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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Michael Jackson Free on Bail; Twin Terrorist Attack in Turkey; Mayhem in Miami

Aired November 20, 2003 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: It's happening right now, Michael Jackson is free on bail, though his family is speaking out directly to CNN. During this hour, we are standing by momentarily. The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department expected to speak to the news media. You're looking at live pictures.
Also happening right now, you are looking live at the aftermath of a twin terror attack in Turkey. Is this the work of al Qaeda again? Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Pop star in peril. We'll take you inside the gates of Neverland.

Terror in Turkey. Who's behind the bombings?

Taking a fall. Taking heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do they hate you in such numbers?

BLITZER: And taking a stand.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No act of thugs or killers will change our resolve.

BLITZER: And mayhem in Miami. Free trade versus free speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With news cameras from around the world looking on, Michael Jackson surrendered to authorities in Santa Barbara, California to face child molestation charges.

You're looking at live pictures right now. We're expecting a briefing from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department momentarily on what exactly happened inside while Michael Jackson was there.

Jackson arrived just a few hours ago in a private jet which was parked halfway inside a hangar to shield the pop star from the news media. He was then whisked away in a convoy of cars to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department where he was led inside in handcuffs, an image that's sure to be on the front pages of newspapers around the world tomorrow. Sheriff's officials are expected to update reporters this hour. We're standing by for that. We'll also bring it to you live as soon as it happens. We have reporters and guest analysts covering every angle of the story.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is outside the sheriff's department where Jackson was booked just a little while ago. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is outside Jackson's Neverland Ranch. That's northeast of Santa Barbara.

Let's begin, though, with Miguel Marquez. Miguel tell us exactly what we're awaiting right now.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're awaiting, Wolf, in this enormous crowd behind me of journalists and onlookers and a few fans even is for the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office to issue a statement.

Presumably this will come from the public information officer here or from the sheriff himself talking about Mr. Jackson and how his processing went today, a processing which by most jail standards that I've ever covered was lightning fast.

He came here and within a half hour or so he was gone. His entourage being followed by helicopters as it left here and you have probably 30, maybe 40 television cameras out there and probably another hundred reporters or so if you include the print reporters in the media scrum out here at the sheriff's office waiting to find out exactly what happened with Mr. Jackson.

We may also see a photograph of him, the mug shot of Mr. Jackson and possibly some sort of preliminary charging documents so we have a better idea of just how many counts we're talking about of molestation at this point -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Miguel, we just saw some new pictures that we just got into CNN. We see Michael Jackson. I want to show those pictures once again to our viewers leaving the sheriff's department. He's with his attorney Mark Geragos and he gives a wave to photographers, reporters who are obviously watching, trying to watch every moment of what exactly happened.

Walk us through, Miguel, briefly if you can the process once he arrived at the sheriff's department what happened?

MARQUEZ: Like anybody else he arrived in a sheriff's vehicle, an unmarked sheriff's vehicle. He was handcuffed. He went in through the intake area of the sheriff's department here.

He was booked. That is that the initial charges were probably read to him and his Miranda rights were given to him. He was fingerprinted and he was photographed.

He was probably searched as well and the contents of his pockets were gone through and he had to take off his belt and his socks and that sort of stuff. It usually happens when you're booked and he then was turned over to his lawyer at some point. It's not clear if he spent any time in a holding cell at all. He was turned over to his lawyer.

BLITZER: All right, Miguel, we're looking at a spokesman for the sheriff's department who says they're going to give us a little indication when this briefing is going to start. He's going to give us a little warning when it is going to begin. Let's listen in and see if he says anything else.

SGT. CHRIS PAPPAS, SANTA BARBARA SHERIFF'S DEPT.: That will be included in the most recent release as it was in the past but actual documentation that you're talking about, no, not from us right now.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE QUESTION)

PAPPAS: I think he referred to multiple counts and that's what we have at this point in time for release purposes. Okay, how about 30 seconds, about there. It's just going to be Sergeant Pappas, just me yes.

BLITZER: Only within the past hour or so has all of this drama come to a conclusion. He posted the $3 million bail, Michael Jackson, and how he's heading to some undetermined location, we assume his Neverland Ranch.

PAPPAS: I'm Sergeant Chris Pappas with Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. What I'd like to do is just give you some brief information in the form of an update and a follow-up regarding this latest progression and evolution through this process with Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson has been booked into the county jail. He has since been released. He has posted the bail and he has been given an arraignment date of January 9, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. in Santa Barbara Superior Court.

Many of you have been asking about booking photos. The booking photo of Mr. Jackson will be available on www.sbsheriff.org and that is our Web site. Additionally, most of the information contained in this release will also be available on that same Web site.

I've already told most of you about how to access the news line. This will also be updated on the news line so we'll try to layer the release information to make it as accessible as possible.

Having said that I'm not prepared to go in and open the floor at this point in time. The booking process took approximately 30 to 45 minutes was completed without incident.

Mr. Jackson's people were very cooperative throughout this process and the sheriff's department would like to forward their appreciation for that cooperation at this point in time. That's basically the information I have and that concludes this release at this point in time.

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson during the entire process how was his demeanor, how did he act?

PAPPAS: I don't think I'm going to get into that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you (unintelligible) at all about any of the alleged charges?

PAPPAS: Can't talk about any of the investigative issues at this point in time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any restrictions on him?

PAPPAS: (Unintelligible) and I'm glad -- I understand you have a lot of follow-up questions and as you well know as of January 9 that process will begin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there any bail restrictions?

PAPPAS: That I'm not aware of at this point in time. Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about his passport?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any special conditions?

PAPPAS: Yes, he did surrender his passport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about his children?

PAPPAS: Like I said we're completed with this process at this time as far as the release. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Unintelligible) step-by-step through the process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you be giving another press conference? Will there be another update?

BLITZER: That's Sergeant Chris Pappas, Chris Pappas of the Santa Barbara Police Department briefing reporters on precisely what happened during that 30 to 45 minute process while Michael Jackson was inside.

He was booked. He was released. He posted the $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment he says January 9 of next year, 8:30 a.m. Pacific time. He'll be appearing at the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

Our law enforcement Correspondent Mike Brooks is on the scene for us. This all sounds pretty standard, Mike. You've gone through this numerous times, anything unusual standing out in your mind as far as this booking process was concerned?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Wolf. After hearing Sergeant Pappas nothing unusual at all, he said it took about 30 to 45 minutes which is a pretty quick booking process. I tried to ask the question whether or not a statement was made. He would not answer whether or not Michael Jackson gave a statement to investigators. He did say also that his passport was surrendered.

And, also asked about any special conditions of his bond which the district attorney spoke to yesterday was just saying that there could be special conditions he also would not answer that particular question but he said it went without incident as we heard, very cooperative and they wanted to show their appreciation, extend their appreciation to Michael Jackson's party.

But again, Wolf, nothing out of the ordinary at all but very, very quick, nothing out of the ordinary -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This arraignment that's scheduled for January 9 before the Santa Barbara Superior Court what exactly will happen then?

BROOKS: Most likely what will happen that will be his initial appearance and his arraignment where the charges will be read to him and he can enter a plea. Again, that will most likely happen at that time. It will also be his initial appearance and there could be other restrictions placed on his bond then.

They also maybe will go over any other restrictions and then set another date for a preliminary hearing. We just, we know how the preliminary could take a number of days. We just heard that. We just saw that last week with the Scott Peterson trial. But, again, that most likely will be his initial appearance and arraignment and then after that a preliminary hearing date will be set -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Mike stand by because we're going to be getting back to you. I want to show our viewers live pictures. We believe this is Michael Jackson and his motorcade.

They're heading somewhere. We're not exactly sure where, perhaps to the Neverland Ranch. That's about 30 miles or so from Santa Barbara, half hour drive. We'll continue to watch these live pictures as we move on. This is arguably the most highly publicized celebrity criminal case since O.J. Simpson was tried and acquitted on murder charges.

Christopher Darden was one of the prosecutors in that case. He's joining us now live from Los Angeles. Christopher thanks so much for joining us. This must bring back lots of memories for you.

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Lots of memories. It seems that we're certainly poised for the next of the next century doesn't it?

BLITZER: Well, we see especially these aerial shots of these cars.

DARDEN: Yes.

BLITZER: It certainly reminds a lot of us who remember those days involving O.J. Simpson what was happening then. What are the immediate challenges that the prosecution faces right now in such a highly publicized case involving this world celebrity?

DARDEN: Well, I don't know that they necessarily face any. It's pretty apparent that the prosecutors in this case took their time in searching the Neverland Ranch and bringing these charges unlike us in the Simpson case where we were forced to file charges fairly quickly.

So, having taken weeks to put their case together they're probably prepared, you know. I got to tell you the law is on their side. There have been a lot of changes in the law since Jackson was accused in 1993 and 1994 that favor prosecutions of these kinds of cases. There are new hearsay exceptions in the law on child abuse cases and I got to tell you Michael Jackson truly is in a fight for his life now.

BLITZER: Some of the laws that have been changed let's go through some of them since he was accused of a similar kind of situation some ten years ago one would force the minor, the child in this particular case to testify even if subsequently he decides or his parents decide this is not what he wants to do, is that right?

DARDEN: Well, you know this is what I've heard and I haven't looked at that particular section but let me tell you, you know, there are exceptions to the hearsay rule in California now that allow the police and the prosecution to introduce statements.

A minor under the age of 12, 12 or under, who alleges abuse they can introduce that minor's statements to doctors, to police. They can introduce statements made by the minor even if the minor is not present in court.

And when you have situations like these where you have parents that don't want to subject their children to these kinds of cases or the media, you know, the prosecution is still going to be in a good position to proceed with the case with or without the minor.

BLITZER: This is going to be a long drawn out process assuming it eventually goes to trial, the arraignment now scheduled for January 9, Christopher. That should be a relatively brief court appearance. What do you expect will happen after that January 9 arraignment at the Santa Barbara Superior Court?

DARDEN: I have to confess, Wolf, I'm a little surprised that the arraignment date is set so far in the future given the nature of these charges and given the fact that Michael Jackson has unlimited resources and could flee if he wanted to flee and we know what happens in situations like these from the Andrew Luster case.

But when he appears for his arraignment he's going to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. The court will give him an opportunity to have the charges against him read publicly. The lawyers will confer with the court. They will calendar a preliminary hearing which usually occurs within ten court days of the arraignment but I'm sure in this case it will occur several weeks or several months after the initial arraignment.

The court could revisit the issue of bail if the court believes that $3 million is not sufficient or if there are new facts or new evidence that suggests that Michael Jackson either poses a danger to the community or might likely flee the jurisdiction.

BLITZER: We're looking at these live pictures. We're trying to follow through our affiliates where Michael Jackson might be heading next. He's posted bail. Normally in California what does that mean? Can he leave the state? Does he have to stay in California? Does he have to stay in the area around Santa Barbara? What does exactly that mean as far as you know Christopher?

