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CNN Larry King Live

Interview With Howard K. Stern

Aired October 10, 2007 - 21:00   ET

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

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Howard K. Stern in his first live primetime interview since the shocking death of Anna Nicole and his court clash with Larry Birkhead over baby Dannielynn's paternity.
It's a tabloid saga that won't go away spawning conspiracy theories and multi-million dollar lawsuits. A sensational book accuses Stern and Larry Birkhead of a sexual encounter and ugly scheming.

But does an astonishing audio undercut at least some of the author's claims?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RITA COSBY, AUTHOR: I know. But I do think it's important to speak to them. And then also to -- to give credibility to them, and I also think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you want to validate what you put in the book, basically. That's what you're doing here, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: This is a high-stakes, high-drama scandal. Reputations, millions of dollars and the future of an innocent, little girl on the line. Howard K. Stern on the attack. He's here. He's next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Howard is joined here in New York by his famed attorney from Atlanta, Lin Wood. This is Howard's, as we said, first primetime interview since the shocking death of Anna on February 8th of this year.

It's also his first interview since the release of Rita Cosby's controversial book, "Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death" and the filing of his $60 million libel suit against Rita and her publisher.

Howard has filed a defamation suit against John O'Quinn as well. O'Quinn has been the attorney for Anna Nicole's mom, Virgie Arthur. And as if that weren't enough, Virgie has filed a defamation suit against Howard.

How are you doing, with all of your -- what a year.

HOWARD K. STERN, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S ATTORNEY: it's been a nightmare. I can't even really describe in words how difficult that it's been to lose Anna, to lose Daniel, and then not even really to have a chance to mourn with everything that everybody said in the media, all of these just lies by people who are complete frauds.

KING: Was the book a shock?

STERN: The book was a shock. You know, I didn't know that Rita Cosby was writing a book. She's somebody who I've never talked to. And then when the claims came out in that book, the book really should start "Once upon a time," because it's just total fiction.

KING: So she never asked to interview you?

STERN: She never asked to interview me.

KING: Before we move into other things, Lin, isn't that surprising in a case where someone does a book, don't they usually ask?

LIN WOOD, ATTORNEY: It's an egregious breach of basic journalism 101, to ask to interview to give him an opportunity to respond. Larry Birkhead, she also did not ask to interview Larry Birkhead. She turned her head away from the truth, Larry. She didn't want to face it.

KING: We're going to talk about Anna's death and all that followed.

First, let's go back to your appearance on the show Howard on September 26th, 2006. Anna was still alive and recently had given birth and you came on and dropped this bombshell. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STERN: Anna and I have been in a relationship and we love each other and it's been going on for a very long time. And because of my relationship as her lawyer, we felt that it was best to keep everything hidden. And we've actually done a pretty good job of that.

KING: Sure have. So you are the father?

STERN: Yes, sir.

KING: By the way, have there been any DNA tests taken?

STERN: I'm the father.

KING: What?

STERN: I said proud father.

KING: Were DNA tests taken?

STERN: Well, based on the timing of when the baby was born, there really is no doubt in either of our minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Howard, were you kidding me, or did you believe that at the time?

STERN: No, we really believed that Dannielynn was conceived in December and if she was, she would have been mine. And I honestly believed it.

KING: So what was wrong in your thinking? Did you have the timing wrong?

STERN: Yes, we did. We had the timing wrong.

KING: Were you shocked when the DNA results came in?

STERN: I was shocked. I was shocked, but I was thinking of Dannielynn. And I do want the best for Dannielynn. My feelings for Danni really hadn't changed. And from that point forward, I committed myself to work with Larry to do whatever I can to make sure that she has a happy life.

KING: But you and Anna Nicole were lovers?

STERN: Absolutely.

KING: Also, you and Anna were on this show together in February of 2004. And I asked about your relationship. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Howard, she looks terrific. She said she's too slim. Do you think so?

STERN: I think she's hot. She looks beautiful. She looks absolutely beautiful.

KING: Do you two date?

ANNA NICOLE SMITH: He's biased.

KING: I know he's your attorney. Anna, do you date Howard?

SMITH: No.

STERN: I wish.

KING: Where did those rumors come from?

SMITH: Which ones?

KING: About you and Howard.

SMITH: From everybody.

STERN: I think we just spend so much time together that people think that. SMITH: Yeah.

KING: Howard, what kind of client is Anna Nicole Smith?

SMITH: She's the best. I have a dream job. She's the absolute best. Well, she's my best friend, so it doesn't feel like work. It's my life. I love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So at that time, you weren't intimate?

STERN: No, we were. We were.

KING: You were kidding?

