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CNN Live Today

Celebrity Dramas

Aired January 28, 2004 - 10:34   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For the latest on the Michael Jackson case and other legal cases in the news, we are joined by "Celebrity Justice's" Harvey Levin, who I get to meet in person.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": This is such a weird business that I so know you, and I look and go, wow, Daryn Kagan.

KAGAN: I know you in a box, and now I get to talk to you in person.

LEVIN: Right.

KAGAN: This just gets sadder and sadder for this young boy that's wrapped up in this whole Michael Jackson scandal.

LEVIN: It's a tragedy, I mean, no matter how you cut it. Think of a child having to go through this. People attacking both parents, people attacking him. It's just a really sad situation. Now what's happening is this -- I talked to the lawyer for the boy yesterday, and it's a weird situation, going into a courtroom, because it's not necessarily going into courtroom and saying, I love my son, I want to be with my son. It's almost like an agenda, I want to go to court, because I want to talk to this kid and get to the bottom of whether my child was molested by Michael Jackson. It's almost like he's going in as an investigator rather than a parent.

KAGAN: Well, OK, you have the molestation charges, you have a child who was sick, who has cancer, and then you have this bitter divorce taking place, all at the same time.

LEVIN: So ugly. And they keep replaying this divorce. Now we are told by three sources directly connected to this child, that he is not in ill health, he's OK, he's not in great shape, but he is OK, that the cancer is in remission. And I know there were reports to the contrary. Three people directly connected to this kid say it's simply not true, he's OK. As one person put it, he'll be around for, quote, "a long time."

KAGAN: Let's hope that at least that.

Meanwhile, in the case, what's the next thing we're looking for?

LEVIN: Well, I mean, this case, I think, is going to last a while. I mean, they're going have to have hearings, eventually set a preliminary hearing date, which could happen in a week. They'll decide when the preliminary hearing is going to last. But I think the stage has been set for an unbelievable circus. I mean, this kind of...

KAGAN: Well, you saw what happened just a couple weeks ago? They can't let that happen again.

LEVIN: But what do you think is going to happen for anybody who wants to see a show anywhere south of Disneyland, seriously they're going to go to Santa Maria. So the crowds are going to be huge, and it almost feeds on itself. So I think it's going to be more and more difficult to contain the spectacle of the Michael Jackson case, I really do.

KAGAN: All right, let's go to the East Coast, where the snow actually helped out Martha Stewart for a day. She gets a break in court. But watch out, because the government's star witness is on the way.

LEVIN: The government's star witness is on the way with problems. This is the assistant to the stockbroker, who has himself been charged with a misdemeanor.

KAGAN: Who is a codefendant in this case, Peter Bacanovic.

LEVIN: Well, Peter Bacanovic is the codefendant, but the star witness is Douglass Faneuil, He flipped. He told one story, and now he's coming into court, and he's got his own legal issues, and he's going to tell another story. What Martha Stewart is going to say, is this guy is fighting for his life? He's selling me down the river to save his own skin.

And you know what, that's an argument that sometimes really resonates with a jury. I mean, when you prosecute a case, you have to seem cleaner than everybody else in the courtroom. And when you associate with people who have lied, who have a stake in the outcome, it sullies the case a little bit.

KAGAN: Opening statements, they were presented yesterday, the prosecutor basically saying to Martha Stewart, liar, liar, pants on fire.

LEVIN: I was just going to say that to you. No, that literally is the case. And they tried to make it really simple. And what's interesting is, is this jury going to say, OK, this is liar, liar, pants on fire, I'm going will throw somebody in jail, in prison for that. Or have they really just taken the easy way out by not charging them with insider trading, which is really what this is all about.

KAGAN: They're trying to make it more about the cover-up, and saying, you shouldn't have come out and said you didn't do what you're alleging that you did, because you're trying to protect your own stock price. But her defense attorney said, look, you made and allegation, and then we, as the attorneys came out and said, no, she didn't. So what's wrong with doing that?

LEVIN: Right, and you know what, honestly, it's like Nixon. I mean, they are going to say, the cover-up is worst than the crime, and they're using the Nixon prosecution. It will be interesting to see if it works against Martha Stewart.

KAGAN: We'll be watching it here on CNN, and also "Celebrity Justice."

Boy, did you have good timing for developing a show.

LEVIN: Who knew.

KAGAN: You knew. Good call. Harvey Levin, we'll be looking for you. Thank you so much. And it's Great to have you here in person.

