AMERICAN MORNING
Death Toll From Tropical Storm Jeanne Rises in Haiti; Latest Developments in Presidential Campaign
Aired September 24, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED
...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, again from New York City.
A great shot of Central Park.
And welcome back here to our studios at Time/Life.
A newly released court document shows authorities raided the home of Michael Jackson's personal assistant back in mid-September, the 15th, in fact. The raid appears to confirm that investigators are still searching for evidence in the pop star's child molestation matter.
How significant, though, is this development? That's our question for our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, stopping by here -- and good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Unusual? Significant? You think what?
TOOBIN: It's very unusual to have a case that is already indicted, has a trial date set and the authorities are still executing search warrants. Very unusual.
HEMMER: Does that say the hunt is still on?
TOOBIN: Well, it could mean a couple of different things and they could mean very different things. And there's really almost no way of knowing at this point. But it could mean that prosecutors think they have a weak case, they're desperate to shore it up in any way they can. It could mean that there are productive new veins that they're discovering and there could be even ongoing criminal conduct.
HEMMER: Which would mean that other people are coming forward or other people are still cooperating or maybe cooperating more than they have in the past?
TOOBIN: Right. That could be that. It strikes me, frankly, more as a positive sign for Jackson than for the prosecutors.
HEMMER: Really?
TOOBIN: That they are so unsure of their case that they still need to investigate it at this point.
HEMMER: You say unsure. Would that indicate a sign of desperation, also, possibly?
TOOBIN: Well, it could be. I mean, the key fact that we surely don't know is what they found. If they found something significant, incriminating, well, that's good for the prosecutors. But we don't know if they did.
HEMMER: It's reported that some of the items seized -- a fax sent on behalf of the client to his lawyer regarding possible witnesses. That's what it was labeled. Three folders labeled Mesereau...
TOOBIN: But that's very risky for the prosecution and that's why the defense is so upset, is there is the possibility of invading the attorney-client privilege, you know, finding documents that relate to communications between Jackson and his lawyers...
HEMMER: Who is Mesereau.
TOOBIN: That would be very -- Mesereau, Thomas Mesereau is his current lawyer. That would be a violation of his rights.
One practical piece of significance here is I think this could very well delay the trial. The trial is supposed to take place in January. If they are still arguing over searches that are just taking place a week ago, that's the kind of thing that could push the trial back.
HEMMER: Prosecutors are also saying they want this stuff kept under seal.
TOOBIN: You know, this case...
HEMMER: And they do that because?
TOOBIN: Well, this case more than any other case I've seen, documents have been kept under seal. This is virtually a secret trial. I mean there is a whole new body of law emerging in these celebrity cases where documents that are ordinarily public are being kept secret.
HEMMER: Well, I can understand that on the defense side, certainly, with the celebrity status of Michael Jackson.
But why would the prosecution want this so badly?
TOOBIN: Well, the prosecution is saying that we don't want to hear down the road that he couldn't get a fair trial because of pretrial publicity, so let's keep everything from the press. It's an unbelievable veil of secrecy in this case.
HEMMER: You like this case, don't you?
TOOBIN: This is an interesting case.
HEMMER: I can tell when you...
TOOBIN: This is an absolutely interesting case, yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff. TOOBIN: All righty.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, OK?
TOOBIN: You, too.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0409/24/ltm.06.html
Death Toll From Tropical Storm Jeanne Rises in Haiti; Latest Developments in Presidential Campaign
Aired September 24, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED
...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, again from New York City.
A great shot of Central Park.
And welcome back here to our studios at Time/Life.
A newly released court document shows authorities raided the home of Michael Jackson's personal assistant back in mid-September, the 15th, in fact. The raid appears to confirm that investigators are still searching for evidence in the pop star's child molestation matter.
How significant, though, is this development? That's our question for our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, stopping by here -- and good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Unusual? Significant? You think what?
TOOBIN: It's very unusual to have a case that is already indicted, has a trial date set and the authorities are still executing search warrants. Very unusual.
HEMMER: Does that say the hunt is still on?
TOOBIN: Well, it could mean a couple of different things and they could mean very different things. And there's really almost no way of knowing at this point. But it could mean that prosecutors think they have a weak case, they're desperate to shore it up in any way they can. It could mean that there are productive new veins that they're discovering and there could be even ongoing criminal conduct.
HEMMER: Which would mean that other people are coming forward or other people are still cooperating or maybe cooperating more than they have in the past?
TOOBIN: Right. That could be that. It strikes me, frankly, more as a positive sign for Jackson than for the prosecutors.
HEMMER: Really?
TOOBIN: That they are so unsure of their case that they still need to investigate it at this point.
HEMMER: You say unsure. Would that indicate a sign of desperation, also, possibly?
TOOBIN: Well, it could be. I mean, the key fact that we surely don't know is what they found. If they found something significant, incriminating, well, that's good for the prosecutors. But we don't know if they did.
HEMMER: It's reported that some of the items seized -- a fax sent on behalf of the client to his lawyer regarding possible witnesses. That's what it was labeled. Three folders labeled Mesereau...
TOOBIN: But that's very risky for the prosecution and that's why the defense is so upset, is there is the possibility of invading the attorney-client privilege, you know, finding documents that relate to communications between Jackson and his lawyers...
HEMMER: Who is Mesereau.
TOOBIN: That would be very -- Mesereau, Thomas Mesereau is his current lawyer. That would be a violation of his rights.
One practical piece of significance here is I think this could very well delay the trial. The trial is supposed to take place in January. If they are still arguing over searches that are just taking place a week ago, that's the kind of thing that could push the trial back.
HEMMER: Prosecutors are also saying they want this stuff kept under seal.
TOOBIN: You know, this case...
HEMMER: And they do that because?
TOOBIN: Well, this case more than any other case I've seen, documents have been kept under seal. This is virtually a secret trial. I mean there is a whole new body of law emerging in these celebrity cases where documents that are ordinarily public are being kept secret.
HEMMER: Well, I can understand that on the defense side, certainly, with the celebrity status of Michael Jackson.
But why would the prosecution want this so badly?
TOOBIN: Well, the prosecution is saying that we don't want to hear down the road that he couldn't get a fair trial because of pretrial publicity, so let's keep everything from the press. It's an unbelievable veil of secrecy in this case.
HEMMER: You like this case, don't you?
TOOBIN: This is an interesting case.
HEMMER: I can tell when you...
TOOBIN: This is an absolutely interesting case, yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jeff. TOOBIN: All righty.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, OK?
TOOBIN: You, too.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0409/24/ltm.06.html