STERN: We were kidding at that time. It was a relationship that we hid.

KING: Back to the baby business, Howard. If you were so sure, you should have done a DNA right there, right? Saved a lot of time?

STERN: Well, what people don't understand is that I was not named as a party up until the time that Anna passed away. And from when Anna did pass away, I did try and reach out to Larry to resolve this and get a DNA test done privately. And it wasn't Larry, I think, that shut it down. I think it was through his attorneys. I received a letter saying that if I talked to Larry personally, that they would get a restraining order against me.

KING: We have an e-mail question from Mandy in Palos Heights, Illinois. What kind of father do you think Larry Birkhead is with Dannielynn?

STERN: You know, I saw Larry and Dannielynn a couple days ago. And Dannielynn is completely bonded to Larry. Larry loves her. I think he's doing a great job. I think he couldn't be doing a better job. That's why when I hear criticism out there about Larry not being a good father, it's from people who never met Larry, never had seen Larry and Dannielynn interact. It's just unfair.

KING: And you have no jealousy of that relationship, even though you were the first one with her?

STERN: Well, I wish I was Dannielynn's father, but I'm not. Larry is Dannielynn's father and I still want her to have a great life, like I was saying. So I'm going to do whatever I can to support Larry in his role as a father.

KING: Do you think your client, Lin, has been preyed upon?

WOOD: I think they have taken a man that was a loving companion to Anna Nicole Smith, and they have turned him into being one of the most vilified individuals in this country. And they have done it for their own publicity and primarily for their own profit. So, yes, he's absolutely been preyed upon. KING: When you were on that show in 2004 with Anna, I asked why you didn't sue over false tabloid stories. There were so many about you, about her. And you said it was because lawsuits take years and once you sue, it just keeps issues in the news over and over. So why sue now?

STERN: Well, for two reasons, Larry. I don't think that Anna Nicole can really rest in peace until this is cleared up. I think that what has happened is completely unfair to her. It's unfair to me. And most importantly, it's unfair to Dannielynn. I don't want Dannielynn when she's 15 to be reading this and to think that this is who her mother was, because it's just outright lies.

KING: Is the book in the main lies?

STERN: The book?

KING: Yeah.

STERN: The book accuses me of every crime in the world, barring jay walking, I think. And that's probably the only one I would be guilty of.

WOOD: Rita describes her book as the tell-all book. I would describe it accurately as the tell-all lies book. It is a lie.

KING: We're going to go to break. We received the following statement from Rita Cosby, author of "Blonde Ambition." She said, quote, "I am certainly not surprised that Howard K. Stern denies certain statements in the book. However, this does not change the fact that the statements in the book are based on thorough investigation, extensive court documents and other published reports, as well as statements provided by many reliable and credible sources. These sources include former and current law enforcement officials on two separate occasions. We have requested that Howard K. Stern provide us with any facts that support his allegations that certain statements are not truthful. To date, he has yet to set forth any such facts."

And we'll ask Howard about that as well as Lin Wood when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY BIRKHEAD, DANNIELYNN'S FATHER: He wanted to have a loving environment and he was, regardless of our differences, a big part of Anna's life. And I think Anna would want have wanted that.

KING: He loved her.

BIRKHEAD: He loved her. And I'm just trying to carry out Anna's wishes.

KING: And he loved Anna Nicole, too.

BIRKHEAD: Yes. KING: So he loved the daughter and the mother.

BIRKHEAD: He asks about her. He writes e-mails and calls and asks about how my daughter's doing, Dannielynn. And so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back. You want to respond, Lin, to that statement by Ms. Cosby?

WOOD: Well, I can tell you that her publisher sent me a letter asking for us to advise them of the inaccuracies in the story and I basically responded and said, we will let you know about that when we file the complaint.

But if you look at what she said in that statement, for example, to see how she turns things into what I call smoke and mirrors. She makes reference to having two law enforcement officers, former law enforcement officers as sources.

One of those is an investigator who works for John O'Quinn, who, as you know, Howard has filed a slander case against. The other so- called former law enforcement official was a former deputy sheriff in Los Angeles who works as an investigator for Debra Opri, the lawyer that's now in the contentious litigation with Larry Birkhead and has obviously been very adverse to Howard from day one.

Those are the kinds of sources. Good example of the biased, non- reliable sources that she used in this book, should not have been done.

KING: You have got a lot of lawsuits. How many have you got, three?

WOOD: Well, we've got two that we filed for Howard and we learned yesterday that Virgie Arthur has now filed a lawsuit against him in Texas.

KING: So you have to answer to that.

WOOD: We will.