DARDEN: Well, typically felony defendants sign a promise to appear. It does have certain conditions. They're generally restricted to the state. I don't know what agreement Michael Jackson and Mr. Geragos may have come to with the prosecution in this case but I would expect that he will not be leaving the state without the consent of the court or the knowledge of the prosecution and police.

BLITZER: Looking back on when we all got to know you during the O.J. Simpson trial and all of us remember that very, very vividly Christopher Darden. There's a lot of differences clearly between that case and this case, one important similarity very, very high profile.

Do you have any advice that you would give the prosecution on this particular time based on perhaps some of the mistakes that were made during the O.J. Simpson case?

DARDEN: Well, I think number one they have to plan for everything, for every possibility and understand that they're dealing with someone with unlimited resources.

You can expect that Michael Jackson will hire the best lawyers in the country, the best forensic specialists, the best of the best in terms of those with expertise in child abuse cases, whether they are therapists or physicians and the like and they have to be ready. They simply have to be ready and prepare for, you know, not just what might probably happen but the kinds of things that could happen.

BLITZER: Michael Jackson has an awful lot of money. He'll be able to hire the best lawyers as you point out, the best scientists, the best witnesses, expert witnesses that money can buy. Christopher, stand by for a moment.

Just over an hour ago Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine talked live exclusively with CNN's Kyra Phillips on the phone. He's extremely upset at the news media coverage of his brother's arrest which he called a modern-day lynching.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: Well, first of all I'd like to say the whole family supports Michael 100 percent, 1,000 percent. Michael is innocent and just to let you know how I feel I'm very disappointed in the system in which things were done. At the same time, Michael is in very strong spirits because he is innocent.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What has he told you? JACKSON: We're tired of people. I'm sick and F-ing tired of people speaking on my brother's behalf and my family's behalf who do not know us so you put these people on national TV, international TV and they say these things and the public is saying, oh wow is he really like this?

My brother is not eccentric. We had an incredible wonderful childhood and what they're doing is bringing him down with the very thing that he loves, his children and family. My brother is about peace. They don't know us but this will rebuild itself.

But I am sick and (unintelligible) tired of everybody saying these things about my family. We will fight and we will stand up and everybody that knows this family around the world will support us because at the end of the day this is nothing but a modern-day lynching. This is what they want to see, him in handcuffs. You got it but it won't be for long I promise you.

PHILLIPS: Jermaine, I -

JACKSON: I'm sick and tired.

PHILLIPS: And believe me I mean...

JACKSON: Sick and tired.

PHILLIPS: ...I have no idea what you're going through. I am definitely not in your shoes.

JACKSON: No, you do not know.

PHILLIPS: No, you're right.

JACKSON: Because you don't walk in my shoes.

PHILLIPS: You are right.

JACKSON: Or my family's shoes.

PHILLIPS: You are absolutely right.

JACKSON: You don't walk in our shoes but you put these people on national television to say things. They don't know our family.

PHILLIPS: And that's why we have you.

JACKSON: We are a family and we will continue to be a family that's my love right there and we support him 1,000 percent. I have nothing else to say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Jermaine Jackson speaking with our Kyra Phillips just a little while ago.

Christopher Darden as you were listening to the anger expressed by Michael Jackson's brother what was going through your mind?

DARDEN: Well, certainly when you use the term modern-day lynching you're playing the race card in some sense. A lot of people in the black community are concerned because we now have three prominent African American men charged in criminal cases with sex offenses, R. Kelly (ph) in Chicago, Kobe Bryant in Eagle, Colorado and now we have Michael Jackson charged with child molestation.

And, you know, and folks are beginning to wonder. I understand why Jermaine is upset. It's his brother. I'm sure he loves his brother and I'm sure he believes in his brother's innocence; however, I don't know that the police have done anything inappropriate at this point.

They seem to have followed, you know, followed the book by the numbers and he seems to be getting treated a whole lot better than most people because I would think that the sheriff's department in Santa Barbara County should have probably gone out and arrested him rather than negotiate a surrender.

BLITZER: There are some high profile white men who have been accused of murder, some big trials. Scott Peterson of course comes to mind just right now. But you're right there will be people out there, many African Americans, who do suspect given the legacy of race in our country that will suspect something untoward, something wrong is with the process. How significant of a problem is that going to be Christopher?

DARDEN: You know it's hard to say. Currently these charges are pending in Santa Barbara County where I am sure the percentage of African Americans is very, very small and if Michael Jackson is tried in Santa Barbara County he is not likely to have any African American jurors, number one.

And so, you know, what the public thinks beyond Santa Barbara County may not mean a whole lot to potential jurors but I think that all of us, including Jermaine, all we want to see is a fair process, a fair trial.

We want, those of us who commentate on TV to remember that Michael Jackson is presumed innocent and there's been no evidence presented in court, at least that we know of that would suggest that he is anything other than innocent.

BLITZER: There has been a lot of criticism over the past 24 hours, Christopher Darden, of the sheriff and the district attorney, the prosecutor in Santa Barbara for that news conference they had yesterday in which there was almost a bit of levity that was filtering over.

There's been a lot of criticism on a deadly serious matter involving child molestation, a minor under 14 years old. There was humor injected into that news conference and there was some sense of perhaps they were trying to get even for what happened ten years ago when Michael Jackson was not formally charged with anything. He worked out that issue directly in some sort of financial settlement with the family of that young boy ten years ago.

Did you watch that news conference yesterday?

DARDEN: Yes, I did watch that news conference yesterday and, you know, was it inappropriate? I don't necessarily think so. It certainly isn't the way that I would have done it and I don't think the L.A. County DA's Office would have handled that press conference that particular way.

But what you have here though is you have an experienced prosecutor, certainly one who was motivated having dealt with Michael Jackson over the past ten years and are they a little happy, seem a little happy about the fact, the notion that they finally are going to be able to drag him into a criminal court? Yes, yes they are.

But, you know, if you're going to prosecute this case you want to be objective. You want to be fair and you certainly want to give the appearance of being objective and fair and, you know, I would caution the deputy DAs up in Santa Barbara County that that's good advice to take, to follow. Be fair.

BLITZER: That's excellent advice from Christopher Darden. I want to thank you Christopher. Thanks so much for joining us and giving us your perspective which is very, very timely and useful. Christopher Darden, the former Simpson prosecutor joining us on this story which has been a fascinating story, a real life story, a very sad story indeed.

Let's go back, let's go back to the Neverland Ranch right now. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is on the scene for us. Any sign of Michael Jackson because it looks, Gary, like he might not be coming your way. He may be heading back towards the airport.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's really just no way to know but if he goes to the airport he could still be coming here to Neverland, this ranch which is 30 miles away from where he was just processed because he sometimes takes a helicopter to Neverland. There's so much land here that they land a helicopter near his mansion.

But what I can tell you, Wolf, what we have seen over the last 30 minutes and we haven't seen this for the two days we've been here there's a little dirt road right next to us here, next to the fence that is the border of Neverland.

There's a dirt road and over the last 30 minutes we've seen a security car with two security men driving back and forth on this dirt road kind of glancing us over and continuing to patrol the grounds. That's the first time we've seen that since we've been here.

Does that mean Michael Jackson is coming to his home? We don't know but that is the first difference. Everything else has been very quiet since this story began -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Gary. We're going to be checking back with you for updates so stand by. Thanks very much Gary Tuchman. He's over at the Neverland Ranch.

And here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is $3 million an appropriate bail for Michael Jackson," is it too little, is it appropriate or is it too much? You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

And while you're there I'd love to hear directly from you, our viewers. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

A rare look inside Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Few people are invited into his home. I'll talk live with a journalist who did go inside. Our coverage of this top story will continue.

Plus this devastation, terror attacks in Turkey, bombings at British sites in Istanbul kill more than 20 people and injure hundreds. We're there live.

And presenting a united front President Bush and Prime Minister Blair. On one side thousands of protesters, on the other, much more coverage, all these stories coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening right now this is the picture, this is the mug shot, Michael Jackson. He was booked only a little while ago in Santa Barbara over at the sheriff's office.

He was then released, posted $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment at which point he will plead innocent or guilty January 9. He may not have to plead at all at that point, January 9 the Santa Barbara Superior Court. The whole process inside we're told took between 30 to 45 minutes that according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department.

There was no incident. There was no problem. Jackson's people and Jackson himself according to the Santa Barbara police were very cooperative with all of the authorities. He did surrender his passport in the process.

Let's bring in Miguel Marquez our reporter on the scene. Miguel, any idea, any sense now where this Michael Jackson may be heading at this point?

MARQUEZ: We presumed that he was heading to Neverland Ranch. It is, as Mr. Darden was saying earlier, it's typical in these cases that one would not be allowed to leave the state if you were charged with a felony crime.

But we did see some helicopter pictures earlier where he seemed also to be heading to the airport. Whether or not he would take a helicopter to the ranch from the airport or if he would just get into another car there at the airport to take to his ranch is not clear. The only thing we know, well one of the things we know for sure, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is just when the next act of what will probably be a very, very long drama will be which is January 9 when he will be arraigned and the formal charges will be read.

Even though we have the mug shot now we still don't have any sort of booking document, some sort of preliminary document that might give us a better idea of what he would be facing.

Listening to the sheriff's press conference a short time ago the only thing that the public information officer did say was that it was still listed as multiple counts of molestation so it will be interesting once the facts come out whether or not or how many counts Mr. Jackson is facing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Miguel. We're going to be standing by. We're going to get back to you.

Our Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is in New York. He's joining us now as well. The mug shot it looked a little weird I must say. Is it normal, Jeffrey, for the Santa Barbara authorities to release this kind of picture and to put it up on their Web site to tell the world in effect where that Web site is? It sounds a little bit unusual but is it normal?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it actually is not that unusual, Wolf, I don't think. Many jurisdictions do release mug shots more or less instantly. Some jurisdictions don't release mug shots at all.

I remember Oliver North when he was arrested, when he was charged in the Iran Contra case his lawyers succeeded in getting that mug shot never released ever. It's never been made public.

In the Watergate cases those mug shots came out many years later. Many jurisdictions, though, do release mug shots more or less instantaneously. Now in the era of the Internet it really can be instantaneous so it's not terribly weird although I have to say I think the mug shot itself is weird. I haven't seen many where the defendant is wearing makeup and now I've seen one.

BLITZER: It does look almost like a cartoon caricature of Michael Jackson but that's the official sheriff's department photograph that was taken, snapped inside and put up on their Web site as Chris Pappas, the spokesman for the sheriff's department announced just a little while ago.

We heard Chris Darden say, Jeffrey, that he was surprised the arraignment was going to take this long to wait until January 9 for the arraignment process to go forward. Are you surprised?

