Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Chicago Police Have DNA Link to Killings of Judge Joan Lefkow's Husband, Mother; Another Bizarre Turn in Michael Jackson Trial

Aired March 11, 2005 - 07:00   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic new evidence links an out- of-work electrician to that deadly double murder in Chicago, how a cigarette found at the crime scene could hold a key to the case.
Another bizarre turn in the Michael Jackson trial. Jackson shows up in his PJs, while his accuser gives the most graphic testimony yet.

And two of New York City's finest accused of being hitmen for the mob. That's on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: It is snowing on March 11th. Good morning, everybody, on this Friday morning. Good morning to you. And to you as well.

O'BRIEN: And to you as well.

HEMMER: What about that scene in California yesterday? Kind of hard to turn away, the arrival of Michael Jackson more than an hour late. Jackson showed up in PJs and slippers. What was behind the scenes before he arrived? We'll talk to Jackson's spokeswoman, the person, she spoke with Jackson yesterday. We will get an understanding from her as to what we all saw yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Out of control on so many levels yesterday.

Also this morning, doctors say Bill Clinton recovering well from surgery this morning. Dr. Gupta's going to join us to tell us just what the next step is for the former president.

HEMMER: Jack Cafferty on a Friday. What's on your mind?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, let me jump ahead of the person that's going to explain what we saw yesterday and see if I can help you. What we saw is Michael Jackson, who is an absolute moron, making a mockery out of some very serious criminal charges against him, and we saw the judge in the trial letting him get away with it. We'll take a closer look.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, three hours to chew on that. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Well, Chicago police have a DNA link to the killings of Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother. DNA from a cigarette butt that was found at the crime scene matches Bart Ross, the man who killed himself on Wednesday, near Milwaukee, and confessed in a suicide note.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Heinzmann of the "Chicago Tribune" first broke the Ross suicide story.

Good morning to you.

Let's begin with the new DNA evidence. What details can you tell us about it?

DAVID HEINZMANN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Well, last night the forensic testing was finished on the cigarette which was butt found in the sink, kitchen sink of the Lefkow home, and it was definitely tied to DNA taken from the corpse of Mr. Ross, who is the man who committed suicide in Milwaukee. And late last night, the police superintendent here took that evidence as sort of the conclusive sign that this is the man who acted alone in committing the murders at the Lefkow home last week.

O'BRIEN: That was a big change from what we heard in the press conference, where I thought the police were actually very close- mouthed about not only the information that they had gotten out of the vehicle and on the scene, but also about where the investigation was going. Why do you think that was?

HEINZMANN: I think they were just being cautious. I mean, this is such a high-profile case, they were under such pressure to solve this case, and it came to such a surprising abrupt end in the way that it did that before they had the absolute firm scientific evidence that this was the guy, they were just extremely cautious to say more than they knew.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some more details that now police are telling us about, lists found inside the vehicle. What's on those lists?

HEINZMANN: Well, the man, Bart Ross, had, as you know, this long medical malpractice suit that he had been trying to take through the courts and had been rejected at every turn, and he had sort of run out of options. And he was desperate, and compiled this list of judges, and lawyers and doctors who he thought had taken part in what he believed was a conspiracy to ruin his life. It was all having to do with this case. And some of those judges, in addition to Judge Lefkow, were Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judges, federal judges in the Midwest, based in Chicago and Milwaukee. We believe that's why he was up in Milwaukee. A couple of those judges on that list live and work in Milwaukee.

O'BRIEN: We talked about shell casings being found in the vehicle, but what about the actual gun that would match the one that was used to kill Judge Lefkow's husband and mother?

HEINZMANN: There's still no actual gun. They are looking for the gun. But I think they believe maybe he discarded the gun. It was a .22 caliber gun. They did find a large amount of .22 caliber ammunition in the van which he was living out of for a couple of weeks, and preliminary testing showed that the ammunition did match the manufacturer and caliber and the same size as shell casings found at the Lefkow home, and also a shell casing found at Ross' old home. So that's not exact, but it's a pretty good match, and they believe that all of the ammunition matches, even if they don't have the actual gun.