KING: One of the lawsuits against Rita Cosby and her publisher in connection with Rita's book "Blonde Ambition." We have this statement from the publisher, maybe you'll comment. "We received the complaint and are reviewing the allegations contained within the complaint and have no comment at this time. However, as previously stated, we continue to stand behind the book which was thoroughly researched by an experienced journalist."

How do you react to that?

STERN: Well, she certainly didn't contact me about it. And I lived it, and I know what the truth is. So she certainly didn't do enough research. I personally think that she knew when she wrote this book that these were false allegations.

KING: Are you saying she had an agenda?

STERN: I absolutely feel she had an agenda.

KING: All right one of them, let's deal with it. One of the most sensational claims in "Blonde Ambition," the one that's gotten the most press is that you and Larry Birkhead had a sexual encounter.

STERN: Totally false.

KING: Only you and Larry know that.

STERN: Totally false. Totally false.

KING: She described where it took place, under what the circumstances were. Is it a once only thing? What does she say? I didn't see the book.

STERN: From what she said publicly, and also from the book, she relies on Jackie Hatten for one statement and Jackie Hatten was out of Anna's life. She was a friend for a brief period of time and out of Anna's life when her brother was arrested for beating up a neighbor and for making criminal threats against Anna and then later convicted.

KING: So you're saying unequivocally not true.

STERN: Unequivocally not true.

KING: Jackie Hatten has been a guest on this show. She's a friend of Anna Nicole's, she says. The book says that Jackie claims she and Anna saw you and Larry in compromising positions in Los Angeles. The book also says, Jackie claims that Anna told her that you were gay.

STERN: Totally false. Totally false. I don't believe Anna would have ever said that because it's false. And Jackie Hatten was never in the same room with Larry and myself. Absolutely impossible. Jackie was out of Anna's life before Anna met Larry. It's totally false.

WOOD: She was never in the same state where Larry Birkhead and Howard Stern were together. She never met Larry Birkhead until after Anna Nicole had died.

STERN: I don't even think she's met Larry Birkhead to this day.

KING: How do you account for this? She just made it up?

WOOD: Well, if you look at the history of Jackie Hatten's interviews, which were readily available for Rita Cosby to see, you will find that she's told inconsistent and contradictory statements about Anna Nicole and about Howard.

And if you look at the history of her brother, Mark Hatten, who is now in prison after he was arrested and convicted of terrorist threats and assault on a neighbor of Anna Nicole's, you will find that Jackie Hatten ended a friendship -- Anna Nicole ended that friendship in 2001.

And Anna Nicole never had any contact with Jackie Hatten until she showed up in the Bahamas after Daniel's death and tried to get in touch with her. Anna Nicole wanted her off of the island. Jackie Hatten physically could not have witnessed an event at a home in Los Angeles.

KING: You have to say, then, you were whacked out, totally shocked by this?

STERN: Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, the whole thing is just purely fictional, absolutely fictional. And that's why I say this had to have been done with people with an agenda. Jackie Hatten, I don't know how many interviews that she did about me, but I saw it, and she was not pulling any punches.

KING: And there she is.

STERN: If for one second she thought that Larry and I had any sort of sexual relationship, she would have said that front and center.

KING: We have a statement for her. We will read it and get more, lots more to go on the program tonight with Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood. Stephen Colbert tomorrow night. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back. We received a contact of Jackie Hatten about tonight's interview, asked if she wanted to provide a statement. This is what she gave us. "I continue to mourn the premature deaths of my dear friend Anna Nicole and godson Daniel Wayne Smith. I anxiously await the inquest into Daniel's suspicious death, which is scheduled to start in the Bahamas on October 30th, 2007."

Was his death suspicious?

STERN: Well, I think what the Bahamas said is that any time that a youngster dies and it's not through like a car accident or some obvious death, it could be considered suspicious.

KING: Cosby's book also claims there's a videotape, which she concedes she never saw, that shows Howard and Larry engaged in gay sex. How do you respond to that?

STERN: It's totally impossible.

KING: It's a tape, I never saw it.

STERN: It's totally impossible. If Rita Cosby really thought that there was a tape, she should have tried to watch it. You don't rely on other people's words for something as salacious as that. It's just completely impossible. The act never occurred. No tape can exist. KING: Then why print it?

WOOD: Well because you've got to understand, and I think you do, the nature of the business. If Rita Cosby doesn't publish this sensational headline about some sexual relationship between Larry Birkhead and Howard, she's got no book that's going to sell, because it's just a run of the mill, tell the same old rumors again type book.

That's what got the headlines. That's what got the book sold. That's what she was trying to do for profit. That is why she put that out there, and she knew that would generate the publicity.