TOOBIN: I am. I think that's an awfully long time. Usually it's within 30 days but oftentimes prosecutors and defense lawyers come to an agreed upon date which is often influenced by the schedules of the various lawyers involved. As we all know, Mark Geragos is involved in defending Scott Peterson; however, that preliminary hearing is over. I don't know that the Peterson case would interfere with this arraignment.

We are heading into the holidays so that may have had something to do with why this was so long delayed but it is a long time. I think the holidays probably had a lot to do with it.

BLITZER: You would think, Jeffrey, that Mark Geragos would have more than his hands full in the Scott Peterson case and not necessarily want to take on another huge case like this one.

Is this normal for high profile lawyers, criminal defense attorneys, to try to juggle two big cases like this at the same time?

TOOBIN: No, it's not that normal. It is unusual.

And Mark Geragos, unlike some prominent lawyers, does not have a great big law firm. In fact, he has a firm that he operates with his father in Los Angeles. But it's a small law firm, a handful of lawyers.

In many of the pictures there today, you saw behind him Pat Harris, who is a -- who is, I think functions as a paralegal.

Trivia buffs will note that Pat Harris is the former fiance of Susan McDougal, who was a key figure in the Whitewater case and one of the people that Mark Geragos represented. That's how they met, is through his representation of Susan McDougal.

But there is not a big backup law firm there. I think one thing that may come to Mark Geragos' rescue in this situation that the California legal system works so slowly that both cases will grind on at a pace that will probably allow him to handle both of them.

BLITZER: I want to explain to our viewers what they're seeing. That jet is jet, the private jet that brought Michael Jackson to Santa Barbara in the first place from Las Vegas. We see it getting ready to take off.

Now we do not know -- repeat, we do not know if Michael Jackson is on board that jet. And if he is, we have no idea where he may be heading, although Gary Tuchman told us that it's possible he could be flying over to the Neverland Ranch, which apparently has some sort of airstrip that could accommodate this kind of plane.

Presumably he's going to have to stay in the state? He's accused of a major felony. Isn't that right, Jeffrey?

TOOBIN: Again, that varies, depending on what arrangements have been worked out in advance.

Just for example, I noticed Martha Stewart was making appearances outside of New York. Her bail conditions obviously allow her to travel around the country. I would guess, given the gravity of the charges against Michael Jackson, that he would be restricted in where he could go. Perhaps just to Santa Barbara County. Perhaps to the broader Southern California area. I would be surprised if he was allowed to travel beyond Southern California.

But, for example, we know that he's working on a music video in Las Vegas. Mark Geragos may have worked out an exception where he could travel there to continue his work. Oftentimes if a defendant has work outside the jurisdiction, they're sometimes allowed to go there. That's a subject of discussion.

BLITZER: We do know in the Kobe Bryant case in Colorado, he's accused of one felony count of sexual assault. He, though, posted bail and he's allowed to travel all over the country.

TOOBIN: That's right.

BLITZER: In fact, he's playing in the NBA right now.

Jeffrey, listen to this. This is a statement we're just getting into here at CNN, a statement from Stuart Backerman. He's the official spokesman for Michael Jackson. A statement on behalf of Michael Jackson. It's three sentences, three paragraphs. Let me read it to our viewers, and then we'll talk about it. This is a direct quote.

"The big lie against Michael Jackson is anchored in the most vicious allegation imaginable, one that resonates across every culture, the spectacle of harming a child. That spectacle invites outrage, and it should. But this spectacle is rooted in a lie."

The statement goes on to say, "Michael said, quote, 'Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons. The truth will win this marathon in court,'" close quote.

The statement then goes on to say, "Michael is going to defend himself with the force of his spirit, as would anyone falsely accused of something so monstrous."

That, a statement from Stuart Backerman, the official spokesman for Michael Jackson, a statement on behalf of Michael Jackson. Pretty carefully crafted words. A complete total denial, not only in this statement but also from Mark Geragos, the attorney representing Michael Jackson, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: You know, what's interesting about both that statement and Geragos' statement before the police station earlier in the day is that both of them made reference -- Mark Geragos explicitly -- to Jackson's extreme involvement, passion for, interest in children.

He said, "Michael Jackson of all people wouldn't do this thing."

But unfortunately for him, I think that kind of cuts both ways. Because even though Michael Jackson often speaks of his love for children, I think it's safe to say there's plenty of evidence in his public life that he's sort of unhealthily obsessed with children.

So his particular outrage at this crime is a reminder of how big a role children play in the life of this man in his mid-40s.

BLITZER: The January 9 arraignment also could set the stage, obviously, for a preliminary hearing and then a trial way down the road.

How long of a process, under normal circumstances -- and these are far from normal circumstances, Jeffrey -- but how long of a process is the country about to endure, waiting and watching the Michael Jackson trial to go forward?

TOOBIN: Well, to answer your question directly, I think we're talking about -- it would be a surprise to me, given what I know about the California legal system -- if the trial were over a year from today.

But there's a preliminary issue that will have to be addressed even before that arraignment or around the time of the arraignment. Prosecutors have a choice of going to a preliminary hearing, which is an adversary proceeding with defense lawyers. There was just one in the Scott Peterson case.

Or they could use a grand jury proceeding to move the case along, which would be secret and which would allow the government to put on its witnesses without cross-examination.

That's a decision that prosecutors will have to make in the relatively near future, because that will determine whether there's a preliminary hearing or not.

BLITZER: When I was interviewing Christopher Darden, the former O.J. Simpson prosecutor, Jeffrey, just a little while ago on this program, I asked him what mistakes they may have made involving O.J., another high profile case, that the prosecution team in this case should necessarily try to avoid.

And he pointed out that Michael Jackson has unlimited sums, nearly, and he'll be able to hire an incredible team of scientists and forensic experts and attorneys and public relations advisers to help. This is not necessarily going to be a slam-dunk on the part of the prosecution, and they should be under no illusions.

TOOBIN: Absolutely not. This is a slam-dunk by no means.

And what makes this such a -- likely to be such an ugly spectacle is that the central issue in this trial will be the credibility of this child. And the defense will have to do everything it can to undermine the credibility of this child, while not seeming overaggressive, while not seeming additionally abusive to this kid.

And that is something that is really difficult to do, but it is absolutely mandatory if Michael Jackson is going to get acquitted. His lawyers are going to have to destroy the credibility of this young man. BLITZER: Do you think his lawyers, his family, that they're going to play the race card? Because as you heard Jermaine Jackson suggest to our Kyra Phillips only a little while ago here on CNN exclusively, a modern day lynching.

The words, very, very sensitive words, given the racial history of this country. Very sensitive words and Christopher Darden pointing out three prominent black men right now accused of some serious crimes in the country.

TOOBIN: That phrase, when I was listening to Kyra's interview with Jermaine Jackson, that phrase certainly jumped out at me. I don't know.

Michael Jackson is, of course, an African-American. He is not particularly associated with African-American causes, as O.J. Simpson was not associated with those causes, but he certainly wrapped himself in the mantle of racial solidarity.

That's going to be one difficult issue for both sides to address, the place of race in this case, because when a black man is accused of sexually assaulting a white person -- and I believe the alleged victim here is white -- that -- the racial history of this country comes into play.

And how both sides deal with that issue is always a fraught, difficult issue.

BLITZER: And no one remembers this better than you. You covered that O.J. Simpson case, and you did it brilliantly. You wrote about it later.

In that case, it was a black man, an African-American American, O.J. Simpson, a football player turned actor. One of the prosecutors, mainly Christopher Darden, himself an African-American, was so directly involved, some suggesting at the time he was brought in to make it clear that there was no racist element potentially involved at all.

When I looked at the cast of characters yesterday in Santa Barbara, all of those people on the law enforcement side -- the D.A., the prosecution, the sheriff -- all of them were white.

TOOBIN: And on the defense side, so far Mark Geragos' team is all white, as well.

But you know, it is, I think -- you know, many people may react, "Oh, how could Michael Jackson play the race card? He has never really been involved in civil rights issues particularly."

Many people said the same thing about O.J. Simpson. And it was soon after the preliminary hearing -- in fact, frankly, it was me in "The New Yorker" magazine, I first reported that they were going to claim that Mike -- that Mark Fuhrman was a racist who planted the glove that was such an important piece of evidence. So these racial issues, even though you think they may not be there, they are always lurking beneath the surface. And I would be shocked if we have heard the last of race in this story.

BLITZER: Jeffrey, please stand by, because there is still much more to assess, much more to understand in this case involving Michael Jackson.

We're going to go inside the Neverland Ranch. A reporter who was there on the scene. We're going to go inside -- a rare look inside.

We're also standing by to find out where Michael Jackson is right now. We have cameras, reporters, crews all over the area in Santa Barbara and beyond, looking for Michael Jackson. We'll get an update on that.

We're not neglecting other important news today. A horrible bombing in Turkey, the second twin bombing in this week alone.

We're also going to go live to London, where President Bush has been meeting with the British prime minister.

Much more news coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The accusations against Michael Jackson have news crews swarming around the Neverland Ranch. Few have ever gotten inside. But "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Mark Steines did. He was the only reporter allowed to attend a private fund-raiser at the Neverland Ranch this summer.

Mark Steines is joining us now live from Santa Barbara.

Mark, thanks very much. Take us inside in your own words. What's it like in there?

MARK STEINES, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT" REPORTER: You know, Wolf, it was amazing. I felt like I was revisiting my childhood.

When the gates of Neverland open up, you walk inside and you are greeted with all the fond memories of what a child -- you know, your childhood memories were filled with. There were sounds of birds chirping in the trees with little microphones. Every detail was there -- little speakers, rather. All the details were taken care of. It's almost like going to Disneyland. It really, really was.

BLITZER: Was Michael there the day were you there?

STEINES: He was there the day -- we arrived at the celebration, his 45th birthday celebration. And there was also a fund-raiser, as well. I believe Make a Wish was part of those charities receiving profit or money from this event.

We were there during the day. It went into the evening. We left -- it wrapped up around midnight or so. Michael came out a couple of times during the day. He was in his car. He was being chauffeured around, through the property, through a carnival that was set up, filled with all rides and whatnot. The zoo was available for visitors to go in and see.

But he never left the limo. He stayed in the back. He rolled the window down just a Short fraction, was able to see his guest, wave to them, and then he was escorted back inside. He did not emerge to be with the crowd until later that evening, when he came out to present a check of all the money that was raised that evening and then blow out candles on his birthday cake. And then started a food fight shortly after.

So it was -- But you know, one thing that I want to bring up that I saw inside that didn't seem to have much meaning at the time, but -- and I'm not going to allude to anything here. But knowing this today in light of what's happening, it sheds new light.

We were able to go in and see everything around Neverland, with the exception of the private residence. We were around the pool area, where there seemed to be a lot of focus on, where this so-called secret room may exist. I didn't see anything like that there. However, you know, we weren't there investigating.

