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American Morning

Pop Star Michael Jackson Expected to Surrender to Police

Aired November 20, 2003 - 08:07   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: In Southern California this morning, pop star Michael Jackson is expected to surrender to police. He was named in an arrest warrant yesterday that cited multiple counts of child molestation. The authorities and the media are awaiting Jackson's return.
CNN's Gary Tuchman is live for us in Los Olivos, California this morning -- Gary, good morning.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.

A lot of us have been watching Michael Jackson entertain since the 1960s, when he was the lead singer of the Jackson 5. Well, now he's an accused criminal and here's what we expect today.

Sources say he will fly back here to Santa Barbara County, which is the home of his Neverland Ranch, where we're standing, and will surrender to authorities on multiple charges of child molestation. He will then pay a $3 million bond and it's very likely he'll end up coming back to this ranch tonight in a much different state of mind than the last time he was here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO)

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: All I want to say is that they don't really care about us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Michael Jackson, one of the most famous entertainers in the world, is now an accused criminal.

SHERIFF JIM ANDERSON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation.

TUCHMAN: But the man known as the king of pop is not yet in custody. Authorities acknowledging at a news conference they weren't even exactly sure where he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Jackson's been given an opportunity to surrender himself to the custody of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department within a specified period of time.

TUCHMAN: The 45-year-old singer's Neverland Ranch home was raided by scores of police on Tuesday, as were two other undisclosed southern California locations in the search for evidence. Law enforcement agents won't disclose what evidence they found or even the specific number of charges they're talking about. But it appears it involves one alleged victim.

A spokesman for Jackson released a statement saying, "The outrageous allegations against Michael Jackson are false. Michael would never harm a child in any way. These scurrilous and totally unfounded allegations will be proven false in the courtroom."

"Jackson will return to Santa Barbara County to face the justice system," the statement continued.

The district attorney says bail will be $3 million, an amount described as way up there, but not unprecedented.

As far as criticism that this legal action was timed to interfere with the release of Jackson's new CD, the district attorney denied it and couldn't resist some levity.

TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Jackson himself, I believe, has said that this was all done to try to ruin his new CD that was coming out or whatever it is he's doing. Like the sheriff and I really are into that kind of music. But...

TUCHMAN: Michael Jackson faces the possibility of three to eight years of prison on each of the counts against him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Michael Jackson has three of his own children. You may be wondering what will happen with them. Well, as of now, the authorities say he still has custody of them, including his youngest son, Prince Michael II. That was the little boy who he dangled over the balcony in Berlin, Germany, and, ironically, that happened exactly a year ago yesterday -- Soledad, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Gary, thanks for that update.

Joining me now to talk a little bit more about the Michael Jackson story is Pat Lalama of Court TV's "Celebrity Justice" program. She joins us from Los Angeles this morning.

Pat, good morning.

Nice to see you.

Thanks for joining us.

Also, Jeffrey Toobin with me in the studio.

Pat, we're going to start with you.

The D.A. went out of his way, as we just heard a moment ago, to say that the timing of this arrest warrant was not coincidental. In fact, he said that he'd been ready to bring the charges for a while now.

Why the delay?

PAT LALAMA, REPORTER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": I think it's hard to speculate about why the delay. If you heard him yesterday, he said that when they had planned to execute the search warrant, it was Halloween. We all know that Neverland is open now to the public. There were too many people around.

But let me just ask you this, based on the experience of knowing what these folks went through 10 years ago, I have a feeling they wanted to make sure every single T was crossed and I was dotted before they went in, knew what they were looking for, knew what they wanted to get and succeeded. That was their plan and I don't think they cared how long it would take or how much delay, as long as they got it right.

O'BRIEN: Jeff, $3 million bond.

What do you make of that figure? Does it sound high to you? Does it sound about right? And is there a sense that it's fear that he might flee?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It sounds about right. And it is a lot of money, obviously, but he has a lot of money and that is in the realm of normal. A lot of issues to deal with in bail, not just the amount of bail. What are the conditions of bail? Is he allowed to leave Santa Barbara County? Is he allowed to leave Neverland? Is he allowed to have contact with minor children? Is he allowed to have contact with his own children?

Those are the kinds of issues that are often dealt with in bail in child molestation questions and child molestation cases, and that, undoubtedly, is something that was part of the negotiations between the two sides.

O'BRIEN: Pat, as we heard yesterday, they're negotiating, essentially, the return of Michael Jackson from Las Vegas.

Do you expect that we're going to see Michael Jackson returning to Neverland in handcuffs or something like that?

LALAMA: You know, I think it's very possible. Look, let me go back and state for the record that I don't believe this D.A., Tom Sneddon, as many people have alluded to, has a vendetta, that he feels vindictiveness for not being able to successfully prosecute 10 years ago.

Well, you know what? If he believes Michael Jackson is guilty of doing what he believes Michael Jackson is guilty of doing, then so what if he is on a true mission to get justice in this case? And so what if maybe he wants the public to see Michael Jackson in handcuffs?