Look at what Jackie Hatten did not say. The statement she gave you. She didn't say she stood behind this alleged story of seeing Howard and Larry together. And look at what happened this week in the Bahamas. The lawyers for the nannies, who allegedly saw the video and told John O'Quinn's investigators that had seen it, who then told Rita that it existed, triple hearsay -- they have come out through their lawyer and said that they never made that statement to the investigator.

KING: CNN --

STERN: I'm sorry. The other thing about Jackie's statement is that she says she was Daniel's godmother. I have also have heard her say that she's Dannielynn's godmother. She absolutely is neither of their godmother. She's not a godmother, absolutely not.

KING: CNN has obtained an audiotape of what purports to be recent conversation between Rita Cosby and Elizabeth Thompson, an attorney from the two nannies you mentioned, I believe, formally employed by Anna Nicole Smith in the Bahamas.

The book "Blonde Ambition" claims these two nannies told private investigators that Anna Nicole loved to watch a gay sex video of Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead. Let listen to a brief excerpt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH THOMPSON, ATTORNEY: Yeah, but why did you want to speak with them after the fact? After you have already written the book? Why, why do you want to speak to them about those issues?

COSBY: Because I think it's important to speak with them.

THOMPSON: To whim?

COSBY: Um, well, to them and to you. You know that's why.

THOMPSON: But not to me. I'm not the client.

COSBY: No.

THOMPSON: It's not my information.

COSBY: I know. But I do think it's important to speak with them. And then also to -- to give credibility to them and I also think.

THOMPSON: So you want to validate what you put into the book, basically. That's what we're doing right. Right?

COSBY: Well, that's some of it, but I also think -- can I tell you also, we also have separate than them, other people in the book. So I'm comfortable.

THOMPSON: Of course. Let me tell you. They featured prominently in this book. I mean, I've highlighted -- numbered the pages where they're featured and no one has spoken to them about it. It blows my mind.

COSBY: Well, that's why I came here. That's why I came here.

THOMPSON: You came here to validate the information that you've already got, for your book.

COSBY: Well, I have information elsewhere, just so you're aware. But I do think.

THOMPSON: OK, so page 204, you have that information elsewhere?

COSBY: Yes.

THOMPSON: That they said this? And the presence of their attorney who would be me, I wasn't anywhere.

COSBY: Well, I'm here to speak to them about it, that's important.

THOMPSON: That's important to you.

COSBY: No, absolutely, absolutely.

THOMPSON: It's not important to them, to be honest. It's not important to them. It's important to you.

COSBY: No, absolutely.

THOMPSON: And so my question is, what do you want? What you want then is in relation to this $15,000 to the magazine? Is that what you're saying? These are the expenses being paid?

COSBY: Yes.

THOMPSON: Through the magazine.

COSBY: Yes.

THOMPSON: And not through you? Because you can't do it.

COSBY: Exactly, exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: And this tape was recorded earlier this week in the Bahamas. Your reaction?

STERN: At this point, nothing that Rita Cosby does surprises me.

KING: What she was doing there?

STERN: Well honestly, this is the first time I have heard that tape so I don't want to make too many comments on it.

KING: Are you surprised?

STERN: No, because I know that these allegations in this book are false. It's not just the sex allegations. The whole book is garbage. So nothing that Rita Cosby does would surprise me.

WOOD: Look at what Rita's statement said, claiming that she did a thorough investigation.

The last time I checked, there were tickets to the Bahamas where she could have flown down there before that book was published. And yet she didn't go down there until this week after she got sued.

She was telling that lawyer, "It's so important that I talk t- these nannies." The time to talk to those nannies would have been before she published the book.

But if she had gone down there, they would have told her it didn't happen. She couldn't have had the sensational headlines and she doesn't get the profit.

KING: We have a statement from one of the nannies, regarding both of them.

"The nannies never spoke to Rita Cosby before the book was written and indeed did not speak to private investigators relative to any allegations of homosexual acts which may or may not have occurred between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead."

WOOD: There it is. It's all a lie.

KING: That's pretty definitive.

WOOD: It's all a lie. And this man has to live with it for the rest of his life. And one day Dannielynn's going to read that book or be told about that book. And that's one of the reasons I think Howard wants to pursue these lawsuits, so that when that day comes, he can at least look at her and say, "I tried to get the truth out." That's a part of what this lawsuit is about.

STERN: That's absolutely the reason. I want the truth to come out. That's why I filed a lawsuit against John O'Quinn and that's why I filed a lawsuit against Rita Cosby, because I cannot live with myself knowing that this is what people believe right now, and it's not fair to Anna, it's not fair to her memory, and it's certainly not fair to Dannielynn.