We did go into -- and this group of us went inside to the theater. And as I went in, I remembered seeing this on some of the specials that I had seen over the years. We went in, walked down to the front, my producer and I. And as we turned back and looked back to where the projection screen was, I remember noticing a big glass window. And behind the glass window was a bed set up that was dressed with all the amenities, a big, you know, down comforter and lighting and whatnot.

And I remember making a note of that, thinking it was pretty obscure but then, on the other hand, thinking, wow he must come here and watch big movies, you know, while he's laying in bed watching in.

There was also a private entrance that led up to a loft upstairs -- excuse me -- where a lot of his celebrity friends that were attending were hanging out, as well.

BLITZER: Mark, were there children there? And if there were, what was the interaction that you saw between Michael Jackson and those kids?

STEINES: There were children there during the day, Wolf. And there were -- actually in the evening.

The way the party was set up, there was a -- it was $5,000 per ticket for two people. During the day, the rides were open. There were carnival shows. There was a show, Ashanti, the musical artist came and performed. We spoke with her on her jet as she flew in for that. It was a regular carnival atmosphere.

There was no interaction between Michael, or any of his guests at that point. It was much later in the evening, approximately 10 p.m., 10:30 p.m., where he came from his private residence, was brought in through the back door of a tent that was erected, where everybody had gathered for this kind of announcement of how much money was raised.

And then everybody sang "Happy Birthday." He entered the tent through a kind of back area, which I greeted him outside and followed through a gauntlet of people. He went up on stage. Aaron Carter, Mike Tyson was there in the crowd, a couple of other celebrities. None of the children, none of the other people.

And it wasn't just children, by the way. Let me be fair and say that. It was children with their parents there. None of them really had direct contact with him. And Michael left, got in his car and went back home. Of course he was covered with frosting or what not, so I'm sure he was headed off to get cleaned up.

But there was very little interaction, if any, between he and his guests.

BLITZER: Mark Steines works for "Entertainment Tonight." He had some extraordinary access, a rare inside look at the Neverland Ranch.

Mark, thanks so much for joining us.

We're continuing to follow Michael Jackson. Right now we're attempting to determine where he went once he left the Santa Barbara Police Department, the sheriff's department. We're monitoring that. We'll have more on that coming up.

But let's not forget there is other important news happening around the world today.

Immediately, let's go to Turkey. That's still reeling -- Turkey is still reeling from Saturday's synagogue attacks, twin attacks on Saturday. But today Turkey has once again been hit very hard by terror.

For the second time in only a week, twin bombings in the heart of Istanbul. Dozens, dozens are dead, hundreds are wounded. This time the attacks were aimed at Britain. Among the victims, a senior diplomat killed in the blast, which ripped through the nation's consulate.

The other bombing devastated the high rise headquarters of a British bank and took a heavy toll in the surrounding streets.

Istanbul is, again, a city in shock and mourning, both bombings causing massive destruction and horrific carnage. One survivor called it, simply, a blood bath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Bloodied faces, body parts. Chaos. By now, the most grim and familiar scenes.

Within a few minutes and a few miles, Turkey absorbs the worst terrorist bombings in its history. But the targets, British. Late morning in Istanbul. At least one massive explosion at the London based HSBC Bank. The facade of one tall building in the complex sheered off. Nearby buildings damaged. Bodies, dazed victims scattered.

The British consulate is next. An official says the compound was as secure as possible. But the blast, colossal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was in front of the bar and suddenly we heard a huge explosion. We didn't understand what was going on. All we could see was blood, glass and wreckage. The bodies were just lying on the street. It's a horrible situation.

BLITZER: Among the dozens killed at both places, British consul general, Roger Short. Several hundred are wounded. Carcasses of burned-out vehicles litter the streets.

There seems no doubt among intelligence experts: this is not the work of amateurs.

SAJJAN GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: If we look at the coordination, the aim of creating mass casualty attacks, yes, this does have the hallmarks of a transnational terrorist group.

BLITZER: Tactics all too familiar and fresh among shell-shocked residents of Istanbul.

RECEP TAYYIP ERODGAN, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER: If you look into the incidents, it is very similar to the incident that occurred five days ago.

BLITZER: Saturday, explosions at two synagogues in Istanbul killed 23 people and two suicide bombers. As in those attacks, officials believe vehicles were used in today's bombings.

The Turkish government has received a joint claim of responsibility from al Qaeda and a Turkish Islamic militant group that also said it carried out Saturday's attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As rescue and recovery efforts continue efforts already under way to find out who's behind the bombings, let's go live to our national correspondent, Mike Boettcher. He's on the scene in Istanbul for us.

Mike, first of all, about today's twin attack, what have you learned?

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we've learned that the key to this investigation are those synagogue attacks last Saturday and that al Qaeda cells are specifically, almost as close as you can get to 100 percent sure as being responsible for these attacks.

They've traced those two bombers into the universe, the sphere of al Qaeda, one having traveled to Chechnya, Bosnia and Iran, meeting with al Qaeda people in those locations. The other in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And they are very positive in the coalition intelligence community that these are al Qaeda attacks.

BLITZER: They do have the markings -- they were double -- they were both twin attacks. They were very sophisticated. They caused extraordinary devastation, in marked contrast to the normal terrorism, if you can call it that, that Turkey has been plagued by over the years, mostly Kurdish terrorists.

BOETTCHER: Well, these bombs were much larger and were hitting targets that were, No. 1, political and economic and religious, if you go back to last weekend. So they've hit all of those various elements.

And if you look at this, Wolf, this is the first time that al Qaeda, if it is indeed proven to be al Qaeda -- and they believe it is -- first time they've been able to launch an attack to coincide with a major world event, which is the summit in the United Kingdom right now.

There have been many warnings over the past two years of major terrorist attacks during summits and other big meetings. They haven't occurred. They've been thwarted. They managed to pull it off this time.

BLITZER: They went after a couple of British targets in Istanbul, timed to coordinate clearly with what the president of the United States was doing in London.

Mike Boettcher, thanks for that. We'll be checking back with you.

Let's move over to London now. where protesters filled the streets to oppose the visit of a president of the United States.

But on a day when Britain was targeted by terror in Turkey, the president and Britain's prime minister Tony Blair were sending their own message, that they are standing firm.

Our senior White House correspondent, John King, reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Istanbul attacks added urgency to the talks at 10 Downing Street and bought fresh commitments to press ahead in the war on terror.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We are not going to back down or flinch at all from this struggle.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, once again, we saw their ambitions of murder.

KING: Both governments suggested al Qaeda and its allies are again to blame, and both leaders say a thriving democracy in Iraq would be a powerful deterrent to terrorism.

BUSH: The spread of freedom and the hope it brings is the surest way in the long term to combat despair and anger and resentment that feeds terror.

KING: That the British were targeted by terrorists while the president was in London was viewed as no coincidence. Mr. Blair bristled when asked if it was the price for standing firm with Mr. Bush.

BLAIR: It's not the president of the United States. It's not the alliance between America and Britain. What is responsible for that terrorist attack is terrorism. Are the terrorists.

KING: And Britain's foreign secretary cited the September 11 attacks, taking issue with those who suggest the war in Iraq and more specifically Mr. Bush, are provoking the terrorists.

BLAIR: It was planned under the presidency of Bill Clinton, even if it were executed under the presidency of George W. Bush.

KING: Protesters took to the streets of London by the tens of thousands and many made clear they do blame Mr. Bush for inciting terror and would prefer he meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein.

This roundtable on local efforts to combat HIV/AIDS was part of a roundtable to improve Mr. Bush's image here.

The president also held a dinner with the queen, offering a toast and condolences for those killed and hurt in Istanbul.

(on camera) The president's final stop on Friday is in Mr. Blair's home district in northern England, part of an effort by the prime minister to make the case that while those who wish he would not stand so close to Mr. Bush are quite vocal, they do not, in his view, represent the majority here.

John King, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll update you on the Michael Jackson story. Where is he right now? We're attempting to find out. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's get an update now on where the whole Michael Jackson situation stands right now.

Gary Tuchman is just outside the Neverland Ranch, not far from Santa Barbara.

Gary, what are you hearing? What do we know precisely right now as far, as Michael Jackson's whereabouts? GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing, Wolf, absolutely zero about Michael Jackson's whereabouts, and I am absolutely sure that's how Michael Jackson and his people want it right now.

We heard yesterday there were negotiations between the authorities here and Santa Barbara County and Michael Jackson's lawyers. And you can see some of the fruits of the allegations.

That plane that he came on actually flew into the hangar. How often do you see the nose of a plane with passengers at a small airport fly into the hangar with the wings and the engines almost ready to hit the wall? But they did that so he could go inside a dark area. He got into cars that were already in there. That was all part of the negotiation.

So you can be sure that is a consideration they gave him because, indeed, he is a celebrity.

We've asked people on the grounds or right next to the grounds of Neverland if Jackson is coming here. They are not talking at all. That's more indication that's the way that they want it. There's a security guard in the gate behind me at the security house. He looks at us like we're invisible and says nothing to us, also.

In the last few minutes some fans have shown up. We've only seen two fans over the last two days. And now we've seen a handful more show up, and they've left some signs there in the background. And Dimuno Laretta (ph), my photographer, is going to zoom into it.

Some people are blocking it, but one of the signs says that "God knows the truth." The other one says, "All I want to say is they don't really care about us." Not sure exactly what that means, but we assume it's a pro-Michael Jackson sign. And one that is a pro-Michael Jackson sign. And then one that's obviously a pro-Michael Jackson sign: "We're behind you 100 percent."

There's two ways for Michael Jackson to get here. If he is coming to his home, this is the one and only road that goes into Neverland. He could also, though, fly in by helicopter. And we're listening for helicopters, and right now we haven't heard one or seen one.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Gary, the official spokesman for Michael Jackson putting out a statement just a little while ago. Let me just read a couple of sentences from it.

"The big lie against Michael Jackson is anchored in the most vicious allegation imaginable, one that resonates across every culture: the spectacle of harming a child. That spectacle invites outrage, and it should. But this spectacle is rooted in a lie."

He goes on to say, "Michael said, 'Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathon. The truth will win this marathon in court.' Michael is going to defend himself with the force of his spirit, as would anyone falsely accused of something so monstrous."

Michael Jackson was booked. He was released. He posted $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment before the Santa Barbara Superior Court on January 9.

The whole process today took 30, 45 minutes, according to the Santa Barbara police department -- sheriff's department. There was no incident, they said. The Jackson people were very cooperative, they said, with the whole process. In the process, Michael Jackson went ahead and surrendered his passport.

Gary, we'll be checking back with you.

To our viewers, here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Earlier, we asked this question, is $3 million an appropriate bail for Michael Jackson? Let's take a look at the results. Forty-two percent of you said too little. Thirty-five percent of you said appropriate. Twenty-three percent of you said too much.