O'BRIEN: And then some terrible details in this letter that was sent to WMAQ about really what happened. Can you tell us about that?

HEINZMANN: Yes. Ross apparently made up his mind a few weeks ago when his life really spiralled out of control, he lost his home, and he was living out of his van, and he kind of reached the end, and decided that his life was over, and he was going to end the lives of some of these people that he thought had ruined his life, including at the top of the list was Judge Lefkow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The "Chicago Tribune's" David Heinzmann. In the next hour, we're going to hear from the police officer who witnessed Bart Ross' suicide -- Bill.

HEMMER: When Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial resumes on Monday, the defense will continue the cross examination of the accuser. The star witness back on the stand on Thursday. But for a time, he took a backseat, a far backseat, to the courthouse spectacle outside. Jackson showing up late, more than an hour late, and wearing pajama pants. The judge summoned Jackson from the hospital, threatening him then with a subpoena. Jackson's lawyer says he was being treated for a serious back problem at a local hospital.

A warning before we get to our next report. The following report includes graphic testimony that might not be suitable for all viewers.

From Santa Maria this morning, here's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jackson may have arrived in court in pain, but there was no relief as the judge had him sit through a day of testimony from his 15-year-old accuser.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very personal in there.

MARQUEZ: The boy testified that Jackson masturbated him and brought him to ejaculation twice. He said the incidents lasted about five minutes each, and both happened at the pop star's bedroom at Neverland Ranch.

The boy said, on a second incident, Jackson wanted the boy to reciprocate, the boy said he didn't want to do it, and -- quote -- "felt weird and embarrassed."

LAURIE LEVINSON, LEGAL ANALYST: A little bit of a staredown going on between the boy and Michael Jackson during the testimony, whereas at times before that, the boy would talk to the jury. If you notice when he was talking about that molestation, and especially on cross examination, he was looking at Michael Jackson.

MARQUEZ: The teenager also testified that Jackson gave him alcohol several times, which the pop star told him was Jesus juice. The boy told jurors that Jackson ordered the accuser and his family not to watch the Martin Bashir video, "Living With Michael Jackson," that aired on ABC in February 2003. The prosecutor charges that Jackson, among other things, conspired to keep the family from seeing the documentary.

Before the day ended, Jackson's attorney had 20 minutes of cross examination.

LEVINSON: In 20 minutes of cross examination, he did an amazing amount. The first thing he is it was establish a motive for why the boy would make up this story. And he got the boy to say that he was mad at Michael Jackson. He felt abandoned by his best friend.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Michael Jackson says he's not guilty of any and all allegations launched against him, and on Monday his defense lawyer will try to prove it. And the cross examination of his accuser will continue.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: From California now, with us from Washington, Michael Jackson's spokeswoman is Raymone Bain. She's my guest.

Good morning to you.

RAYMONE BAIN, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SPOKESWOMAN: Good morning. How are you?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, thanks.

You spoke to Michael Jackson yesterday, what did he say about the accuser's testimony here out of court yesterday?

BAIN: Well, before I answer that question, let me just say that Michael Jackson is not a moron, and it is unfortunate that because of all the hype and all of the sensation, even those who are objective will become poisoned based on the fact of everything that's out here and thrown all over the airwaves, and I just wanted to say that.

When I spoke to Michael Jackson last evening, I talked to him about his health and how he was doing. He was in a lot of pain. He could very hardly talk on the phone, because of the back problem that he was having.

But I did not get an opportunity to talk to him specifically about yesterday's testimony, but I can say that Michael Jackson has thought that his attorneys have done an excellent job over the past eight days, and it was in no way, shape or form planned that all of this happened yesterday to keep him from sitting there hearing his accuser, being confronted by his accuser, because he has not intimidated by that at all.

HEMMER: Then perhaps you can enlighten us on a few things. Did he explain how he got this back problem?