KING: As we go to break, a reminder that Rita Cosby in her statement stands by the contents of her book. And now where exactly was Howard when Anna Nicole died? That and a lot more when LARRY KING LIVE returns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT O'BRIEN, THE INSIDER: A new photo, Rita Cosby, the former MSNBC correspondent, arriving for her own book release party when she's handed the papers that accuse her of publishing lies. Rita arrives, a server emerges and hits her with the documents.

COSBY: This is all about publicity. Look where he did it.

O'BRIEN: Now here's a look at the lawsuit handed to Rita and filed by Howard K. Stern. Howard refuting claims in Rita's book that he engaged in a homosexual act with Larry Birkhead and that he conspired to kill Anna Nicole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Howard K. Stern. The longtime companion of the late -- hard to say that -- late Anna Nicole. And Lin Wood, the famed Atlanta attorney who represents Mr. Stern in these lawsuits.

The publication "In Touch" was mentioned in that audio we just played. We contacted the magazine and here's what they said. "We were approached by a party about paying to speak to Anna Nicole's nannies. We said we wouldn't pay for the story but would be interested in talking to them and maybe open to licensing photos of the nannies with Anna Nicole." What do you make of that?

STERN: Again, nothing that Rita Cosby says or does would surprise me. And this is "In Touch" refuting even what Rita Cosby told the lawyer for the nannies.

WOOD: You can bet the party that approached "In Touch" was representing Rita Cosby if it was not Rita. She probably had a middle person go out and pitch it. She was trying to find a way to get money to be able to go down there -- it appears -- to make some sort of financial offer to these folks to talk to her.

KING: Let's move on to some other allegations that you want to address. Anna and drug use. Her cause of death was determined to be an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Do you feel any responsibility, any could have, would have, should have, guilt about her passing?

STERN: You know, I think everybody lives with certain regrets. And with Anna, there are certain things I wish I had never gone to go get that boat. There were prescriptions made for Anna but they were put in my name to protect her privacy. But they were through doctors trying to look out for her health. I really, truly believed that Anna, she can survive everything. She was a fighter, but she just could not survive the death of her son.

KING: That killed her?

STERN: Well, obviously, Dr. Perper said it was an accidental drug combination that killed her. But in my heart, I believe that Anna could not survive the death of her son. She was tormented, absolutely tormented, by the death of her son.

KING: When did you last see her, Howard?

STERN: When I went to go get the boat.

KING: Where was she?

STERN: She was in bed. She was in bed. She was sleeping in bed.

KING: She had the flu like, or just sleeping.

STERN: She was actually getting better. She had a flu when we got to Florida, but she was getting better. She was sleeping.

KING: Where were you when she died?

STERN: I found out she died when I was called, when I was able to go to the hospital.

KING: She was taken to the hospital?

STERN: She was taken to the hospital.

KING: And someone summoned you to go to the hospital?

STERN: Right. The ...

KING: Who told you?

STERN: Well, when I came back, obviously, I got a call when I was on the boat from Moe that something was wrong and that he was going to call 911. And I immediately went back to the hotel room. And when I got to the hotel room, there were emergency medical people there, and they wouldn't let me go in. And they wouldn't let me go to the hospital with Anna.

I was just -- you know, I was inconsolable. I didn't know what was going on. And when they finally let me go to the hospital, right when I got there is when I learned that she had died and then they let me go into spend some time with her and get a priest to give her her Last Rites.

KING: You spent some time with her after she passed away?

STERN: Absolutely.

KING: Were you -- and I don't mean this negatively -- obsessed with her?

STERN: Anna was my world. I worshipped her. I worshipped her. To me, her happiness was more important than my own.

KING: Wow.

STERN: And you can say whatever you want about that, but I got my happiness from her being happy.

KING: One of the "Blonde Ambition" allegations that you're suing over involves the claim that you used cocaine yourself and supplied cocaine to Anna Nicole.

STERN: Absolutely false.

KING: Do you know how she verifies that at all in the book?

STERN: I don't. But it's absolutely false.

WOOD: She makes some reference in the book to unnamed hotel workers who claim that they had seen some white powder when they were cleaning the rooms. I mean there it is. You start using sources like that and Jackie Hatten and these biased investigators, you know what all of that adds up to, Larry? We call it reckless disregard for the truth. You don't publish those kinds of allegations without legitimate sources and corroboration before you put out statements that are clearly, knowingly going to impugn someone's reputation and hold them up to public ridicule, contempt and scorn.

STERN: It's not fair to me. It's not fair to Anna. And it's not fair to Dannielynn.

KING: You have used illegal drugs at all?

STERN: In college, I smoked marijuana. And I will admit to that.