We'll continue extensive coverage on this story throughout the evening here on CNN. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

I'll be back tomorrow, noon and 5 p.m. Eastern. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Turkey; Mayhem in Miami>


Aired November 20, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: It's happening right now, Michael Jackson is free on bail, though his family is speaking out directly to CNN. During this hour, we are standing by momentarily. The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department expected to speak to the news media. You're looking at live pictures.
Also happening right now, you are looking live at the aftermath of a twin terror attack in Turkey. Is this the work of al Qaeda again? Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Pop star in peril. We'll take you inside the gates of Neverland.

Terror in Turkey. Who's behind the bombings?

Taking a fall. Taking heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do they hate you in such numbers?

BLITZER: And taking a stand.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No act of thugs or killers will change our resolve.

BLITZER: And mayhem in Miami. Free trade versus free speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With news cameras from around the world looking on, Michael Jackson surrendered to authorities in Santa Barbara, California to face child molestation charges.

You're looking at live pictures right now. We're expecting a briefing from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department momentarily on what exactly happened inside while Michael Jackson was there.

Jackson arrived just a few hours ago in a private jet which was parked halfway inside a hangar to shield the pop star from the news media. He was then whisked away in a convoy of cars to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department where he was led inside in handcuffs, an image that's sure to be on the front pages of newspapers around the world tomorrow. Sheriff's officials are expected to update reporters this hour. We're standing by for that. We'll also bring it to you live as soon as it happens. We have reporters and guest analysts covering every angle of the story.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is outside the sheriff's department where Jackson was booked just a little while ago. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is outside Jackson's Neverland Ranch. That's northeast of Santa Barbara.

Let's begin, though, with Miguel Marquez. Miguel tell us exactly what we're awaiting right now.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're awaiting, Wolf, in this enormous crowd behind me of journalists and onlookers and a few fans even is for the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office to issue a statement.

Presumably this will come from the public information officer here or from the sheriff himself talking about Mr. Jackson and how his processing went today, a processing which by most jail standards that I've ever covered was lightning fast.

He came here and within a half hour or so he was gone. His entourage being followed by helicopters as it left here and you have probably 30, maybe 40 television cameras out there and probably another hundred reporters or so if you include the print reporters in the media scrum out here at the sheriff's office waiting to find out exactly what happened with Mr. Jackson.

We may also see a photograph of him, the mug shot of Mr. Jackson and possibly some sort of preliminary charging documents so we have a better idea of just how many counts we're talking about of molestation at this point -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Miguel, we just saw some new pictures that we just got into CNN. We see Michael Jackson. I want to show those pictures once again to our viewers leaving the sheriff's department. He's with his attorney Mark Geragos and he gives a wave to photographers, reporters who are obviously watching, trying to watch every moment of what exactly happened.

Walk us through, Miguel, briefly if you can the process once he arrived at the sheriff's department what happened?

MARQUEZ: Like anybody else he arrived in a sheriff's vehicle, an unmarked sheriff's vehicle. He was handcuffed. He went in through the intake area of the sheriff's department here.

He was booked. That is that the initial charges were probably read to him and his Miranda rights were given to him. He was fingerprinted and he was photographed.

He was probably searched as well and the contents of his pockets were gone through and he had to take off his belt and his socks and that sort of stuff. It usually happens when you're booked and he then was turned over to his lawyer at some point. It's not clear if he spent any time in a holding cell at all. He was turned over to his lawyer.

BLITZER: All right, Miguel, we're looking at a spokesman for the sheriff's department who says they're going to give us a little indication when this briefing is going to start. He's going to give us a little warning when it is going to begin. Let's listen in and see if he says anything else.

SGT. CHRIS PAPPAS, SANTA BARBARA SHERIFF'S DEPT.: That will be included in the most recent release as it was in the past but actual documentation that you're talking about, no, not from us right now.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE QUESTION)

PAPPAS: I think he referred to multiple counts and that's what we have at this point in time for release purposes. Okay, how about 30 seconds, about there. It's just going to be Sergeant Pappas, just me yes.

BLITZER: Only within the past hour or so has all of this drama come to a conclusion. He posted the $3 million bail, Michael Jackson, and how he's heading to some undetermined location, we assume his Neverland Ranch.

PAPPAS: I'm Sergeant Chris Pappas with Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. What I'd like to do is just give you some brief information in the form of an update and a follow-up regarding this latest progression and evolution through this process with Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson has been booked into the county jail. He has since been released. He has posted the bail and he has been given an arraignment date of January 9, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. in Santa Barbara Superior Court.

Many of you have been asking about booking photos. The booking photo of Mr. Jackson will be available on www.sbsheriff.org and that is our Web site. Additionally, most of the information contained in this release will also be available on that same Web site.

I've already told most of you about how to access the news line. This will also be updated on the news line so we'll try to layer the release information to make it as accessible as possible.

Having said that I'm not prepared to go in and open the floor at this point in time. The booking process took approximately 30 to 45 minutes was completed without incident.

Mr. Jackson's people were very cooperative throughout this process and the sheriff's department would like to forward their appreciation for that cooperation at this point in time. That's basically the information I have and that concludes this release at this point in time.

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson during the entire process how was his demeanor, how did he act?

PAPPAS: I don't think I'm going to get into that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you (unintelligible) at all about any of the alleged charges?

PAPPAS: Can't talk about any of the investigative issues at this point in time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any restrictions on him?

PAPPAS: (Unintelligible) and I'm glad -- I understand you have a lot of follow-up questions and as you well know as of January 9 that process will begin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there any bail restrictions?

PAPPAS: That I'm not aware of at this point in time. Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about his passport?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any special conditions?

PAPPAS: Yes, he did surrender his passport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about his children?

PAPPAS: Like I said we're completed with this process at this time as far as the release. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Unintelligible) step-by-step through the process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you be giving another press conference? Will there be another update?

BLITZER: That's Sergeant Chris Pappas, Chris Pappas of the Santa Barbara Police Department briefing reporters on precisely what happened during that 30 to 45 minute process while Michael Jackson was inside.

He was booked. He was released. He posted the $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment he says January 9 of next year, 8:30 a.m. Pacific time. He'll be appearing at the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

Our law enforcement Correspondent Mike Brooks is on the scene for us. This all sounds pretty standard, Mike. You've gone through this numerous times, anything unusual standing out in your mind as far as this booking process was concerned?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Wolf. After hearing Sergeant Pappas nothing unusual at all, he said it took about 30 to 45 minutes which is a pretty quick booking process. I tried to ask the question whether or not a statement was made. He would not answer whether or not Michael Jackson gave a statement to investigators. He did say also that his passport was surrendered.

And, also asked about any special conditions of his bond which the district attorney spoke to yesterday was just saying that there could be special conditions he also would not answer that particular question but he said it went without incident as we heard, very cooperative and they wanted to show their appreciation, extend their appreciation to Michael Jackson's party.

But again, Wolf, nothing out of the ordinary at all but very, very quick, nothing out of the ordinary -- Wolf.

BLITZER: This arraignment that's scheduled for January 9 before the Santa Barbara Superior Court what exactly will happen then?

BROOKS: Most likely what will happen that will be his initial appearance and his arraignment where the charges will be read to him and he can enter a plea. Again, that will most likely happen at that time. It will also be his initial appearance and there could be other restrictions placed on his bond then.

They also maybe will go over any other restrictions and then set another date for a preliminary hearing. We just, we know how the preliminary could take a number of days. We just heard that. We just saw that last week with the Scott Peterson trial. But, again, that most likely will be his initial appearance and arraignment and then after that a preliminary hearing date will be set -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Mike stand by because we're going to be getting back to you. I want to show our viewers live pictures. We believe this is Michael Jackson and his motorcade.

They're heading somewhere. We're not exactly sure where, perhaps to the Neverland Ranch. That's about 30 miles or so from Santa Barbara, half hour drive. We'll continue to watch these live pictures as we move on. This is arguably the most highly publicized celebrity criminal case since O.J. Simpson was tried and acquitted on murder charges.

Christopher Darden was one of the prosecutors in that case. He's joining us now live from Los Angeles. Christopher thanks so much for joining us. This must bring back lots of memories for you.

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Lots of memories. It seems that we're certainly poised for the next of the next century doesn't it?

BLITZER: Well, we see especially these aerial shots of these cars.

DARDEN: Yes.

BLITZER: It certainly reminds a lot of us who remember those days involving O.J. Simpson what was happening then. What are the immediate challenges that the prosecution faces right now in such a highly publicized case involving this world celebrity?

DARDEN: Well, I don't know that they necessarily face any. It's pretty apparent that the prosecutors in this case took their time in searching the Neverland Ranch and bringing these charges unlike us in the Simpson case where we were forced to file charges fairly quickly.

So, having taken weeks to put their case together they're probably prepared, you know. I got to tell you the law is on their side. There have been a lot of changes in the law since Jackson was accused in 1993 and 1994 that favor prosecutions of these kinds of cases. There are new hearsay exceptions in the law on child abuse cases and I got to tell you Michael Jackson truly is in a fight for his life now.

BLITZER: Some of the laws that have been changed let's go through some of them since he was accused of a similar kind of situation some ten years ago one would force the minor, the child in this particular case to testify even if subsequently he decides or his parents decide this is not what he wants to do, is that right?

DARDEN: Well, you know this is what I've heard and I haven't looked at that particular section but let me tell you, you know, there are exceptions to the hearsay rule in California now that allow the police and the prosecution to introduce statements.

A minor under the age of 12, 12 or under, who alleges abuse they can introduce that minor's statements to doctors, to police. They can introduce statements made by the minor even if the minor is not present in court.

And when you have situations like these where you have parents that don't want to subject their children to these kinds of cases or the media, you know, the prosecution is still going to be in a good position to proceed with the case with or without the minor.

BLITZER: This is going to be a long drawn out process assuming it eventually goes to trial, the arraignment now scheduled for January 9, Christopher. That should be a relatively brief court appearance. What do you expect will happen after that January 9 arraignment at the Santa Barbara Superior Court?

DARDEN: I have to confess, Wolf, I'm a little surprised that the arraignment date is set so far in the future given the nature of these charges and given the fact that Michael Jackson has unlimited resources and could flee if he wanted to flee and we know what happens in situations like these from the Andrew Luster case.

But when he appears for his arraignment he's going to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. The court will give him an opportunity to have the charges against him read publicly. The lawyers will confer with the court. They will calendar a preliminary hearing which usually occurs within ten court days of the arraignment but I'm sure in this case it will occur several weeks or several months after the initial arraignment.

The court could revisit the issue of bail if the court believes that $3 million is not sufficient or if there are new facts or new evidence that suggests that Michael Jackson either poses a danger to the community or might likely flee the jurisdiction.

BLITZER: We're looking at these live pictures. We're trying to follow through our affiliates where Michael Jackson might be heading next. He's posted bail. Normally in California what does that mean? Can he leave the state? Does he have to stay in California? Does he have to stay in the area around Santa Barbara? What does exactly that mean as far as you know Christopher?

