges to be filed against Cosby.

Some of the claims date back to the '60s, '70s and '80s, with one going back as far as 1965. Former Playboy bunny P.J. Masten claims that Cosby raped her in 1979. The comedian, says Masten, invited her to dinner, asking her to meet him at his hotel room where he gave her a cocktail of Grand Marnier. "The next thing I knew, it was 4 o'clock in the morning," Masten alleged. "I woke up in a bed naked, bruised. He was laying next to me, and I slithered out of the bed ... I got myself together, I went downstairs, I got in a cab, and I went home. ... There were bruise marks all over me. I knew I was raped."

Cosby's wife, Camille, broke weeks of silence with the following statement: "I met my husband, Bill Cosby, in 1963, and we were married in 1964. The man I met and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work. He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew."

And recently The Daily Caller said several of the Cosby accusers have checkered backgrounds or their stories are of questionable veracity: "A number of women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault either have factual contradictions in their accounts or have personal histories that cast doubt on their claims, The Daily Caller has learned.

Cosby, through his wife and others, claims his innocence. Allred, at a press conference, said that she's found a way for Cosby to vindicate himself: "Mr. Cosby could agree that there would be one lawsuit for all those who had been previously barred by the statute of limitations. Then he could litigate all of the cases at the same time. Everyone who had claims of sexual assault by Mr. Cosby could join, and there would be an opportunity for Mr. Cosby to defend himself.

"Alternately, if Mr. Cosby doesn't want to waive the statute of limitations because he is not willing to subject himself to scrutiny in a court of law, he should agree to place $100 million into a fund and anyone who claims she was a victim could appear before a panel of retired judges who would serve as arbitrators to determine the merits of each claim and the amount of compensation that would be appropriate if the claim has merit. ... Victims could present their cases and Bill Cosby could make his arguments in defense to the retired judges. The judges would then decide. It is time for justice and accountability."

Allred prides herself on "standing up for women."

When, however, another alleged victim of sexual battery, Kathleen Willey, sought her help, she says Allred turned her back on her. Willey, a former White House volunteer and self-described "good friend" of then-president Bill Clinton, appeared on "60 Minutes" and accused Clinton of sexually battery.

Willey said she went to ask Clinton for a paid job or any other aid he could offer. "I just told him that my husband was in financial difficulty and that things were at a crisis point," said Willey, "and that my volunteer days were over, that I needed a regular paying job and could he help me." But in a small room just off the Oval Office, she says, Clinton hugged and kissed her. When she tried to push him away, "he touched my breasts with his hand ... and then he whispered ... 'I've wanted to do this ever since I laid eyes on you.' ... He took my hand, and he put it ... on his genitals." Finally, says Willey, she managed to push him away.

Willie says she phoned Gloria Allred's law office twice, left her name and number, and never heard back.

Juanita Broaddrick, a former operator of nursing homes, claims that in 1978 gubernatorial candidate Bill Clinton, then Arkansas attorney general, raped her. Furthermore, she claims that two weeks following the assault, Hillary Clinton verbally intimidated her.

Will Allred offer the Cosby deal to the Clintons, more specifically to Hillary, the woman who would become president? Verbally intimidating an alleged rape victim two weeks after the rape is not exactly presidential resume-building material. Hillary deserves an opportunity to "defend herself" and clear her name.

If it's a good enough deal for Bill Cosby, it ought to be good enough for Bill and Hillary Clinton.

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Larry Elder is a best-selling author and radio talk-show host.

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