KING: Did Anna use illegal drugs?

STERN: No. She wasn't -- she -- she through doctors got some prescription medications for ailments that she did have. And when people criticize her, people are trying to make it seem like Anna was drugged out for 12 years since I knew her. And that's absolutely false. It's absolutely false.

KING: I'm glad you're getting the chance to respond. Earlier this year on this program, Jackie Hatten, the aforementioned Miss Hatten, claimed she had seen you providing drugs to Anna Nicole. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKIE HATTEN, FORMER FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE: I witnessed Howard give her Vicodin, Valium, Phenergan, Morphine, Demerol. Should I go on? It's too much for someone to take over a period of time, that's considered aggravated death. You know what I'm saying? Accumulated effect over the years, whether he gave it to her the last second or not, it's just not acceptable.

KING: Would your guess be the final results of the autopsy would show that?

HATTEN: I'm sure it will. That's my opinion.

KING: Why was he giving her that? He's supposed to care for her the great deal.

HATTEN: My friend became his cash cow. I witnessed her become a cash cow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: She had a lot of money. You had a lawsuit there.

STERN: That's true. If she had money, I would have a lawsuit. I don't think she has any money, frankly.

KING: Did you see that or did you hear about it? Were you shocked by it?

STERN: At the time -- at the time that a lot of those interviews were going on, I couldn't even watch TV. I was too depressed. I did go back and I read transcripts to a lot of things, so I have seen the transcripts where people have said things. Jackie Hatten claimed to have known Anna since 1990. In 1990, Anna was in Texas. She was a dancer. She had not even met Howard marshal. Jackie Hatten virtually everything that she says, is false.

KING: What would lead her, do you think, to say something like that?

WOOD: Fifteen minutes of fame. This is her chance to come out and be on television, do interviews. Plain and simple.

KING: No other reason.

STERN: If Jackie Hatten had been the friend she claims to be, don't you think somebody would have seen or heard of her before now? And once her brother was in jail for doing what he did, do you really think Anna would spend time with this woman? She's just -- Jackie Hatten ...

KING: We will be right back with Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back on this illuminating program tonight.

A home video of Anna became public after her death. It was played during the court battle in Florida. The tape showed Anna heavily pregnant wearing face paint and behaving oddly. Many said she might be under the influence of something. Howard shot this video. We are seeing it now. What is your explanation of this, Howard? Just goofing off?

STERN: That's a stolen video from the house. And it's about an hour-long video and what they did is they cut it down into about 45 seconds to make it appear that Anna's on drugs when in reality, Anna is pretending to be a little girl and she -- I think in the video, she even says that her name is Lucy, which is a character that she played in her most recent movie called "Illegal Aliens." She's clearly playing around with a little girl and it is just edited it to make me look bad and to make Anna look bad. It's horrible.

KING: Authorities say some of the prescription medication found in her room had your name on it. But you already said that, right?

STERN: That's true. That's true. But they were prescribed for Anna. There was no illusion about that.

KING: And recently two very disturbing photos of Anna Nicole started circulating. Some even called one of them a death photo. We've obtained two more photos from Howard that he says put the disturbing images in context. You want to describe this for us, Howard?

STERN: Again, it's the same thing with the clown video. These are stolen pictures and somebody released two selective pictures in order to make Anna appear bad and to make me appear bad.

And they are pictures that are taken literally seconds apart that show what they are. One of them is Anna eating a Kentucky Fried Chicken sandwich. And with -- I hate to say it, Anna was not the neatest of all eaters. And she's playing around for the camera she's making a pace, a little pouty face she makes. And she knows the pictures are being taken and they are fun. They are not supposed to be released to the media. We never would have. But somebody stole it and released it to the media in order to make her look back.

The other pictures with her and Dannielynn when she's sitting in the nursery, and it was a series of about 15 or 16 pictures and they selected the one picture where Anna had a strange facial expression to make it appear that Anna was on drugs. When there's another picture taken literally a second earlier that shows that it's night and day.

And the question is, why are these people trying to manipulate reality to make Anna look bad and make me look back? And then also make Dannielynn think that Anna was around her on drugs all the time, which is false.

KING: How did they become public?

STERN: Stolen. Stolen, stolen pictures.

KING: For money?

STERN: Well, I can't say but I do believe I know who stole them. I do believe I know who released them.

KING: You do?

STERN: I think I do.

KING: Would you guess it was for money then? What else would it be for?

WOOD: Well, I know for a fact firsthand that an individual tried to sell one photo, which unfortunately, has now apparently come up on the Internet in the last day or two, a picture of Anna Nicole and Daniel after he died. That ...

KING: After he died.