He is a celebrity. I heard someone yesterday saying he gets preferential treatment, being able to negotiate a surrender. Well, you know what? He's a celebrity. There's chaos when someone like him gets arrested.

O'BRIEN: Let me interrupt you there, Pat.

That's not that unusual, negotiating...

TOOBIN: Negotiated surrenders are not unusual, particularly in white collar cases. There is a big difference in the legal setting between now and 10 years ago. Ten years ago, Michael Jackson reached an out of court settlement with a young person who accused him of child molestation. That young man then refused to participate in the criminal investigation, which basically doomed the case.

As a result of that situation, the California legislature changed the law so that young people in that age group could not refuse to testify. So this person, the D.A. can force him to be a witness in the case.

Now, the D.A. yesterday said this kid is cooperating, but there is no way Michael Jackson can buy this kid's silence at this point.

O'BRIEN: I want to ask just a quick question. I want you to both weigh in for me.

What did you make yesterday, Pat, of the levity in the case? I mean there were lots of jokes thrown around. It was actually, I though, having seen a million press conferences, kind of unusual.

What did you think?

LALAMA: I did -- I was not bothered by it. I have to tell you, I've been asked this many times in the last 24 hours. I think you have a stage where the entire globe is watching. Everybody is interested in this story. There's a lot of lights. There's a lot of tension. I think that this very well meaning district attorney and sheriff had every reason to for a second perhaps crack a joke.

O'BRIEN: Some people thought...

TOOBIN: All the more reason why...

LALAMA: So what?

TOOBIN: ... they should have behaved, I think, in a little more professional way. I don't think it will have a lot...

LALAMA: Jeff, do you really think so?

TOOBIN: Absolutely. I mean the long-term implications, I think, are small of this, but, you know, this is a very serious case. Everything is under microscopic scrutiny. You shouldn't be making jokes. You shouldn't be speculating about the evidence. And I thought Sneedon didn't do himself proud yesterday.

O'BRIEN: It did seem a little disrespectful not only to, to everyone in the case, but also you've got to remember the young victim in this case, too, sort of every angle of it. TOOBIN: There are many reasons why.

LALAMA: I think a comment about Michael Jackson's music and his CD really doesn't take away from the seriousness. But that's just my opinion.

O'BRIEN: Right.

Pat Lalama, nice to have you.

Thanks for joining us this morning.

LALAMA: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thanks so much.

Appreciate it.

TOOBIN: All right.

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 November 20, 2003 - 08:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Southern California this morning, pop star Michael Jackson is expected to surrender to police. He was named in an arrest warrant yesterday that cited multiple counts of child molestation. The authorities and the media are awaiting Jackson's return.
CNN's Gary Tuchman is live for us in Los Olivos, California this morning -- Gary, good morning.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.

A lot of us have been watching Michael Jackson entertain since the 1960s, when he was the lead singer of the Jackson 5. Well, now he's an accused criminal and here's what we expect today.

Sources say he will fly back here to Santa Barbara County, which is the home of his Neverland Ranch, where we're standing, and will surrender to authorities on multiple charges of child molestation. He will then pay a $3 million bond and it's very likely he'll end up coming back to this ranch tonight in a much different state of mind than the last time he was here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO)

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: All I want to say is that they don't really care about us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Michael Jackson, one of the most famous entertainers in the world, is now an accused criminal.

SHERIFF JIM ANDERSON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: An arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson has been issued on multiple counts of child molestation.

TUCHMAN: But the man known as the king of pop is not yet in custody. Authorities acknowledging at a news conference they weren't even exactly sure where he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Jackson's been given an opportunity to surrender himself to the custody of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department within a specified period of time.

TUCHMAN: The 45-year-old singer's Neverland Ranch home was raided by scores of police on Tuesday, as were two other undisclosed southern California locations in the search for evidence. Law enforcement agents won't disclose what evidence they found or even the specific number of charges they're talking about. But it appears it involves one alleged victim.

A spokesman for Jackson released a statement saying, "The outrageous allegations against Michael Jackson are false. Michael would never harm a child in any way. These scurrilous and totally unfounded allegations will be proven false in the courtroom."

"Jackson will return to Santa Barbara County to face the justice system," the statement continued.

The district attorney says bail will be $3 million, an amount described as way up there, but not unprecedented.

As far as criticism that this legal action was timed to interfere with the release of Jackson's new CD, the district attorney denied it and couldn't resist some levity.

TOM SNEDDON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Jackson himself, I believe, has said that this was all done to try to ruin his new CD that was coming out or whatever it is he's doing. Like the sheriff and I really are into that kind of music. But...

TUCHMAN: Michael Jackson faces the possibility of three to eight years of prison on each of the counts against him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Michael Jackson has three of his own children. You may be wondering what will happen with them. Well, as of now, the authorities say he still has custody of them, including his youngest son, Prince Michael II. That was the little boy who he dangled over the balcony in Berlin, Germany, and, ironically, that happened exactly a year ago yesterday -- Soledad, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Gary, thanks for that update.