BAIN: Michael Jackson awakened yesterday at about 4:30 and couldn't move his back. He called all of us at about 5:15 a.m. -- Tom Mesereau, me, his brothers, his family to say that he couldn't move. It was recommended that he go to a nearby hospital to see if he could get a muscle relaxer, because he was going to have to be sitting in court. We were surprised at how long the hospital kept him. And as a result of that, he was not able to go home and change into his clothes, and of course all of the subsequent things that happened right afterward, the bench warrant for his arrest, the revoke of the bail, it was just so much going on until he had to rush to the court.

HEMMER: Is that the reason why he showed up in pajamas and slippers, you're saying he did not time to go home?

BAIN: He did not have time to go home because the hospital is about 50 minutes away from the courthouse. So after all of which ensued yesterday, he was not able to go home and change. And, I mean, this is very serious for Michael Jackson. And I am saying to everyone who is watching this Michael Jackson, it was unavoidable that he had to go to the hospital yesterday, because Michael Jackson knows the consequences for him being late. He knows that this is very serious. He's been there every single day throughout the jury proceedings and throughout the trial. And he has said himself that he's taking this very seriously, he's focused and he knows this is about business, and he's maintained his innocence, and he has thought that his defense attorneys, led by Tom Mesereau, have done an excellent job. He was not intimidated at all.

HEMMER: One more thing here. Did he tell you, in a yes or no answer here, how much pressure he's facing now, now that the accuser is on the stand for the first time and he's sitting just feet from him.

BAIN: Well, Bill, I have not had that conversation to say, Michael, how do you feel about facing your accuser? All I can say is that in my conversations with him when we talked about the overall case, he has felt very good about where this trial is thus far. He thinks that his attorneys have done an excellent job in cross examining.

HEMMER: All right, Raymone Bain, thanks for your time down there.

BAIN: And thank you. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Today marks the first anniversary of the deadly train bombings in Madrid, Spain, a day of mourning there for the Spanish. Plus, the latest on the investigation, in a moment. O'BRIEN: And it went well, but not exactly as planned. We've got details on President Clinton's surgery, and now his recovery.

HEMMER: Also two of New York City's finest accused of leading double lives, as hitmen for the mob. That story still to come this hour, as well. Live on a snowy Manhattan on a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Former President bill Clinton is said to be doing well this morning. On Thursday, doctors successfully removed fluid and scar tissue that had built up since his quadruple heart-bypass operation six months ago.

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us. Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Doing well after this somewhat rare complication after bypass procedure. But doctors did have to change their technique midstream.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After four hours or surgery, doctors say the former president will be back on his feet in just a day. That's no surprise to anyone that the procedure went seamlessly, especially to Mr. Clinton. In the days preceding, he let his characteristic optimism drive both his golf game and his attitude about the operation.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's not useful to sit around and worry about things you have no control over. I want to be able to breathe again fully.

GUPTA: To help him breathe fully, doctors honed in on scar tissue surrounding his left lower lung, stripping it away like an orange peel and draining the fluid that had built up as a consequence of his quadruple bypass just six months ago.

The only minor hiccup, if you can call it that during the four- hour procedure, doctors realized the almost one centimeter plaque-like rind on his left lung was too thick to remove with just a tiny incision.

DR. JOSHUA SONETT, CLINTON'S THORACIC SURGEON: It became quickly apparent that more was going to be needed, so then we find the best place to enter between another set of ribs and we go between ribs and gently spread the ribs.

GUPTA: While any operation of the chest is serious, surgeons considered this one low risk. Doctors do agree it's curious for symptoms like Mr. Clinton's to manifest so many months after a quadruple bypass.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CARDIOLOGIST: We typically see patients develop some fluid in their chest in the days or even early weeks after bypass surgery. But now, you know, more than five months following surgery, it's really very unusual.

GUPTA: Dr. Craig Smith, Mr. Clinton's cardiac surgeon, says of the 6,000 bypass operations he's performed only ten have resulted in this kind of condition.

DR. CRAIG SMITH, CARDIAC SURGEON: So, quite uncommon.

GUPTA: The fact that one of those ten complications was in a former president has given this rare condition significant attention, top of the hour news all day long by just about every broadcast network. But regardless of its rarity, everything went as expected, even better.