WOOD: There was an effort to sell that by an individual for money. And I think that same individual was behind the release of these photographs, kind of teasing it because he thought he had more and he could get paid for it.

STERN: I would actually like to comment on that one picture. Because I have been criticized for -- I was the one who took that picture and it was a time that obviously Daniel had just died. Anna was inconsolable. She didn't believe that Daniel had died. And she wanted me to take a picture of her with Daniel as proof that Daniel had died.

It's not something that I wanted to do. But at that point I literally would have run through a brick wall if I thought it could make Anna feel better. For someone now to try and sell that when -- it's only something for Anna and nobody else was meant to ever look at that.

KING: When we come back, we will have a statement from Big Moe, who's been on this show and former bodyguard about some of the pictures he took and the circumstances around them. Quite a program tonight.

Let's check in with Anderson Cooper. He will host AC 360 at the top of the hour. Anderson, what's up?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Larry, we are monitoring breaking developments in Cleveland tonight as new details emerge in today's school shooting. We are learning more about the troubled teen who opened fire and then killed himself, about warning signs that apparently people didn't act on. We will get the latest from authorities in Cleveland. From a correspondent who has been exploring the shooter's neighborhood, as well as perspective from an export on spotting trouble before it's too late.

Also tonight new developments at the mystery at sea. Four crew members apparently killed. No new charges against the two survivors.

Also tonight a 360 exclusive. We will be premiering a new song by REM and talking with band member Michael Stipe all in connection with our upcoming "Planet in Peril" series. A whole lot more, Larry, at the top of the hour.

KING: Anderson, I can envision you doing some kind of special on the killing of children, which seems to be an epidemic.

COOPER: It is. Especially -- We did that in Chicago where so many kids in public schools are getting killed. Youth violence around the country is up, Larry.

KING: Anderson Cooper. 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. We will be right back with more of Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Looking back at the photos we saw, we asked Big Moe, Anna Nicole's former bodyguard, Moe Brightthaupt, for a comment about the photos and the accusations made against him, as a key part of the statement his spokesman gave us. "All accusations concerning distribution and theft of the photos in questions are false. Mr. Stern's 360 spin regarding Big Moe seems to be a calculated diversion. Lin Wood's statement regarding Big Moe 'admitting distribution of the photos' was another example of fiction, not fact."

WOOD: Wrong. I know that Big Moe tried to sell photos. I know it from firsthand information.

KING: Those photos?

WOOD: The photo of Anna Nicole and Daniel after his death. I also know, as a matter of fact, that Moe had the camera card from Anna Nicole's camera, and her videotape recorder, which he took from the hotel room and to this day has refused to return.

So Big Moe and whoever this guy Paul Porter is, is trying to go out and sell those pictures. That's not the truth.

KING: Howard, on your behalf, why take photos like you took?

STERN: Look, Anna was ...

KING: They're going to get out. You know.

STERN: Anna took a lot of pictures around the house. And when you take a series of maybe 15 or 20 pictures, I don't think there's a person in the world who is not going to have one bad picture out of those series. And in this case, that's what was released. And that's what I don't understand. And in terms of videos, Anna was releasing videos on her Web site. So a lot of things were videoed and these things were all stolen from the house and they were aired out of context.

KING: How did you fight off the image? You had a rough image of being the attorney with one client living off someone else. How do you respond to those?

STERN: The thing is, Anna and I, we were best friends. We had a relationship. But I also did a lot of legal work for her. And I didn't take money from her that I would have been entitled to. And if I had accepted that money, I would have a lot more money now than I do.

KING: How did you support yourself?

STERN: Back then, look, Anna bought my clothes. She paid my rent. But I will tell you, that is not -- it's not even close to what would have been entitled to if I would have accepted the money from her, from the contracts I negotiated, from the legal cases I handled.

KING: Did you inherit anything from her?

STERN: No, absolutely not. I'm not a beneficiary of the will.

KING: You're not executor of the estate?

STERN: I'm executor of the estate and I waived compensation as executor of the estate.

KING: What about the moneys from the estate from her late husband? Did you participate ...

STERN: We have, obviously, litigation that's now in the Ninth Circuit. And my firm would be entitled to six percent of that. But that would have been whether she was alive -- look, I would trade that for her being alive right now.

KING: Of course. What are you doing now to make a living?

STERN: Well, unfortunately, right now, it's not like I can go out and get a 9:00 to 5:00 job based on everything that's been said about me out there. So I'm very fortunate to have a family who is supporting me emotionally and financially at this point.

KING: An e-mail from Jessica in St. Petersburg, Florida. "Do you ever plan to write a book? Or maybe produce a documentary about Anna Nicole." Not a bad idea.