DARDEN: Well, typically felony defendants sign a promise to appear. It does have certain conditions. They're generally restricted to the state. I don't know what agreement Michael Jackson and Mr. Geragos may have come to with the prosecution in this case but I would expect that he will not be leaving the state without the consent of the court or the knowledge of the prosecution and police.

BLITZER: Looking back on when we all got to know you during the O.J. Simpson trial and all of us remember that very, very vividly Christopher Darden. There's a lot of differences clearly between that case and this case, one important similarity very, very high profile.

Do you have any advice that you would give the prosecution on this particular time based on perhaps some of the mistakes that were made during the O.J. Simpson case?

DARDEN: Well, I think number one they have to plan for everything, for every possibility and understand that they're dealing with someone with unlimited resources.

You can expect that Michael Jackson will hire the best lawyers in the country, the best forensic specialists, the best of the best in terms of those with expertise in child abuse cases, whether they are therapists or physicians and the like and they have to be ready. They simply have to be ready and prepare for, you know, not just what might probably happen but the kinds of things that could happen.

BLITZER: Michael Jackson has an awful lot of money. He'll be able to hire the best lawyers as you point out, the best scientists, the best witnesses, expert witnesses that money can buy. Christopher, stand by for a moment.

Just over an hour ago Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine talked live exclusively with CNN's Kyra Phillips on the phone. He's extremely upset at the news media coverage of his brother's arrest which he called a modern-day lynching.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: Well, first of all I'd like to say the whole family supports Michael 100 percent, 1,000 percent. Michael is innocent and just to let you know how I feel I'm very disappointed in the system in which things were done. At the same time, Michael is in very strong spirits because he is innocent.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What has he told you? JACKSON: We're tired of people. I'm sick and F-ing tired of people speaking on my brother's behalf and my family's behalf who do not know us so you put these people on national TV, international TV and they say these things and the public is saying, oh wow is he really like this?

My brother is not eccentric. We had an incredible wonderful childhood and what they're doing is bringing him down with the very thing that he loves, his children and family. My brother is about peace. They don't know us but this will rebuild itself.

But I am sick and (unintelligible) tired of everybody saying these things about my family. We will fight and we will stand up and everybody that knows this family around the world will support us because at the end of the day this is nothing but a modern-day lynching. This is what they want to see, him in handcuffs. You got it but it won't be for long I promise you.

PHILLIPS: Jermaine, I -

JACKSON: I'm sick and tired.

PHILLIPS: And believe me I mean...

JACKSON: Sick and tired.

PHILLIPS: ...I have no idea what you're going through. I am definitely not in your shoes.

JACKSON: No, you do not know.

PHILLIPS: No, you're right.

JACKSON: Because you don't walk in my shoes.

PHILLIPS: You are right.

JACKSON: Or my family's shoes.

PHILLIPS: You are absolutely right.

JACKSON: You don't walk in our shoes but you put these people on national television to say things. They don't know our family.

PHILLIPS: And that's why we have you.

JACKSON: We are a family and we will continue to be a family that's my love right there and we support him 1,000 percent. I have nothing else to say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Jermaine Jackson speaking with our Kyra Phillips just a little while ago.

Christopher Darden as you were listening to the anger expressed by Michael Jackson's brother what was going through your mind?

DARDEN: Well, certainly when you use the term modern-day lynching you're playing the race card in some sense. A lot of people in the black community are concerned because we now have three prominent African American men charged in criminal cases with sex offenses, R. Kelly (ph) in Chicago, Kobe Bryant in Eagle, Colorado and now we have Michael Jackson charged with child molestation.

And, you know, and folks are beginning to wonder. I understand why Jermaine is upset. It's his brother. I'm sure he loves his brother and I'm sure he believes in his brother's innocence; however, I don't know that the police have done anything inappropriate at this point.

They seem to have followed, you know, followed the book by the numbers and he seems to be getting treated a whole lot better than most people because I would think that the sheriff's department in Santa Barbara County should have probably gone out and arrested him rather than negotiate a surrender.

BLITZER: There are some high profile white men who have been accused of murder, some big trials. Scott Peterson of course comes to mind just right now. But you're right there will be people out there, many African Americans, who do suspect given the legacy of race in our country that will suspect something untoward, something wrong is with the process. How significant of a problem is that going to be Christopher?

DARDEN: You know it's hard to say. Currently these charges are pending in Santa Barbara County where I am sure the percentage of African Americans is very, very small and if Michael Jackson is tried in Santa Barbara County he is not likely to have any African American jurors, number one.

And so, you know, what the public thinks beyond Santa Barbara County may not mean a whole lot to potential jurors but I think that all of us, including Jermaine, all we want to see is a fair process, a fair trial.

We want, those of us who commentate on TV to remember that Michael Jackson is presumed innocent and there's been no evidence presented in court, at least that we know of that would suggest that he is anything other than innocent.

BLITZER: There has been a lot of criticism over the past 24 hours, Christopher Darden, of the sheriff and the district attorney, the prosecutor in Santa Barbara for that news conference they had yesterday in which there was almost a bit of levity that was filtering over.

There's been a lot of criticism on a deadly serious matter involving child molestation, a minor under 14 years old. There was humor injected into that news conference and there was some sense of perhaps they were trying to get even for what happened ten years ago when Michael Jackson was not formally charged with anything. He worked out that issue directly in some sort of financial settlement with the family of that young boy ten years ago.

Did you watch that news conference yesterday?

DARDEN: Yes, I did watch that news conference yesterday and, you know, was it inappropriate? I don't necessarily think so. It certainly isn't the way that I would have done it and I don't think the L.A. County DA's Office would have handled that press conference that particular way.

But what you have here though is you have an experienced prosecutor, certainly one who was motivated having dealt with Michael Jackson over the past ten years and are they a little happy, seem a little happy about the fact, the notion that they finally are going to be able to drag him into a criminal court? Yes, yes they are.

But, you know, if you're going to prosecute this case you want to be objective. You want to be fair and you certainly want to give the appearance of being objective and fair and, you know, I would caution the deputy DAs up in Santa Barbara County that that's good advice to take, to follow. Be fair.

BLITZER: That's excellent advice from Christopher Darden. I want to thank you Christopher. Thanks so much for joining us and giving us your perspective which is very, very timely and useful. Christopher Darden, the former Simpson prosecutor joining us on this story which has been a fascinating story, a real life story, a very sad story indeed.

Let's go back, let's go back to the Neverland Ranch right now. Our National Correspondent Gary Tuchman is on the scene for us. Any sign of Michael Jackson because it looks, Gary, like he might not be coming your way. He may be heading back towards the airport.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's really just no way to know but if he goes to the airport he could still be coming here to Neverland, this ranch which is 30 miles away from where he was just processed because he sometimes takes a helicopter to Neverland. There's so much land here that they land a helicopter near his mansion.

But what I can tell you, Wolf, what we have seen over the last 30 minutes and we haven't seen this for the two days we've been here there's a little dirt road right next to us here, next to the fence that is the border of Neverland.

There's a dirt road and over the last 30 minutes we've seen a security car with two security men driving back and forth on this dirt road kind of glancing us over and continuing to patrol the grounds. That's the first time we've seen that since we've been here.

Does that mean Michael Jackson is coming to his home? We don't know but that is the first difference. Everything else has been very quiet since this story began -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Gary. We're going to be checking back with you for updates so stand by. Thanks very much Gary Tuchman. He's over at the Neverland Ranch.

And here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Is $3 million an appropriate bail for Michael Jackson," is it too little, is it appropriate or is it too much? You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.

And while you're there I'd love to hear directly from you, our viewers. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

A rare look inside Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Few people are invited into his home. I'll talk live with a journalist who did go inside. Our coverage of this top story will continue.

Plus this devastation, terror attacks in Turkey, bombings at British sites in Istanbul kill more than 20 people and injure hundreds. We're there live.

And presenting a united front President Bush and Prime Minister Blair. On one side thousands of protesters, on the other, much more coverage, all these stories coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening right now this is the picture, this is the mug shot, Michael Jackson. He was booked only a little while ago in Santa Barbara over at the sheriff's office.

He was then released, posted $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment at which point he will plead innocent or guilty January 9. He may not have to plead at all at that point, January 9 the Santa Barbara Superior Court. The whole process inside we're told took between 30 to 45 minutes that according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department.

There was no incident. There was no problem. Jackson's people and Jackson himself according to the Santa Barbara police were very cooperative with all of the authorities. He did surrender his passport in the process.

Let's bring in Miguel Marquez our reporter on the scene. Miguel, any idea, any sense now where this Michael Jackson may be heading at this point?

MARQUEZ: We presumed that he was heading to Neverland Ranch. It is, as Mr. Darden was saying earlier, it's typical in these cases that one would not be allowed to leave the state if you were charged with a felony crime.

But we did see some helicopter pictures earlier where he seemed also to be heading to the airport. Whether or not he would take a helicopter to the ranch from the airport or if he would just get into another car there at the airport to take to his ranch is not clear. The only thing we know, well one of the things we know for sure, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is just when the next act of what will probably be a very, very long drama will be which is January 9 when he will be arraigned and the formal charges will be read.

Even though we have the mug shot now we still don't have any sort of booking document, some sort of preliminary document that might give us a better idea of what he would be facing.

Listening to the sheriff's press conference a short time ago the only thing that the public information officer did say was that it was still listed as multiple counts of molestation so it will be interesting once the facts come out whether or not or how many counts Mr. Jackson is facing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Miguel. We're going to be standing by. We're going to get back to you.

Our Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is in New York. He's joining us now as well. The mug shot it looked a little weird I must say. Is it normal, Jeffrey, for the Santa Barbara authorities to release this kind of picture and to put it up on their Web site to tell the world in effect where that Web site is? It sounds a little bit unusual but is it normal?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it actually is not that unusual, Wolf, I don't think. Many jurisdictions do release mug shots more or less instantly. Some jurisdictions don't release mug shots at all.

I remember Oliver North when he was arrested, when he was charged in the Iran Contra case his lawyers succeeded in getting that mug shot never released ever. It's never been made public.

In the Watergate cases those mug shots came out many years later. Many jurisdictions, though, do release mug shots more or less instantaneously. Now in the era of the Internet it really can be instantaneous so it's not terribly weird although I have to say I think the mug shot itself is weird. I haven't seen many where the defendant is wearing makeup and now I've seen one.

BLITZER: It does look almost like a cartoon caricature of Michael Jackson but that's the official sheriff's department photograph that was taken, snapped inside and put up on their Web site as Chris Pappas, the spokesman for the sheriff's department announced just a little while ago.

We heard Chris Darden say, Jeffrey, that he was surprised the arraignment was going to take this long to wait until January 9 for the arraignment process to go forward. Are you surprised?

TOOBIN: I am. I think that's an awfully long time. Usually it's within 30 days but oftentimes prosecutors and defense lawyers come to an agreed upon date which is often influenced by the schedules of the various lawyers involved. As we all know, Mark Geragos is involved in defending Scott Peterson; however, that preliminary hearing is over. I don't know that the Peterson case would interfere with this arraignment.

