Just over two months after cutting loose Christopher Tayback as his main attorney after less than a year, Bill Cosby has lost another lawyer. Monique Pressley announced in court filings that she is no longer representing the actor after just over a year.
Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt confirmed today that the Washington D.C based attorney is no longer part of the much-accused Cosby Show creator’s legal team. The shake-up in the actor’s defense now sees Angela Agrusa, the head of litigation at LA & NYC firm Liner LLP, and Pennsylvania based Brian McMonagle fronting Cosby’s efforts to avoid a potential decade behind bars on three felony second-degree aggravated indecent assault charges. Dropped on Cosby late last year, those charge are in addition to a variety of civil cases across the country that the actor is fighting.
Before leaving his side, Pressley was the primary public face of Cosby’s defense as she frequently appeared in the media on the actor’s behalf. Pressley herself did not respond to comment for request from Deadline on exiting Team Cosby. However, her social media presence such as Facebook still is filled with photos and posts about going to court for Cosby over the last several months.
Facing criminal charges in the Keystone State for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand in 2004, Cosby has been unsuccessful in attempts to get the Montgomery County D.A.s office’s case derailed. Last month Pennsylvania Judge Steven O’Neill ruled to deny the habeas corpus in the case of Cosby’s alleged drugging and rape of the then Temple University employee. On August 12, Judge O’Neill quashed another legal maneuver by Cosby’s team to stop the matter from going to trial later this year.
With accusations from over 50 women that the actor drugged and/or assaulted them, Cosby is also facing a number of defamation and other civil cases in states like California and Massachusetts where the statute of limitations have expired.