SONETT: And a full, functional recovery with not only no limitations but improved function is expected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And he's, again, doing very well, should be up on his feet probably by today now. That operation, obviously, yesterday. He had a thoracic epidural. And you're familiar with epidurals. He has a thoracic epidural to take care of his pain, same thing.

O'BRIEN: So could the fluid or the scar tissue come back now that he's had surgery again?

GUPTA: Theoretically, it could, but this procedure, called decortication, actually removes not only the scar tissue, but the layer of tissue around the lung that causes scarring in the first place. So it really should not come back.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll wait and see, and wish for the best, obviously, for the former president.

Sanjay, thank you -- Bill.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HEMMER: Soledad, is there a blue-light special right now for K- mart stock. Andy tells us why you may want to take a second look at this company.

Back in a minute, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back everyone.

On Wall Street, stocks a bit mixed on Thursday. A lag in the tech sector there, but that may change today, especially for one chip heavyweight.

Back to Andy Serwer, first check "Minding Your Business" on a Friday. Good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill.

Yesterday was the fifth-year anniversary of Nasdaq peaking. It was March 10th, 2000, and since then, blue-chip stocks have run circles around techs. Yesterday, no exception. The trend continues. The Dow is up. The Nasdaq was down. There you go again.

But as Bill Hemmer said, today could be different, because Intel, the chip bellwether, said after the bell that its business was doing better than anticipated, so that stock is up nearly 2 percent in pre- market trading.

One other stock in focus, and who says irrational exuberance is dead -- take a look at K-mart. Unbelievable. The stock is now at $113. It came out at $13 in May '03 out of bankruptcy, then it merged with Sears last fall. Since then a lot of people on Wall Street say it's a big real estate play. Yesterday an analyst came out and said the stock was going to go to $160. Kind of reminds be back in the old tech days, doesn't it? And right now, that stock is up $7 in premarket trading. I'd be a little careful chasing this one, though, folks.

O'BRIEN: K-mart at $160?

HEMMER: Cleanup in aisle four.

SERWER: How much is it really worth? I mean, it's K-mart.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

M.J., Question of the Day?

CAFFERTY: My name's Jack.

Oh, you meant Michael Jackson.

O'BRIEN: Yes, sorry -- M.J. is the Question of the Day, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Here you want to do it.

O'BRIEN: No, go ahead.

CAFFERTY: Oh, OK. Let's begin with a rhetorical question, which is this. If you were on trial facing felony criminal charges and you show up an hour and a half late for court wearing your pajamas, and you do not qualify as being a moron, then what exactly is the definition of that word? Just a rhetorical question.

Anyway, where are we going, on to the Question of the Day, which is the fact that Michael Jackson, moron or not, I happen to think that he is a moron, is making a mockery of his trial. I'll just read this off the script, since we can't seem to keep the prompter queued up to where we're trying to read this thing. He is sexually -- accused of sexually molesting little boys. The mockery started last year when he thought it was appropriate after being late for his arraignment on charges of sexual molesting little boys to climb on top of his car and dance. We already saw that.

Now, yesterday with the boy that he's accused of sexually molesting on the witness stand, Jackson sauntered into court more than an hour and a half late wearing his pajama bottoms. We didn't see the part that I wanted to see, which is at one point he turned on his way into court to wave to people. Now it's my understanding he's complaining he's had this unbearable back pain. I've had back pain. You can't do anything, let alone turn around while you're walking and start waving to people.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville is showing remarkable patience in all of this. At one point, he issued an arrest warrant for Jackson, threatened to revoke his bail, but he changed his mind and allowed Jackson to embarrass himself, and mock the court, and mock the jury and mock his alleged victim.

Here's the question, should Michael Jackson's bail be revoked?

