why do they want to speak to camille cosby? here's the man to answer that, the attorney for the seven women suing cosby. and also with me is cnn's jean casarez who is all over this story and in the courtroom the other day in montgomery county. welcome to you, joseph. thanks for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> what specifically is the knowledge that camille cosby has? i understand it has to do with the fact she's her husband's business manager. >> well, first of all, she's his wife of some 50 some odd years. she's known mr. cosby since she was 19. she has information that's relevant to the issues in this case. for example, his relationships that he's had with other women, sexual proclivity, use of quaalud quaaludes. she's his business manager. mr. cosby maintains that my seven clients gathered together and in essence conspired to rail his remergence on nbc or netflix. clearly as business manager, she will have information what impact, if any, these women had on his business. so there are many, many topics that are

camille cosby, people are surprised to learn about this, that there are exceptions. i guess because it is a civil case, but is there any chance that she testifies this testimony becomes public and it's used against him in this criminal case in pennsylvania? >> let's talk, first, about the fact that anyone testifies under oath could potentially be used against them, in virtually any proceeding with some exceptions number one, will she testify? the judge ruled that, in this case, her claim that her communications were privileged was not exactly right. instead, under massachusetts law, it's an issue of competence. so in other words, the law looks at her as being incompetent to testify against her husband. and, this is a nuance distinction, when it comes to depositions, discovery in a civil case, the scope of discovery's much broader than that which is ultimately admissible at a trial. and just because a witness like miss cosby may not ultimately be competent to testify against her husband, even if her testimony may not be admissible at trial, she can certainly appear fo

. >> bill cosby's wife camille is being forced to break her silence on the charges against her husband. a judge ordered miss cosby to testify this coming wednesday in a defamation suit against the comedian. in the civil suit, seven women say bill cosby portrayed them as liars and they accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them. miss cosby's attorney says the private conversations are privileged. but the plaintiff says she was subpoenaed because she was her husband's business manager. >>> earlier, cnn's brianna keilar spoke with darrin kavinoky about cosby's superstardom and how it impacts the case against him. >> tell us how much more difficult his celebrity makes this case for the prosecution and for the defense. >> it's a great question and a huge issue in this case. we've seen examples where being a celebrity has been helpful to a criminal defendant and others where celebrities were punished i think more harshly because of their status as a celebrity. what's especially tricky for cosby in this case, though, is that at its very core, this case is about the misuse of his cel

. >>> bill cosby's wife camille will not be deposed today. a judge allowed her emergency motion for a last-minute stay so an appeal could be heard. she was set to testify in a civil lawsuit involving seven women who accused bill cosby of sexual misconduct and who are now suing him for defamation. they are among cosby's 50 accusers. >> we were anticipating her deposition. it will be fascinating to hear what she knows, what she can offer, if she will actually say anything. >> and how that would affect or if it would affect the ongoing criminal case against him, too. >> she's playing two roles, right? she's the wife, this is a civil case, different rules about that privilege. but she's also the business manager. irreparable harm. what does that mean? only the judge knows. they do this pleading to the judge. this doesn't end it. >> this is not a done deal. you were telling me about that. >> this is about -- >> they'll examine it further. >> right. the point of the judge here is, we don't want to do anything that we don't have to do before we have

this week on felony aggravated assault charges, and this new development, a judge ruling cosby's wife camille must testify at an upcoming d deposition in a defamation case brought by seven of her husband's accusers. her lawyers plan to appeal that order. >>> now to the historic floods in missouri, where the death toll now stands at 14. floodwaters from a number of rivers beginning to recede around st. louis, but levees are still threatening to fail around the town of porton bersu. that's a look at your new year's morning headlines. alisyn and chris, back to you. >>> okay. at the stroke of midnight it officially became an election year. congratulations. >> feels good. >> all eyes on the presidential race, but there are plenty of key congressional races to watch as well. how will donald trump's rise affect the republican reign in both houses of congress? here to illustrate it all with a magic wall, cnn chief national correspondent john king. happy new year. >> i'm going to take a vacation. can i have the year off? >> no. a busy year for you. >> okay. >> let's start right now. what do you predic

. >> the camille i don't know would change the color of its skin to fit into the environment. i think i did quite the reverse. >> reporter: david bowie's tech any color transformations and pushing of boundaries inspired generation of misfits and music lovers to not just face but embrace the strange. ♪ turn and face the strange >> reporter: today the world grieves for a cast of characters that changed our views on sound, fashion, sexuality, and theatrics. >> i've always just seem to collect personalities. >> reporter: we say good-bye to ziggy stardust, that's the alter ego that took a generation grounded in the turmoil of the 1970s and launched it into an other worldly space odyssey above the status quo. rolling stone magazine credits him with making rock 'n roll safe for glitter gods, under lay city gaga, boy george, marilyn manson, and countless others. >> he was the ideas guy. he drercht all that up. he dreamt up a persona that was never done before. >> reporter: today we say farewell to the thin white duke. ♪ fame >> reporter: who's decidedly less flamboyant "fame" intr