The prosecutor whose 2005 decision not to charge comedian Bill Cosby with the sexual assault of a Temple University employee is no stranger to the headlines this year: He previously defended former President Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial following the Capitol insurrection.

       Bruce Castor was serving as Montgomery County’s district attorney when he made the decision to not charge Mr Cosby, at the time stating that there was not enough evidence to charge Mr Cosby with a crime due to potential witnesses likely being barred from testimony and the lack of forensic evidence, according to court documents.

       Under the terms of his agreement to drop the case, however, Mr Castor required Mr Cosby’s testimony in a civil trial brought by Andrea Constand, his accuser, where he would not be subject to Fifth Amendment protections. Mr Cosby relented, and made statements incriminating himself during those depositions which were later the basis for the prosecution of Ms Constand’s allegations years later.

       In January, Mr Castor hooked up with another high-profile defendant, Mr Trump, and was tapped to lead the president’s defence in his second trial before the US Senate.

       Though Mr Castor’s defence resulted in Mr Trump’s acquittal, thanks to Republicans’ unyielding loyalty, the impeachment trial saw the biggest-ever defection of senators from Mr Trump’s own party in any such trial in US history.

       It was also the first-ever time a president has faced two separate impeachment trials by the US Senate; in 2020, he faced articles of impeachment and a Senate trial over his efforts to convince Ukraine’s government to open a criminal investigation into now-President Joe Biden in an effort to tank the latter’s 2020 presidential bid.

       In addition to prosecuting criminals as a district attorney in Pennsylvania, Mr Castor would also go on to serve as the state’s solicitor general and acting attorney general, though his bid to serve as attorney general for a full term was unsuccessful.

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