Posted by Stepfather Asked for Money from Jackson & 2 Reporters MJEOL Bullet #184 Some prosecution sympathizers have attempted to say the admission by the accusers stepfather under oath–that he asked for money–can be interpreted in two ways. This is not only a ridiculous interpretation of what the stepfather said, but its also indicative of them grasping at straws to explain away this latest incredibly damaging revelation.
The stepfather testified that the family was asked by Michael Jackson associates if they wanted to be in a rebuttal video telling their side of the story after the Bashir documentary. Sources inside the courtroom say the stepfather then testified he asked that person over the phone what Jackson was offering to the family in exchange for their participation. He was the first one to solicit money. He was also brokering deals from two other sources: two British reporters from whom he also tried to solicit money. Santa Barbara News-Press reports of the fathers testimony:
“I said, ‘What are you offering them?’ ” Mr. Doe said, testifying that the caller first offered to provide security for the family. Mr. Doe, who has been in the Army for 22 years, said he could take care of that himself. “Then he said he’d give them a college education and buy them a new house. I said that’s all fine and good, but this family has nothing. I know you’re going to make several million dollars from this. So what are you going to do for this family?” Mr. Doe did not identify the Neverland caller. (see Stepfather of boy asked for money (Aug 20 2004))
This is a far cry from what the NY Post is reporting, with their asinine hush money headline. No where does the stepfather testify that they were offered hush money for the specific purpose of clearing Jackson of allegations. Not only is it ridiculous because of the prosecutions timeline, but it gets even more ludicrous once certain facts are put into the equation. Some say to hear people like Diane Dimond talk, for example, youd think Jackson entered into full negotiations to pay off somebody. The only problem with that tall tale is that, depending on when this phone call took place, no alleged abuse had occurred yet, according to the prosecutions own deeply flawed timeline. Keep in mind the prosecutions timeline. How could it have been a pay off if no abuse was even alleged to have happened, according to prosecutors? You can bet Dimond and her ilk would have a spin to try to explain that away too. Theres no way this conversation could have taken place AFTER prosecutors are alleging abuse began because the rebuttal video aired on Fox in the middle of Feb 2003. So its common sense that they wouldnt have been asked for their participation in a rebuttal video that had already been shot and aired on the Fox network. As mentioned earlier, compounding problems for prosecutors is the fact that not only did the stepfather seek money from Jackson, but he also sought thousands of dollars from two British journalists as well. The following is from an AP report dated August 19 2004:
The witness testified that he also asked for compensation at some point from a British journalist who came to the family’s home to try to interview them after a documentary on Jackson aired on British television. “Two British journalists showed up and I talked to them,” the witness said. “The said they wanted to do an interview with (his wife) and the children. I said, ‘what are you offering?’ They said, ‘what do you want?’ And I said I didn’t know.” He said the journalists left and said they would return with an offer. (see Accuser’s Stepfather Wanted Money from Jackson)
NBCs Mike Taibbi tracked down one of those British reporters who had contract with the stepfather. Alec Byrne confirms that it was the father who initially brought up the subject of money; just as he did with Jacksons people. According to reports, not only did they seek money from both British journalists and Jackson, but they were also trying to broker that $15,000 deal AFTER the Bashir documentary aired in Europe, and BEFORE it aired in the U.S. Taibbi, also present in Santa Maria courtroom this week, reports about what happen in court:
The stepfather of the accuser testified in a pre-trial hearing that after the broadcast of a British documentary showing Jackson with his accuser, he said to a Jackson associate seeking the familys cooperation in a positive rebuttal video: This family has nothing and youre making millions off this. What are you going to do for this little family. (:camera see MSNBC Live: Mike Taibbi – Stepfather Asks for Money August 20 2004 )
Of the reporters from whom they sought money, Taibbi gets one of those reporters to confirm on camera it was the father who brought up the subject of money:
He also testified that before the documentary aired in America, 2 British journalists offered to pay for the familys story. Alec Byrne told NBC news exclusively he was one of those journalists. And that is was the stepfather who broached the subject of money.
BYRNE: The starting figure was $500 from myself. And thats supposedly when he consulted with the mother. TAIBBI: And it ended up at what? BYRNE: It ended up at $15,000
This fact completely destroys the assumption that it was Jacksons side which first brought up the subject of money with the family. They were clearly brokering deals before they were even asked by Jacksons side to shoot a rebuttal video. There hasnt been word yet if the second British reporter went through with some sort of side deal with the family for pictures, interviews, etc. But apparently $15,000 just wasnt enough for them. And it is more than peculiar that once they werent getting what they wanted, they hooked up with civil attorney Larry Feldman by which allegations of molestation magically appeared. Believe it or not, this wouldnt be the only time members of the accusing family spent time talking to reporters for whatever reason. In an April 18 2004 article from the NY Daily News, its reported that the accusers mother allowed the accuser and his brother to go on a shopping spree with a local Fox11 reporter on January 31 2004. No, thats not a typo. There are photos of the Fox11 reporter and the boys cheerfully chatting during the outing, according to the NY Daily News. They had lunch, shopped and went to a video arcade:
On Jan 21, the familys former attorney William Dickerman told the Associated Press the family was in hiding from the media, adding, Theyre very private people. However, 10 days later, the accuser’s mother allowed the boy and his 13-year-old brother to go on an unsupervised dining and shopping spree with a local TV reporter. Photos show [the Fox reporter] and the boys cheerfully chatting on the Jan. 31 excursion. They lunched at a cafe, shopped at an electronic games store, where the accuser emerged with a bag of goodies, and spent 40 minutes at a video arcade. When [the reporter] brought the kids back 2-1/2 hours later, the mom came outside to chat. (see Accuser Talked to, Shopped with Reporter in Jan 2004)
Remember, this was after Jackson was charged by current DA Tom Sneddon; after the arrest; after the raid on Millers office; after the ridiculous press conference by the DA and sheriff; after the accusers mother was given forms by Sneddon to fill out so that they can receive money from the Victims Compensation Fund; after the family exonerated Jackson repeatedly; and after every investigation done concluded that these very allegations are baseless (or unfounded as the Dept of Children & Family Services puts it). Sources tell Fox news that the accusing family was treated to a number of things. That is, before the allegations arose only after their unlimited tab was cut off:
I’ve been telling you for months that Jay Jackson and the accuser’s mother wanted everything they could get from the King of Pop and his associates. There are receipts, too, lots of them, that can be brought into evidence showing how much shopping the mother did on Michael Jackson’s dime. (see [Jackson] Case: Shakedown Admitted by Accuser’s Side – Fox)
It is the contention of defense attorneys–and like so many people have suspected–that once the money didnt come pouring in from Jackson, suddenly molestation allegations were made. Either way, last week was definitely not a good week for prosecutors. They made no headway in convincing a skeptical courtroom that it just slipped past EVERYONE doing investigations around this case that Miller worked for Mark Geragos. There is evidence that Sneddon knew, should have known, and conceded to knowing Miller worked for Geragos only to later change his mind once he realized the total consequences of that situation. There is evidence, according to reports from people inside the courtroom this week, William Dickerman testified in front of the grand jury that he knew Miller worked for Geragos. And there were many other bombshells dropped in court as well. Some observers say this past week was a very small preview of what the defense intends to prove in court. With defense attorneys doing their own investigation who knows whats going to come out about both prosecution antics and threats/demands from the accusing family. You had better stay tuned. -MJEOL