STERN: I had said before there's no way in the world I would ever do that. Anna didn't like people making money off of her in life. I know she wouldn't approve of it in death. But the only way that I would do something like that is just to set everything straight.

KING: That's what I mean.

STERN: It would be after these lawsuits, and after everything comes out, it's possible. But right now I don't have any plans.

KING: We will be back with more moments with Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FLORIDA COURT: When was the last time you earned your own income?

STERN: I had a law practice.

SEIDLIN: What year?

STERN: Until 2002. Anna paid for most things. She paid for everything, basically. SEIDLIN: When you bought a pair of shoes, who paid for that?

STERN: I didn't buy too much pairs of shoes, but she did.

SEIDLIN: Did she give you a credit card?

STERN: No.

SEIDLIN: She would give you cash?

STERN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Howard wanted to comment on Big Moe because Big Moe praised you when he was on this show.

STERN: Right, Big Moe obviously said a lot of -- he did a lot of interviews and he always said very positive things about me. And my question now is, what changed? Honestly for him to do what he did, that's the one person that it really hurts. Because I thought that Moe was a trustworthy person.

KING: We asked attorney John O'Quinn, who is being sued by Howard for a statement in connection with tonight's interview. His co-counsel Neil McCabe provided it. "Mr. Stern will find he made a mistake like the one Oscar Wilde found he made in beginning a prosecution libel. That is, Mr. Stern, Mr. Stern is going to have to testify under oath and face facts under rigorous and unrelenting questioning. He cannot handle the truth."

STERN: Well, I have absolutely nothing to hide, and that's why I filed this lawsuit. And my question back to Mr. McCabe would be, if they are so -- if they really want to get the truth out there, then why are they filing motions to dismiss saying that what John O'Quinn said was rhetorical hyperbole and not meant to be taken seriously.

WOOD: I have had many comments in defamation cases and I heard that same old threat over and over again. We're going to depose him under oath. We're going to get to the truth. Howard has nothing to hide.

STERN: The most embarrassing facts about me are already out.

KING: One more quick thing I want to get in. We asked Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole's mother, for statement in connection with tonight's interview. We got this from Neil McCabe, same Neil McCabe who is representing the other lawyer. He's representing Virgie. He said, "The lawsuit we filed yesterday says enough for now. That is, Mr. Stern got Anna Nicole under the influence of drugs to say terrible, untrue and hurtful things. He knew better and he should be ashamed of himself."

STERN: You know, Virgie Arthur was at Rita Cosby's book party and she was asked what she thought about that book. And she said that she loved it. Now, any reasonable mother if they read that book and they honestly believed the allegations to be true would be truly disturbed. I think Virgie's comments saying that she loved that book says -- it speaks volumes for who she is.

KING: Dannielynn is going to have to read about all of this someday.

WOOD: She is.

KING: Not going to be easy.

WOOD: It's going to be tough. And you don't know when and you just hope when it happens somebody is there to support her.

KING: They learn to read fast.

WOOD: They do.

KING: I have a seven-year-old, eight-year-old, they read fluently.

WOOD: Young kids talk. I can't begin to fathom the types of school yard things that might be said about her and about Howard and about Larry.

KING: Look how beautiful she is.

WOOD: Anybody who thinks Rita Cosby has done a service to Dannielynn has a very perverted sense of justice.

KING: On a lighter note, an e-mail from Darcy in Wilmington, North Carolina. "What's become of Anna Nicole's beloved dog Sugar Pie?

STERN: All of the dogs are happy, healthy. They are with me right now. And Sugar Pie actually is probably going to have some cataract surgery. But all of the dogs are getting along and they are doing well.

KING: You are in both Beverly Hills -- in L.A. and Nassau?

STERN: L.A. and Nassau. California is my residence. I go back and forth on a visitor's visa to Nassau but the dogs are doing great. You know, they miss their mom, just like I do.

KING: And we only have 20 seconds. Why $60 million?

WOOD: I think the complaint asks for at least $10 million in compensatory and at least $50 million in punitive. What they did to Howard Stern is egregious and they should be punished and deterred from ever doing this to another individual.

KING: You're confident?

WOOD: I am. KING: Thank you both very much. Thank you for coming.

WOOD: Thank you.

STERN: Thank you for having us.

KING: Howard K. Stern and Lin Wood.

We head you now to our Web site, cnn.com/larryking. Upcoming guests are always listed there and always you can send them an e-mail question. You can also download our podcast or participate in a topical quick vote. It's all at one great Web site, cnn.com/larryking. Tomorrow night, Stephen Colbert. And now, Anderson Cooper and AC 360. Anderson?

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