O'BRIEN: I think I can guess what your answer would be. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, right after the break.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop, what a thriller -- Michael Jackson's late and on the verge of being arrested shows up to court in his PJs. What is up with that bizarre behavior? Could Spongebob make kids gay? This long-awaited public-service announcement finally revealed. What's all the fuss about. That and more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 March 11, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic new evidence links an out- of-work electrician to that deadly double murder in Chicago, how a cigarette found at the crime scene could hold a key to the case.
Another bizarre turn in the Michael Jackson trial. Jackson shows up in his PJs, while his accuser gives the most graphic testimony yet.

And two of New York City's finest accused of being hitmen for the mob. That's on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: It is snowing on March 11th. Good morning, everybody, on this Friday morning. Good morning to you. And to you as well.

O'BRIEN: And to you as well.

HEMMER: What about that scene in California yesterday? Kind of hard to turn away, the arrival of Michael Jackson more than an hour late. Jackson showed up in PJs and slippers. What was behind the scenes before he arrived? We'll talk to Jackson's spokeswoman, the person, she spoke with Jackson yesterday. We will get an understanding from her as to what we all saw yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Out of control on so many levels yesterday.

Also this morning, doctors say Bill Clinton recovering well from surgery this morning. Dr. Gupta's going to join us to tell us just what the next step is for the former president.

HEMMER: Jack Cafferty on a Friday. What's on your mind?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, let me jump ahead of the person that's going to explain what we saw yesterday and see if I can help you. What we saw is Michael Jackson, who is an absolute moron, making a mockery out of some very serious criminal charges against him, and we saw the judge in the trial letting him get away with it. We'll take a closer look.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, three hours to chew on that. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Well, Chicago police have a DNA link to the killings of Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother. DNA from a cigarette butt that was found at the crime scene matches Bart Ross, the man who killed himself on Wednesday, near Milwaukee, and confessed in a suicide note.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Heinzmann of the "Chicago Tribune" first broke the Ross suicide story.

Good morning to you.

Let's begin with the new DNA evidence. What details can you tell us about it?

DAVID HEINZMANN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Well, last night the forensic testing was finished on the cigarette which was butt found in the sink, kitchen sink of the Lefkow home, and it was definitely tied to DNA taken from the corpse of Mr. Ross, who is the man who committed suicide in Milwaukee. And late last night, the police superintendent here took that evidence as sort of the conclusive sign that this is the man who acted alone in committing the murders at the Lefkow home last week.

O'BRIEN: That was a big change from what we heard in the press conference, where I thought the police were actually very close- mouthed about not only the information that they had gotten out of the vehicle and on the scene, but also about where the investigation was going. Why do you think that was?

HEINZMANN: I think they were just being cautious. I mean, this is such a high-profile case, they were under such pressure to solve this case, and it came to such a surprising abrupt end in the way that it did that before they had the absolute firm scientific evidence that this was the guy, they were just extremely cautious to say more than they knew.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some more details that now police are telling us about, lists found inside the vehicle. What's on those lists?

HEINZMANN: Well, the man, Bart Ross, had, as you know, this long medical malpractice suit that he had been trying to take through the courts and had been rejected at every turn, and he had sort of run out of options. And he was desperate, and compiled this list of judges, and lawyers and doctors who he thought had taken part in what he believed was a conspiracy to ruin his life. It was all having to do with this case. And some of those judges, in addition to Judge Lefkow, were Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judges, federal judges in the Midwest, based in Chicago and Milwaukee. We believe that's why he was up in Milwaukee. A couple of those judges on that list live and work in Milwaukee.

O'BRIEN: We talked about shell casings being found in the vehicle, but what about the actual gun that would match the one that was used to kill Judge Lefkow's husband and mother?

HEINZMANN: There's still no actual gun. They are looking for the gun. But I think they believe maybe he discarded the gun. It was a .22 caliber gun. They did find a large amount of .22 caliber ammunition in the van which he was living out of for a couple of weeks, and preliminary testing showed that the ammunition did match the manufacturer and caliber and the same size as shell casings found at the Lefkow home, and also a shell casing found at Ross' old home. So that's not exact, but it's a pretty good match, and they believe that all of the ammunition matches, even if they don't have the actual gun.

