Geragos: Don't mess with Jacko ( 2003-11-26 10:28) (China Daily)
Michael Jackson's lawyer said his client is not
going to be a "pinata for every person who has financial motives" and vowed to
make sure the jet company that recorded the pop star during flight will go out
of business.
Nov. 20: A Santa
Barbara sheriff's office mug shot shows Michael
Jackson.
Attorney Mark Geragos appeared at a
press conference Tuesday where he had a message for anyone who abused Jackson or
invaded his privacy: "We will land on you like a ton of bricks."
Geragos called XtraJet's attempt to sell a video and audio recording in which
Jackson is seen and heard talking to Geragos in flight "one of the most
outrageous acts I've ever seen in my 20 years of practicing criminal law."
Earlier Tuesday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge forbade the release of
videotape secretly filmed aboard Jackson's flight to Santa Barbara to turn
himself in on suspicion of child molestation.
Judge David Yaffe issued a temporary injunction against XtraJet that prevents
the corporate jet leasing company from releasing the footage until at least Dec.
19. A hearing on extending the order is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Fox News has already viewed the tape without audio, after the company showed
it to several news organizations Monday.
In the video, Jackson was calm and often smiling or laughing during the plane
ride — not a sobbing, emotional wreck as a British tabloid reported over the
weekend.
Nov. 24:
Attorney Mark Geragos speaks to reporters about the Michael Jackson
case.
XtraJet says it found two video cameras
stowed away in some baggage compartments with film of the flight on them. The
company said it hadn't placed the cameras, but found them during a routine sweep
of the aircraft and wanted to know whether it was legal to distribute or sell
them.
Jackson attorney Brian Kabateck said an XtraJet attorney denied in court the
company placed the cameras in the plane and, on behalf of the Jackson legal
team, said, "we think that's just ridiculous."
In other developments, the mother of Jackson's young accuser never mentioned
that Jackson had molested her son until recently, according to her divorce
lawyer.
The disclosure by attorney Michael Manning came as the New York Post reported
Tuesday that authorities have received hundreds of tips since Jackson's arrest
last week in California.
Manning said he remembers the mother singing Jackson's praises as recently as
April or May.
"'He was really good to us' — that's what she said at the time," the lawyer
said.
Asked if the boy's mother had said anything else about Jackson, Manning
added, "Nothing bad. ... If it turned sour, I don't know how."
An aerial
photo shows Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez Valley,
Calif.
Jackson surrendered Thursday on suspicion
of sexual abuse of a child under 14 after authorities raided the star's
Neverland Ranch on Wednesday. He was handcuffed, booked and released and has
been in seclusion in Las Vegas ever since.
Acting on information from callers, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department
officials are looking at about 100 tips they consider to be serious, the Post
reported.
The alleged victim's mother filed for divorce in 2001 and has custody of the
children. Manning said she and her son rarely mentioned their visits to
Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County.
"They didn't brag about it," he said. "They weren't star crazy."
Manning said he still represents the mother in the divorce, although he
hasn't spoken to her since May or June.
Fox News has also learned the Jackson team has been flooded in recent days
with calls from witnesses who were at Neverland Ranch while the boy was there.
The witnesses said the boy always acted happy and did not seem troubled.
There are also some employees of Jackson who said they saw the mother of the
boy often arguing with the pop star — sometimes, they said, high on crack — and
that she made demands.
Some members of the Jackson team told Fox News they believed the molestation
case was all about greed from the accuser's mother. They said as early as late
January she was making verbal threats, saying "she could go to the tabloids and
tell some stories if they didn't take care of her."
The child's mother has an unlisted number and could not be reached for
comment by The Associated Press on Monday.
Michael Jackson
fans hold support signs while standing near their icon's star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California.
[AP]
Stuart Backerman, the entertainer's spokesman, declined to comment Monday
night.
Representatives of the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office and
the sheriff's department declined to comment Monday on the case. Both have said
they will not comment until charges are filed.
Jackson launched a Web site Monday designed to tell his side of the story in
the child-molestation case, asserting the allegations are "predicated on a big
lie."
The singer put the site together so he could communicate directly with the
news media and fans, Backerman said. Jackson said in his statement that the site
would serve as a source for "official communications on my case."
The site also contains links to three earlier statements Backerman made last
week on Jackson's behalf.
Jackson was released on $3 million bail after his surrender Thursday and
immediately returned to Las Vegas, where he had been filming a video.
Authorities have said they expect to file formal charges sometime after
Thanksgiving. His arraignment is set for Jan. 9.