We are heading into the holidays so that may have had something to do with why this was so long delayed but it is a long time. I think the holidays probably had a lot to do with it.

BLITZER: You would think, Jeffrey, that Mark Geragos would have more than his hands full in the Scott Peterson case and not necessarily want to take on another huge case like this one.

Is this normal for high profile lawyers, criminal defense attorneys, to try to juggle two big cases like this at the same time?

TOOBIN: No, it's not that normal. It is unusual.

And Mark Geragos, unlike some prominent lawyers, does not have a great big law firm. In fact, he has a firm that he operates with his father in Los Angeles. But it's a small law firm, a handful of lawyers.

In many of the pictures there today, you saw behind him Pat Harris, who is a -- who is, I think functions as a paralegal.

Trivia buffs will note that Pat Harris is the former fiance of Susan McDougal, who was a key figure in the Whitewater case and one of the people that Mark Geragos represented. That's how they met, is through his representation of Susan McDougal.

But there is not a big backup law firm there. I think one thing that may come to Mark Geragos' rescue in this situation that the California legal system works so slowly that both cases will grind on at a pace that will probably allow him to handle both of them.

BLITZER: I want to explain to our viewers what they're seeing. That jet is jet, the private jet that brought Michael Jackson to Santa Barbara in the first place from Las Vegas. We see it getting ready to take off.

Now we do not know -- repeat, we do not know if Michael Jackson is on board that jet. And if he is, we have no idea where he may be heading, although Gary Tuchman told us that it's possible he could be flying over to the Neverland Ranch, which apparently has some sort of airstrip that could accommodate this kind of plane.

Presumably he's going to have to stay in the state? He's accused of a major felony. Isn't that right, Jeffrey?

TOOBIN: Again, that varies, depending on what arrangements have been worked out in advance.

Just for example, I noticed Martha Stewart was making appearances outside of New York. Her bail conditions obviously allow her to travel around the country. I would guess, given the gravity of the charges against Michael Jackson, that he would be restricted in where he could go. Perhaps just to Santa Barbara County. Perhaps to the broader Southern California area. I would be surprised if he was allowed to travel beyond Southern California.

But, for example, we know that he's working on a music video in Las Vegas. Mark Geragos may have worked out an exception where he could travel there to continue his work. Oftentimes if a defendant has work outside the jurisdiction, they're sometimes allowed to go there. That's a subject of discussion.

BLITZER: We do know in the Kobe Bryant case in Colorado, he's accused of one felony count of sexual assault. He, though, posted bail and he's allowed to travel all over the country.

TOOBIN: That's right.

BLITZER: In fact, he's playing in the NBA right now.

Jeffrey, listen to this. This is a statement we're just getting into here at CNN, a statement from Stuart Backerman. He's the official spokesman for Michael Jackson. A statement on behalf of Michael Jackson. It's three sentences, three paragraphs. Let me read it to our viewers, and then we'll talk about it. This is a direct quote.

"The big lie against Michael Jackson is anchored in the most vicious allegation imaginable, one that resonates across every culture, the spectacle of harming a child. That spectacle invites outrage, and it should. But this spectacle is rooted in a lie."

The statement goes on to say, "Michael said, quote, 'Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons. The truth will win this marathon in court,'" close quote.

The statement then goes on to say, "Michael is going to defend himself with the force of his spirit, as would anyone falsely accused of something so monstrous."

That, a statement from Stuart Backerman, the official spokesman for Michael Jackson, a statement on behalf of Michael Jackson. Pretty carefully crafted words. A complete total denial, not only in this statement but also from Mark Geragos, the attorney representing Michael Jackson, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: You know, what's interesting about both that statement and Geragos' statement before the police station earlier in the day is that both of them made reference -- Mark Geragos explicitly -- to Jackson's extreme involvement, passion for, interest in children.

He said, "Michael Jackson of all people wouldn't do this thing."

But unfortunately for him, I think that kind of cuts both ways. Because even though Michael Jackson often speaks of his love for children, I think it's safe to say there's plenty of evidence in his public life that he's sort of unhealthily obsessed with children.

So his particular outrage at this crime is a reminder of how big a role children play in the life of this man in his mid-40s.

BLITZER: The January 9 arraignment also could set the stage, obviously, for a preliminary hearing and then a trial way down the road.

How long of a process, under normal circumstances -- and these are far from normal circumstances, Jeffrey -- but how long of a process is the country about to endure, waiting and watching the Michael Jackson trial to go forward?

TOOBIN: Well, to answer your question directly, I think we're talking about -- it would be a surprise to me, given what I know about the California legal system -- if the trial were over a year from today.

But there's a preliminary issue that will have to be addressed even before that arraignment or around the time of the arraignment. Prosecutors have a choice of going to a preliminary hearing, which is an adversary proceeding with defense lawyers. There was just one in the Scott Peterson case.

Or they could use a grand jury proceeding to move the case along, which would be secret and which would allow the government to put on its witnesses without cross-examination.

That's a decision that prosecutors will have to make in the relatively near future, because that will determine whether there's a preliminary hearing or not.

BLITZER: When I was interviewing Christopher Darden, the former O.J. Simpson prosecutor, Jeffrey, just a little while ago on this program, I asked him what mistakes they may have made involving O.J., another high profile case, that the prosecution team in this case should necessarily try to avoid.

And he pointed out that Michael Jackson has unlimited sums, nearly, and he'll be able to hire an incredible team of scientists and forensic experts and attorneys and public relations advisers to help. This is not necessarily going to be a slam-dunk on the part of the prosecution, and they should be under no illusions.

TOOBIN: Absolutely not. This is a slam-dunk by no means.

And what makes this such a -- likely to be such an ugly spectacle is that the central issue in this trial will be the credibility of this child. And the defense will have to do everything it can to undermine the credibility of this child, while not seeming overaggressive, while not seeming additionally abusive to this kid.

And that is something that is really difficult to do, but it is absolutely mandatory if Michael Jackson is going to get acquitted. His lawyers are going to have to destroy the credibility of this young man. BLITZER: Do you think his lawyers, his family, that they're going to play the race card? Because as you heard Jermaine Jackson suggest to our Kyra Phillips only a little while ago here on CNN exclusively, a modern day lynching.

The words, very, very sensitive words, given the racial history of this country. Very sensitive words and Christopher Darden pointing out three prominent black men right now accused of some serious crimes in the country.

TOOBIN: That phrase, when I was listening to Kyra's interview with Jermaine Jackson, that phrase certainly jumped out at me. I don't know.

Michael Jackson is, of course, an African-American. He is not particularly associated with African-American causes, as O.J. Simpson was not associated with those causes, but he certainly wrapped himself in the mantle of racial solidarity.

That's going to be one difficult issue for both sides to address, the place of race in this case, because when a black man is accused of sexually assaulting a white person -- and I believe the alleged victim here is white -- that -- the racial history of this country comes into play.

And how both sides deal with that issue is always a fraught, difficult issue.

BLITZER: And no one remembers this better than you. You covered that O.J. Simpson case, and you did it brilliantly. You wrote about it later.

In that case, it was a black man, an African-American American, O.J. Simpson, a football player turned actor. One of the prosecutors, mainly Christopher Darden, himself an African-American, was so directly involved, some suggesting at the time he was brought in to make it clear that there was no racist element potentially involved at all.

When I looked at the cast of characters yesterday in Santa Barbara, all of those people on the law enforcement side -- the D.A., the prosecution, the sheriff -- all of them were white.

TOOBIN: And on the defense side, so far Mark Geragos' team is all white, as well.

But you know, it is, I think -- you know, many people may react, "Oh, how could Michael Jackson play the race card? He has never really been involved in civil rights issues particularly."

Many people said the same thing about O.J. Simpson. And it was soon after the preliminary hearing -- in fact, frankly, it was me in "The New Yorker" magazine, I first reported that they were going to claim that Mike -- that Mark Fuhrman was a racist who planted the glove that was such an important piece of evidence. So these racial issues, even though you think they may not be there, they are always lurking beneath the surface. And I would be shocked if we have heard the last of race in this story.

BLITZER: Jeffrey, please stand by, because there is still much more to assess, much more to understand in this case involving Michael Jackson.

We're going to go inside the Neverland Ranch. A reporter who was there on the scene. We're going to go inside -- a rare look inside.

We're also standing by to find out where Michael Jackson is right now. We have cameras, reporters, crews all over the area in Santa Barbara and beyond, looking for Michael Jackson. We'll get an update on that.

We're not neglecting other important news today. A horrible bombing in Turkey, the second twin bombing in this week alone.

We're also going to go live to London, where President Bush has been meeting with the British prime minister.

Much more news coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The accusations against Michael Jackson have news crews swarming around the Neverland Ranch. Few have ever gotten inside. But "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Mark Steines did. He was the only reporter allowed to attend a private fund-raiser at the Neverland Ranch this summer.

Mark Steines is joining us now live from Santa Barbara.

Mark, thanks very much. Take us inside in your own words. What's it like in there?

MARK STEINES, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT" REPORTER: You know, Wolf, it was amazing. I felt like I was revisiting my childhood.

When the gates of Neverland open up, you walk inside and you are greeted with all the fond memories of what a child -- you know, your childhood memories were filled with. There were sounds of birds chirping in the trees with little microphones. Every detail was there -- little speakers, rather. All the details were taken care of. It's almost like going to Disneyland. It really, really was.

BLITZER: Was Michael there the day were you there?

STEINES: He was there the day -- we arrived at the celebration, his 45th birthday celebration. And there was also a fund-raiser, as well. I believe Make a Wish was part of those charities receiving profit or money from this event.

We were there during the day. It went into the evening. We left -- it wrapped up around midnight or so. Michael came out a couple of times during the day. He was in his car. He was being chauffeured around, through the property, through a carnival that was set up, filled with all rides and whatnot. The zoo was available for visitors to go in and see.

But he never left the limo. He stayed in the back. He rolled the window down just a Short fraction, was able to see his guest, wave to them, and then he was escorted back inside. He did not emerge to be with the crowd until later that evening, when he came out to present a check of all the money that was raised that evening and then blow out candles on his birthday cake. And then started a food fight shortly after.

So it was -- But you know, one thing that I want to bring up that I saw inside that didn't seem to have much meaning at the time, but -- and I'm not going to allude to anything here. But knowing this today in light of what's happening, it sheds new light.

We were able to go in and see everything around Neverland, with the exception of the private residence. We were around the pool area, where there seemed to be a lot of focus on, where this so-called secret room may exist. I didn't see anything like that there. However, you know, we weren't there investigating.