Joining me now to talk a little bit more about the Michael Jackson story is Pat Lalama of Court TV's "Celebrity Justice" program. She joins us from Los Angeles this morning.

Pat, good morning.

Nice to see you.

Thanks for joining us.

Also, Jeffrey Toobin with me in the studio.

Pat, we're going to start with you.

The D.A. went out of his way, as we just heard a moment ago, to say that the timing of this arrest warrant was not coincidental. In fact, he said that he'd been ready to bring the charges for a while now.

Why the delay?

PAT LALAMA, REPORTER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": I think it's hard to speculate about why the delay. If you heard him yesterday, he said that when they had planned to execute the search warrant, it was Halloween. We all know that Neverland is open now to the public. There were too many people around.

But let me just ask you this, based on the experience of knowing what these folks went through 10 years ago, I have a feeling they wanted to make sure every single T was crossed and I was dotted before they went in, knew what they were looking for, knew what they wanted to get and succeeded. That was their plan and I don't think they cared how long it would take or how much delay, as long as they got it right.

O'BRIEN: Jeff, $3 million bond.

What do you make of that figure? Does it sound high to you? Does it sound about right? And is there a sense that it's fear that he might flee?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It sounds about right. And it is a lot of money, obviously, but he has a lot of money and that is in the realm of normal. A lot of issues to deal with in bail, not just the amount of bail. What are the conditions of bail? Is he allowed to leave Santa Barbara County? Is he allowed to leave Neverland? Is he allowed to have contact with minor children? Is he allowed to have contact with his own children?

Those are the kinds of issues that are often dealt with in bail in child molestation questions and child molestation cases, and that, undoubtedly, is something that was part of the negotiations between the two sides.

O'BRIEN: Pat, as we heard yesterday, they're negotiating, essentially, the return of Michael Jackson from Las Vegas.

Do you expect that we're going to see Michael Jackson returning to Neverland in handcuffs or something like that?

LALAMA: You know, I think it's very possible. Look, let me go back and state for the record that I don't believe this D.A., Tom Sneddon, as many people have alluded to, has a vendetta, that he feels vindictiveness for not being able to successfully prosecute 10 years ago.

Well, you know what? If he believes Michael Jackson is guilty of doing what he believes Michael Jackson is guilty of doing, then so what if he is on a true mission to get justice in this case? And so what if maybe he wants the public to see Michael Jackson in handcuffs?

He is a celebrity. I heard someone yesterday saying he gets preferential treatment, being able to negotiate a surrender. Well, you know what? He's a celebrity. There's chaos when someone like him gets arrested.

O'BRIEN: Let me interrupt you there, Pat.

That's not that unusual, negotiating...

TOOBIN: Negotiated surrenders are not unusual, particularly in white collar cases. There is a big difference in the legal setting between now and 10 years ago. Ten years ago, Michael Jackson reached an out of court settlement with a young person who accused him of child molestation. That young man then refused to participate in the criminal investigation, which basically doomed the case.

As a result of that situation, the California legislature changed the law so that young people in that age group could not refuse to testify. So this person, the D.A. can force him to be a witness in the case.

Now, the D.A. yesterday said this kid is cooperating, but there is no way Michael Jackson can buy this kid's silence at this point.

O'BRIEN: I want to ask just a quick question. I want you to both weigh in for me.

What did you make yesterday, Pat, of the levity in the case? I mean there were lots of jokes thrown around. It was actually, I though, having seen a million press conferences, kind of unusual.

What did you think?

LALAMA: I did -- I was not bothered by it. I have to tell you, I've been asked this many times in the last 24 hours. I think you have a stage where the entire globe is watching. Everybody is interested in this story. There's a lot of lights. There's a lot of tension. I think that this very well meaning district attorney and sheriff had every reason to for a second perhaps crack a joke.

O'BRIEN: Some people thought...

TOOBIN: All the more reason why...

LALAMA: So what?

TOOBIN: ... they should have behaved, I think, in a little more professional way. I don't think it will have a lot...

LALAMA: Jeff, do you really think so?

TOOBIN: Absolutely. I mean the long-term implications, I think, are small of this, but, you know, this is a very serious case. Everything is under microscopic scrutiny. You shouldn't be making jokes. You shouldn't be speculating about the evidence. And I thought Sneedon didn't do himself proud yesterday.

O'BRIEN: It did seem a little disrespectful not only to, to everyone in the case, but also you've got to remember the young victim in this case, too, sort of every angle of it. TOOBIN: There are many reasons why.

LALAMA: I think a comment about Michael Jackson's music and his CD really doesn't take away from the seriousness. But that's just my opinion.

O'BRIEN: Right.

Pat Lalama, nice to have you.

Thanks for joining us this morning.

LALAMA: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thanks so much.

Appreciate it.

TOOBIN: All right.

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