Lawyers for Bill Cosby went to Federal court in Philadelphia Wednesday morning to request that the actor’s previous testimony relating to extramarital affairs and drugging women be resealed.
While the 78-year-old comedian is trying to deny his many accusers the ability to use his own words against him, members of the three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals suggested today that his request was pointless, since the deposition had already been released in headlines around the world.
Related: UPDATE: Pennsylvania Court Puts Cosby Criminal Case On Hold
Circuit Judge Thomas L. Ambro said that other courts “don’t have to necessarily follow us. We can’t control them.”;
Cosby gave the nearly 1,000-page deposition back in 2005 as part of a lawsuit against Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee who claimed the actor drugged and molested her in his home. In the testimony, he admitted to several extramarital affairs and revealed he obtained quaaludes to give to women in the hopes of seducing them.
Related: Bill Cosby Moves to Dismiss His Lawsuit Against Beverly Johnson — For Now
The case was later settled, but Cosby’s testimony was released last year on request by The Associated Press. At the time, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno found the public had a right to know what Cosby said.
On Wednesday, Cosby’s lawyers argued that the comedian’s “private and embarrassing testimony”; would bring harm to the television star, “who relies upon his reputation for his livelihood.”; However, Ambro said, “You’re asking us to put it back, and we just can’t do it.”;
The ruling date is yet to be determined.