O'BRIEN: And then some terrible details in this letter that was sent to WMAQ about really what happened. Can you tell us about that?

HEINZMANN: Yes. Ross apparently made up his mind a few weeks ago when his life really spiralled out of control, he lost his home, and he was living out of his van, and he kind of reached the end, and decided that his life was over, and he was going to end the lives of some of these people that he thought had ruined his life, including at the top of the list was Judge Lefkow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The "Chicago Tribune's" David Heinzmann. In the next hour, we're going to hear from the police officer who witnessed Bart Ross' suicide -- Bill.

HEMMER: When Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial resumes on Monday, the defense will continue the cross examination of the accuser. The star witness back on the stand on Thursday. But for a time, he took a backseat, a far backseat, to the courthouse spectacle outside. Jackson showing up late, more than an hour late, and wearing pajama pants. The judge summoned Jackson from the hospital, threatening him then with a subpoena. Jackson's lawyer says he was being treated for a serious back problem at a local hospital.

A warning before we get to our next report. The following report includes graphic testimony that might not be suitable for all viewers.

From Santa Maria this morning, here's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jackson may have arrived in court in pain, but there was no relief as the judge had him sit through a day of testimony from his 15-year-old accuser.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very personal in there.

MARQUEZ: The boy testified that Jackson masturbated him and brought him to ejaculation twice. He said the incidents lasted about five minutes each, and both happened at the pop star's bedroom at Neverland Ranch.

The boy said, on a second incident, Jackson wanted the boy to reciprocate, the boy said he didn't want to do it, and -- quote -- "felt weird and embarrassed."

LAURIE LEVINSON, LEGAL ANALYST: A little bit of a staredown going on between the boy and Michael Jackson during the testimony, whereas at times before that, the boy would talk to the jury. If you notice when he was talking about that molestation, and especially on cross examination, he was looking at Michael Jackson.

MARQUEZ: The teenager also testified that Jackson gave him alcohol several times, which the pop star told him was Jesus juice. The boy told jurors that Jackson ordered the accuser and his family not to watch the Martin Bashir video, "Living With Michael Jackson," that aired on ABC in February 2003. The prosecutor charges that Jackson, among other things, conspired to keep the family from seeing the documentary.

Before the day ended, Jackson's attorney had 20 minutes of cross examination.

LEVINSON: In 20 minutes of cross examination, he did an amazing amount. The first thing he is it was establish a motive for why the boy would make up this story. And he got the boy to say that he was mad at Michael Jackson. He felt abandoned by his best friend.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Michael Jackson says he's not guilty of any and all allegations launched against him, and on Monday his defense lawyer will try to prove it. And the cross examination of his accuser will continue.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: From California now, with us from Washington, Michael Jackson's spokeswoman is Raymone Bain. She's my guest.

Good morning to you.

RAYMONE BAIN, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SPOKESWOMAN: Good morning. How are you?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, thanks.

You spoke to Michael Jackson yesterday, what did he say about the accuser's testimony here out of court yesterday?

BAIN: Well, before I answer that question, let me just say that Michael Jackson is not a moron, and it is unfortunate that because of all the hype and all of the sensation, even those who are objective will become poisoned based on the fact of everything that's out here and thrown all over the airwaves, and I just wanted to say that.

When I spoke to Michael Jackson last evening, I talked to him about his health and how he was doing. He was in a lot of pain. He could very hardly talk on the phone, because of the back problem that he was having.

But I did not get an opportunity to talk to him specifically about yesterday's testimony, but I can say that Michael Jackson has thought that his attorneys have done an excellent job over the past eight days, and it was in no way, shape or form planned that all of this happened yesterday to keep him from sitting there hearing his accuser, being confronted by his accuser, because he has not intimidated by that at all.

HEMMER: Then perhaps you can enlighten us on a few things. Did he explain how he got this back problem?

