Posted by Accuser’s Father on Larry King Live – MJEOL Bullet #87
The father of Michael Jackson”s accuser appeared on Larry King Live last night (Feb 13). By all accounts, the father misses his children, which he hasn”t seen in three years. The father, David (no last name used), appeared on the show with his lawyer, Russ Halpern.
David was charged with spousal abuse 3 years ago and the court issued a temporary restraining order against him. The mother of the accuser went back to court, during divorce proceedings according to Halpern, and got another restraining order placed on him.
Halpern says:
“unfortunately, he wasn’t represented during the divorce proceedings and it [restraining order] went uncontested so that restraining order is still in effect and will stay in effect for at least another year unless we get it lifted.”
According to the father, the restraining order is such that if he even attempts to contact his children, he would get an automatic 1 year jail sentence. In fact, Halpern says that while the case was pending “his wife did make some accusations that he tried to contact one of the children” and that David was almost thrown in jail “so he’s leery of that and has been following their orders to the letter of the law.”
Halpern says he does expect to get the restraining order changed at their next court appearance in March. These restraining orders came about because of the tales of the mother and her children, spun to convince authorities that the father is an abuser. Halpern says that as a part of his evidence, he will present in court such documents as:
“a deposition that his wife [accuser”s mother] had given during a JCPenny”s lawsuit and in that deposition she was asked what his propensity for violence was and she said”she was specifically asked, “did he ever hit you?” And she said no and then she elaborated by saying he was a wonderful husband, he had never touched her, he didn”t have it in him to touch a woman and he had never touched the children, never as far as even spanking the kids.”
If you”ll remember, court documents also exist that say the mother and the children claimed to be abused by the father. Either way, the mother and children have a history of laying under oath about abuse. This could figure heavily in the Jackson trial. When asked what his reaction was to his son”s accusations, David says, “I can”t have any reaction. I’m not there yet. I haven’t spoke to my son.”
The father couldn”t go into detail because he is a potential witness in the case. His lawyer said “he”d be a witness because he had knowledge as to the background concerning his ex-wife. He had knowledge concerning the background of this child, and that could be used by either side.”
The father says he knows Michael Jackson and that Jackson has “always been a real good friend.”
He says he doesn’t know who to believe just yet because he hasn”t spoken to his son: “I don’t know which way to go. I’m not there yet. I haven’t spoke to my son. So I don”t know if I have any feelings one way or the other.”
Another interesting point was the father”s hesitation to say whether he believes the allegations are coming from his son or from other people who have convinced his son to make the accusations. He alluded to something, but his attorney had to step in and explain:
KING: You have a son who has made the accusation who you love and miss.
DAVID: I don’t even know that much.
KING: But you know he’s made the accusation there wouldn’t be a Santa Barbara case.
HALPERN: I’m sorry.
KING: Well, he’s got to know that. That’s like saying I don’t know the earth is round.
HALPERN: That’s true but you’re putting him in a difficult position. He’s been told by me and by other people not to talk about the Mr. Jackson or about the accusations at all. He came on the program today because he wanted to talk about how he feels towards his sons and other children and how he wants to see them again, but it’s really difficult for him…
Halpern also had some highly interesting things to say about Sneddon attempting to shut him (Halpern) up by claiming he is a potential witness. Halpern says:
KING: You’re not under a gag order, are you”
HALPERN: Well, that is a good question. I was…
KING: How would you be called”
HALPERN: That’s a very good question. I received a letter from Mr. Sneddon claiming that I was a potential witness. I called Mr. Sneddon, and asked him how he thought that, and he said, ‘well, maybe you could be an impeaching witness’, discrediting other witnesses. I said ‘well which witnesses would I discredit’ ” He named his own witnesses. I said ‘so are you telling me you’re going to call me as a witness to discredit your own witnesses?’ ” Of course he didn’t have a real answer for that. I also called Mr. Geragos’ office so ask them if they thought I was a witness. They agreed with me, thank you, that there was not anything that I could say that would be legally admissible. I’m not a potential witness. I think it was an attempt by the prosecution not to defend my client any further in the press.
This disingenuous attempt on Sneddon”s part is troubling for a number of reasons. The most important reason is that it illustrates the lengths his office would go to, to sway the jury pool by withholding very important information from them concerning the credibility of the accusing family.
When David was asked what he wanted to say to his kids if they were watching, he says: “I want to say that I love them and I’m trying hard to see them and I”ve been trying since they’ve been taken away from me, and I just want them to know that I’m going to keep trying”
You can listen to the interview in the MJEOL DOWNLOADS section, or read the rush transcript from CNN.com in the Transcripts & Statements forum.
-MJEOL