LEVIN: Great being here.

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







Aired January 28, 2004 - 10:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For the latest on the Michael Jackson case and other legal cases in the news, we are joined by "Celebrity Justice's" Harvey Levin, who I get to meet in person.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": This is such a weird business that I so know you, and I look and go, wow, Daryn Kagan.

KAGAN: I know you in a box, and now I get to talk to you in person.

LEVIN: Right.

KAGAN: This just gets sadder and sadder for this young boy that's wrapped up in this whole Michael Jackson scandal.

LEVIN: It's a tragedy, I mean, no matter how you cut it. Think of a child having to go through this. People attacking both parents, people attacking him. It's just a really sad situation. Now what's happening is this -- I talked to the lawyer for the boy yesterday, and it's a weird situation, going into a courtroom, because it's not necessarily going into courtroom and saying, I love my son, I want to be with my son. It's almost like an agenda, I want to go to court, because I want to talk to this kid and get to the bottom of whether my child was molested by Michael Jackson. It's almost like he's going in as an investigator rather than a parent.

KAGAN: Well, OK, you have the molestation charges, you have a child who was sick, who has cancer, and then you have this bitter divorce taking place, all at the same time.

LEVIN: So ugly. And they keep replaying this divorce. Now we are told by three sources directly connected to this child, that he is not in ill health, he's OK, he's not in great shape, but he is OK, that the cancer is in remission. And I know there were reports to the contrary. Three people directly connected to this kid say it's simply not true, he's OK. As one person put it, he'll be around for, quote, "a long time."

KAGAN: Let's hope that at least that.

Meanwhile, in the case, what's the next thing we're looking for?

LEVIN: Well, I mean, this case, I think, is going to last a while. I mean, they're going have to have hearings, eventually set a preliminary hearing date, which could happen in a week. They'll decide when the preliminary hearing is going to last. But I think the stage has been set for an unbelievable circus. I mean, this kind of...

KAGAN: Well, you saw what happened just a couple weeks ago? They can't let that happen again.

LEVIN: But what do you think is going to happen for anybody who wants to see a show anywhere south of Disneyland, seriously they're going to go to Santa Maria. So the crowds are going to be huge, and it almost feeds on itself. So I think it's going to be more and more difficult to contain the spectacle of the Michael Jackson case, I really do.

KAGAN: All right, let's go to the East Coast, where the snow actually helped out Martha Stewart for a day. She gets a break in court. But watch out, because the government's star witness is on the way.

LEVIN: The government's star witness is on the way with problems. This is the assistant to the stockbroker, who has himself been charged with a misdemeanor.

KAGAN: Who is a codefendant in this case, Peter Bacanovic.

LEVIN: Well, Peter Bacanovic is the codefendant, but the star witness is Douglass Faneuil, He flipped. He told one story, and now he's coming into court, and he's got his own legal issues, and he's going to tell another story. What Martha Stewart is going to say, is this guy is fighting for his life? He's selling me down the river to save his own skin.

And you know what, that's an argument that sometimes really resonates with a jury. I mean, when you prosecute a case, you have to seem cleaner than everybody else in the courtroom. And when you associate with people who have lied, who have a stake in the outcome, it sullies the case a little bit.

KAGAN: Opening statements, they were presented yesterday, the prosecutor basically saying to Martha Stewart, liar, liar, pants on fire.

LEVIN: I was just going to say that to you. No, that literally is the case. And they tried to make it really simple. And what's interesting is, is this jury going to say, OK, this is liar, liar, pants on fire, I'm going will throw somebody in jail, in prison for that. Or have they really just taken the easy way out by not charging them with insider trading, which is really what this is all about.

KAGAN: They're trying to make it more about the cover-up, and saying, you shouldn't have come out and said you didn't do what you're alleging that you did, because you're trying to protect your own stock price. But her defense attorney said, look, you made and allegation, and then we, as the attorneys came out and said, no, she didn't. So what's wrong with doing that?

LEVIN: Right, and you know what, honestly, it's like Nixon. I mean, they are going to say, the cover-up is worst than the crime, and they're using the Nixon prosecution. It will be interesting to see if it works against Martha Stewart.

KAGAN: We'll be watching it here on CNN, and also "Celebrity Justice."

Boy, did you have good timing for developing a show.

LEVIN: Who knew.

KAGAN: You knew. Good call. Harvey Levin, we'll be looking for you. Thank you so much. And it's Great to have you here in person.

LEVIN: Great being here.

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