BAIN: Michael Jackson awakened yesterday at about 4:30 and couldn't move his back. He called all of us at about 5:15 a.m. -- Tom Mesereau, me, his brothers, his family to say that he couldn't move. It was recommended that he go to a nearby hospital to see if he could get a muscle relaxer, because he was going to have to be sitting in court. We were surprised at how long the hospital kept him. And as a result of that, he was not able to go home and change into his clothes, and of course all of the subsequent things that happened right afterward, the bench warrant for his arrest, the revoke of the bail, it was just so much going on until he had to rush to the court.

HEMMER: Is that the reason why he showed up in pajamas and slippers, you're saying he did not time to go home?

BAIN: He did not have time to go home because the hospital is about 50 minutes away from the courthouse. So after all of which ensued yesterday, he was not able to go home and change. And, I mean, this is very serious for Michael Jackson. And I am saying to everyone who is watching this Michael Jackson, it was unavoidable that he had to go to the hospital yesterday, because Michael Jackson knows the consequences for him being late. He knows that this is very serious. He's been there every single day throughout the jury proceedings and throughout the trial. And he has said himself that he's taking this very seriously, he's focused and he knows this is about business, and he's maintained his innocence, and he has thought that his defense attorneys, led by Tom Mesereau, have done an excellent job. He was not intimidated at all.

HEMMER: One more thing here. Did he tell you, in a yes or no answer here, how much pressure he's facing now, now that the accuser is on the stand for the first time and he's sitting just feet from him.

BAIN: Well, Bill, I have not had that conversation to say, Michael, how do you feel about facing your accuser? All I can say is that in my conversations with him when we talked about the overall case, he has felt very good about where this trial is thus far. He thinks that his attorneys have done an excellent job in cross examining.

HEMMER: All right, Raymone Bain, thanks for your time down there.

BAIN: And thank you. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: Today marks the first anniversary of the deadly train bombings in Madrid, Spain, a day of mourning there for the Spanish. Plus, the latest on the investigation, in a moment. O'BRIEN: And it went well, but not exactly as planned. We've got details on President Clinton's surgery, and now his recovery.

HEMMER: Also two of New York City's finest accused of leading double lives, as hitmen for the mob. That story still to come this hour, as well. Live on a snowy Manhattan on a Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Former President bill Clinton is said to be doing well this morning. On Thursday, doctors successfully removed fluid and scar tissue that had built up since his quadruple heart-bypass operation six months ago.

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us. Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Doing well after this somewhat rare complication after bypass procedure. But doctors did have to change their technique midstream.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After four hours or surgery, doctors say the former president will be back on his feet in just a day. That's no surprise to anyone that the procedure went seamlessly, especially to Mr. Clinton. In the days preceding, he let his characteristic optimism drive both his golf game and his attitude about the operation.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's not useful to sit around and worry about things you have no control over. I want to be able to breathe again fully.

GUPTA: To help him breathe fully, doctors honed in on scar tissue surrounding his left lower lung, stripping it away like an orange peel and draining the fluid that had built up as a consequence of his quadruple bypass just six months ago.

The only minor hiccup, if you can call it that during the four- hour procedure, doctors realized the almost one centimeter plaque-like rind on his left lung was too thick to remove with just a tiny incision.

DR. JOSHUA SONETT, CLINTON'S THORACIC SURGEON: It became quickly apparent that more was going to be needed, so then we find the best place to enter between another set of ribs and we go between ribs and gently spread the ribs.

GUPTA: While any operation of the chest is serious, surgeons considered this one low risk. Doctors do agree it's curious for symptoms like Mr. Clinton's to manifest so many months after a quadruple bypass.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CARDIOLOGIST: We typically see patients develop some fluid in their chest in the days or even early weeks after bypass surgery. But now, you know, more than five months following surgery, it's really very unusual.

GUPTA: Dr. Craig Smith, Mr. Clinton's cardiac surgeon, says of the 6,000 bypass operations he's performed only ten have resulted in this kind of condition.

DR. CRAIG SMITH, CARDIAC SURGEON: So, quite uncommon.

GUPTA: The fact that one of those ten complications was in a former president has given this rare condition significant attention, top of the hour news all day long by just about every broadcast network. But regardless of its rarity, everything went as expected, even better.