We did go into -- and this group of us went inside to the theater. And as I went in, I remembered seeing this on some of the specials that I had seen over the years. We went in, walked down to the front, my producer and I. And as we turned back and looked back to where the projection screen was, I remember noticing a big glass window. And behind the glass window was a bed set up that was dressed with all the amenities, a big, you know, down comforter and lighting and whatnot.

And I remember making a note of that, thinking it was pretty obscure but then, on the other hand, thinking, wow he must come here and watch big movies, you know, while he's laying in bed watching in.

There was also a private entrance that led up to a loft upstairs -- excuse me -- where a lot of his celebrity friends that were attending were hanging out, as well.

BLITZER: Mark, were there children there? And if there were, what was the interaction that you saw between Michael Jackson and those kids?

STEINES: There were children there during the day, Wolf. And there were -- actually in the evening.

The way the party was set up, there was a -- it was $5,000 per ticket for two people. During the day, the rides were open. There were carnival shows. There was a show, Ashanti, the musical artist came and performed. We spoke with her on her jet as she flew in for that. It was a regular carnival atmosphere.

There was no interaction between Michael, or any of his guests at that point. It was much later in the evening, approximately 10 p.m., 10:30 p.m., where he came from his private residence, was brought in through the back door of a tent that was erected, where everybody had gathered for this kind of announcement of how much money was raised.

And then everybody sang "Happy Birthday." He entered the tent through a kind of back area, which I greeted him outside and followed through a gauntlet of people. He went up on stage. Aaron Carter, Mike Tyson was there in the crowd, a couple of other celebrities. None of the children, none of the other people.

And it wasn't just children, by the way. Let me be fair and say that. It was children with their parents there. None of them really had direct contact with him. And Michael left, got in his car and went back home. Of course he was covered with frosting or what not, so I'm sure he was headed off to get cleaned up.

But there was very little interaction, if any, between he and his guests.

BLITZER: Mark Steines works for "Entertainment Tonight." He had some extraordinary access, a rare inside look at the Neverland Ranch.

Mark, thanks so much for joining us.

We're continuing to follow Michael Jackson. Right now we're attempting to determine where he went once he left the Santa Barbara Police Department, the sheriff's department. We're monitoring that. We'll have more on that coming up.

But let's not forget there is other important news happening around the world today.

Immediately, let's go to Turkey. That's still reeling -- Turkey is still reeling from Saturday's synagogue attacks, twin attacks on Saturday. But today Turkey has once again been hit very hard by terror.

For the second time in only a week, twin bombings in the heart of Istanbul. Dozens, dozens are dead, hundreds are wounded. This time the attacks were aimed at Britain. Among the victims, a senior diplomat killed in the blast, which ripped through the nation's consulate.

The other bombing devastated the high rise headquarters of a British bank and took a heavy toll in the surrounding streets.

Istanbul is, again, a city in shock and mourning, both bombings causing massive destruction and horrific carnage. One survivor called it, simply, a blood bath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Bloodied faces, body parts. Chaos. By now, the most grim and familiar scenes.

Within a few minutes and a few miles, Turkey absorbs the worst terrorist bombings in its history. But the targets, British. Late morning in Istanbul. At least one massive explosion at the London based HSBC Bank. The facade of one tall building in the complex sheered off. Nearby buildings damaged. Bodies, dazed victims scattered.

The British consulate is next. An official says the compound was as secure as possible. But the blast, colossal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was in front of the bar and suddenly we heard a huge explosion. We didn't understand what was going on. All we could see was blood, glass and wreckage. The bodies were just lying on the street. It's a horrible situation.

BLITZER: Among the dozens killed at both places, British consul general, Roger Short. Several hundred are wounded. Carcasses of burned-out vehicles litter the streets.

There seems no doubt among intelligence experts: this is not the work of amateurs.

SAJJAN GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: If we look at the coordination, the aim of creating mass casualty attacks, yes, this does have the hallmarks of a transnational terrorist group.

BLITZER: Tactics all too familiar and fresh among shell-shocked residents of Istanbul.

RECEP TAYYIP ERODGAN, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER: If you look into the incidents, it is very similar to the incident that occurred five days ago.

BLITZER: Saturday, explosions at two synagogues in Istanbul killed 23 people and two suicide bombers. As in those attacks, officials believe vehicles were used in today's bombings.

The Turkish government has received a joint claim of responsibility from al Qaeda and a Turkish Islamic militant group that also said it carried out Saturday's attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As rescue and recovery efforts continue efforts already under way to find out who's behind the bombings, let's go live to our national correspondent, Mike Boettcher. He's on the scene in Istanbul for us.

Mike, first of all, about today's twin attack, what have you learned?

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we've learned that the key to this investigation are those synagogue attacks last Saturday and that al Qaeda cells are specifically, almost as close as you can get to 100 percent sure as being responsible for these attacks.

They've traced those two bombers into the universe, the sphere of al Qaeda, one having traveled to Chechnya, Bosnia and Iran, meeting with al Qaeda people in those locations. The other in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And they are very positive in the coalition intelligence community that these are al Qaeda attacks.

BLITZER: They do have the markings -- they were double -- they were both twin attacks. They were very sophisticated. They caused extraordinary devastation, in marked contrast to the normal terrorism, if you can call it that, that Turkey has been plagued by over the years, mostly Kurdish terrorists.

BOETTCHER: Well, these bombs were much larger and were hitting targets that were, No. 1, political and economic and religious, if you go back to last weekend. So they've hit all of those various elements.

And if you look at this, Wolf, this is the first time that al Qaeda, if it is indeed proven to be al Qaeda -- and they believe it is -- first time they've been able to launch an attack to coincide with a major world event, which is the summit in the United Kingdom right now.

There have been many warnings over the past two years of major terrorist attacks during summits and other big meetings. They haven't occurred. They've been thwarted. They managed to pull it off this time.

BLITZER: They went after a couple of British targets in Istanbul, timed to coordinate clearly with what the president of the United States was doing in London.

Mike Boettcher, thanks for that. We'll be checking back with you.

Let's move over to London now. where protesters filled the streets to oppose the visit of a president of the United States.

But on a day when Britain was targeted by terror in Turkey, the president and Britain's prime minister Tony Blair were sending their own message, that they are standing firm.

Our senior White House correspondent, John King, reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Istanbul attacks added urgency to the talks at 10 Downing Street and bought fresh commitments to press ahead in the war on terror.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We are not going to back down or flinch at all from this struggle.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, once again, we saw their ambitions of murder.

KING: Both governments suggested al Qaeda and its allies are again to blame, and both leaders say a thriving democracy in Iraq would be a powerful deterrent to terrorism.

BUSH: The spread of freedom and the hope it brings is the surest way in the long term to combat despair and anger and resentment that feeds terror.

KING: That the British were targeted by terrorists while the president was in London was viewed as no coincidence. Mr. Blair bristled when asked if it was the price for standing firm with Mr. Bush.

BLAIR: It's not the president of the United States. It's not the alliance between America and Britain. What is responsible for that terrorist attack is terrorism. Are the terrorists.

KING: And Britain's foreign secretary cited the September 11 attacks, taking issue with those who suggest the war in Iraq and more specifically Mr. Bush, are provoking the terrorists.

BLAIR: It was planned under the presidency of Bill Clinton, even if it were executed under the presidency of George W. Bush.

KING: Protesters took to the streets of London by the tens of thousands and many made clear they do blame Mr. Bush for inciting terror and would prefer he meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein.

This roundtable on local efforts to combat HIV/AIDS was part of a roundtable to improve Mr. Bush's image here.

The president also held a dinner with the queen, offering a toast and condolences for those killed and hurt in Istanbul.

(on camera) The president's final stop on Friday is in Mr. Blair's home district in northern England, part of an effort by the prime minister to make the case that while those who wish he would not stand so close to Mr. Bush are quite vocal, they do not, in his view, represent the majority here.

John King, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll update you on the Michael Jackson story. Where is he right now? We're attempting to find out. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's get an update now on where the whole Michael Jackson situation stands right now.

Gary Tuchman is just outside the Neverland Ranch, not far from Santa Barbara.

Gary, what are you hearing? What do we know precisely right now as far, as Michael Jackson's whereabouts? GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing, Wolf, absolutely zero about Michael Jackson's whereabouts, and I am absolutely sure that's how Michael Jackson and his people want it right now.

We heard yesterday there were negotiations between the authorities here and Santa Barbara County and Michael Jackson's lawyers. And you can see some of the fruits of the allegations.

That plane that he came on actually flew into the hangar. How often do you see the nose of a plane with passengers at a small airport fly into the hangar with the wings and the engines almost ready to hit the wall? But they did that so he could go inside a dark area. He got into cars that were already in there. That was all part of the negotiation.

So you can be sure that is a consideration they gave him because, indeed, he is a celebrity.

We've asked people on the grounds or right next to the grounds of Neverland if Jackson is coming here. They are not talking at all. That's more indication that's the way that they want it. There's a security guard in the gate behind me at the security house. He looks at us like we're invisible and says nothing to us, also.

In the last few minutes some fans have shown up. We've only seen two fans over the last two days. And now we've seen a handful more show up, and they've left some signs there in the background. And Dimuno Laretta (ph), my photographer, is going to zoom into it.

Some people are blocking it, but one of the signs says that "God knows the truth." The other one says, "All I want to say is they don't really care about us." Not sure exactly what that means, but we assume it's a pro-Michael Jackson sign. And one that is a pro-Michael Jackson sign. And then one that's obviously a pro-Michael Jackson sign: "We're behind you 100 percent."

There's two ways for Michael Jackson to get here. If he is coming to his home, this is the one and only road that goes into Neverland. He could also, though, fly in by helicopter. And we're listening for helicopters, and right now we haven't heard one or seen one.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Gary, the official spokesman for Michael Jackson putting out a statement just a little while ago. Let me just read a couple of sentences from it.

"The big lie against Michael Jackson is anchored in the most vicious allegation imaginable, one that resonates across every culture: the spectacle of harming a child. That spectacle invites outrage, and it should. But this spectacle is rooted in a lie."

He goes on to say, "Michael said, 'Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathon. The truth will win this marathon in court.' Michael is going to defend himself with the force of his spirit, as would anyone falsely accused of something so monstrous."

Michael Jackson was booked. He was released. He posted $3 million bail. There will be an arraignment before the Santa Barbara Superior Court on January 9.

The whole process today took 30, 45 minutes, according to the Santa Barbara police department -- sheriff's department. There was no incident, they said. The Jackson people were very cooperative, they said, with the whole process. In the process, Michael Jackson went ahead and surrendered his passport.

Gary, we'll be checking back with you.

To our viewers, here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Earlier, we asked this question, is $3 million an appropriate bail for Michael Jackson? Let's take a look at the results. Forty-two percent of you said too little. Thirty-five percent of you said appropriate. Twenty-three percent of you said too much.

We'll continue extensive coverage on this story throughout the evening here on CNN. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

I'll be back tomorrow, noon and 5 p.m. Eastern. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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Turkey; Mayhem in Miami>