Bill Cosby released from prison after conviction overturned
The White House did not have a “direct response” on Wednesday to the news that Bill Cosby would be released from prison, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, but she stressed the administration’s support for survivors of sexual assault.
“I’ll just use the opportunity to reiterate that the President has long been an advocate for fighting against violence against women, for ensuring that we are raising the voices and the stories of people who have been survivors of sexual assault,” Psaki said. “That’s something he has done throughout his career and will continue to do.”
She added she didn’t “have a specific comment on that announcement today,” but added that if the White House releases a statement it could come later Wednesday.
Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about the kind of message the vacated conviction sends – particularly given it was related to a judge’s decision, and not necessarily whether Cosby committed those crimes – Psaki said she didn’t want to comment on a specific decision.
“I just want to be careful about not speaking to a specific decision by a court,” Psaki said, “but I can say, broadly speaking, as I tried to do earlier, obviously the President is somebody who has fought for advocated for elevating the voices and stories of women who are survivors of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and certainly knows that’s a difficult journey for many of them.”
She added that Biden, “believes that these women are courageous, they’re brave, and he wants it to be an environment wants us to live in a country where they were women will feel comfortable moving forward and telling their story.”
Psaki also reiterated that if there’s a specific response from the White House it would come after the press briefing.