SONETT: And a full, functional recovery with not only no limitations but improved function is expected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And he's, again, doing very well, should be up on his feet probably by today now. That operation, obviously, yesterday. He had a thoracic epidural. And you're familiar with epidurals. He has a thoracic epidural to take care of his pain, same thing.

O'BRIEN: So could the fluid or the scar tissue come back now that he's had surgery again?

GUPTA: Theoretically, it could, but this procedure, called decortication, actually removes not only the scar tissue, but the layer of tissue around the lung that causes scarring in the first place. So it really should not come back.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll wait and see, and wish for the best, obviously, for the former president.

Sanjay, thank you -- Bill.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HEMMER: Soledad, is there a blue-light special right now for K- mart stock. Andy tells us why you may want to take a second look at this company.

Back in a minute, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back everyone.

On Wall Street, stocks a bit mixed on Thursday. A lag in the tech sector there, but that may change today, especially for one chip heavyweight.

Back to Andy Serwer, first check "Minding Your Business" on a Friday. Good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill.

Yesterday was the fifth-year anniversary of Nasdaq peaking. It was March 10th, 2000, and since then, blue-chip stocks have run circles around techs. Yesterday, no exception. The trend continues. The Dow is up. The Nasdaq was down. There you go again.

But as Bill Hemmer said, today could be different, because Intel, the chip bellwether, said after the bell that its business was doing better than anticipated, so that stock is up nearly 2 percent in pre- market trading.

One other stock in focus, and who says irrational exuberance is dead -- take a look at K-mart. Unbelievable. The stock is now at $113. It came out at $13 in May '03 out of bankruptcy, then it merged with Sears last fall. Since then a lot of people on Wall Street say it's a big real estate play. Yesterday an analyst came out and said the stock was going to go to $160. Kind of reminds be back in the old tech days, doesn't it? And right now, that stock is up $7 in premarket trading. I'd be a little careful chasing this one, though, folks.

O'BRIEN: K-mart at $160?

HEMMER: Cleanup in aisle four.

SERWER: How much is it really worth? I mean, it's K-mart.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Thanks.

M.J., Question of the Day?

CAFFERTY: My name's Jack.

Oh, you meant Michael Jackson.

O'BRIEN: Yes, sorry -- M.J. is the Question of the Day, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Here you want to do it.

O'BRIEN: No, go ahead.

CAFFERTY: Oh, OK. Let's begin with a rhetorical question, which is this. If you were on trial facing felony criminal charges and you show up an hour and a half late for court wearing your pajamas, and you do not qualify as being a moron, then what exactly is the definition of that word? Just a rhetorical question.

Anyway, where are we going, on to the Question of the Day, which is the fact that Michael Jackson, moron or not, I happen to think that he is a moron, is making a mockery of his trial. I'll just read this off the script, since we can't seem to keep the prompter queued up to where we're trying to read this thing. He is sexually -- accused of sexually molesting little boys. The mockery started last year when he thought it was appropriate after being late for his arraignment on charges of sexual molesting little boys to climb on top of his car and dance. We already saw that.

Now, yesterday with the boy that he's accused of sexually molesting on the witness stand, Jackson sauntered into court more than an hour and a half late wearing his pajama bottoms. We didn't see the part that I wanted to see, which is at one point he turned on his way into court to wave to people. Now it's my understanding he's complaining he's had this unbearable back pain. I've had back pain. You can't do anything, let alone turn around while you're walking and start waving to people.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville is showing remarkable patience in all of this. At one point, he issued an arrest warrant for Jackson, threatened to revoke his bail, but he changed his mind and allowed Jackson to embarrass himself, and mock the court, and mock the jury and mock his alleged victim.

Here's the question, should Michael Jackson's bail be revoked?

O'BRIEN: I think I can guess what your answer would be. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, right after the break.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop, what a thriller -- Michael Jackson's late and on the verge of being arrested shows up to court in his PJs. What is up with that bizarre behavior? Could Spongebob make kids gay? This long-awaited public-service announcement finally revealed. What's all the fuss about. That and more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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