PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT
(excuse any typos)
Quotes from Interview with Accuser’s Father and Russ Halpern, his attorney. This is not an official transcript. I just went through the audio and wrote down the specific quotes of some very important parts.
Show: Crier Live (Guest host: Diane Dimond)
Date: Feb 20 2004
Size: 1.66MB
Dimond asks them about just getting out of court
HALPERN: We had a hearing to see whether we could resolve the matter informally. Unfortunately, David’s wife [sic] chose not to appear.
DIMOND: Any hint on when the judge might decide on his petition for custody?
HALPERN: Well we have a hearing set now for April 2. Prior to that, we’re going to have some depositions taken. I’ve been speaking to her attorney to try to settle this matter because I believe eventually my client will be given visitation at the beginning. And we want to see whether we can have that done right away. I think it’s best for all his children.
Dimond asks the father what he thought when he heard the allegations involved his son
HALPERN: I’m sorry to interrupt. But he is under a gag order. He cannot comment on the Jackson case in any way because he is a potential witness in this case. That’s been a gag order issued by the superior court in Santa Barbara for all witnesses and potential witnesses. We’ve been informed by the Geragos camp that they will probably call my client as a witness.
Dimond asks David about his son being a “good boy, an honest boy"
DAVID: He’s very honest.
DIMOND: Well…so…so you’re telling me he doesn’t make up stories and when you hear he may be in potential danger…
HALPERN: Well…
DIMOND: …this is one reason why you want to get to see him.
DAVID: Yes. I want to get to see him as soon as possible for his health and for his well-being.
Dimond asks if he thinks his son is “up to” a trial because of his health
DAVID: Well that’s what I want to find out as soon as possible. I want to find out how he’s feeling and how his health is because I’m unaware of anything that’s happening around him or to him. So um, until I get that meeting with them, with all three of my children and him, I’ll know that. I’ll know what to do.
DIMOND: Do you somehow think that–not your wife, not talking about that–I’m talking about the district attorney in Santa Barbara, law enforcement. Do you think they’re trying to keep you away from your son for some reason?
HALPERN: I can…let me speak to that. I can answer that better. They have interfered with this family law dispute. Mr. Zonin (sp?) has sent a letter to the attorney for his [David’s] ex-wife.
DIMOND: …he’s the assistant DA…
HALPERN: Yeah. That’s the assistant DA who’s assigned to prosecute this case. In the letter he says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for my client to see his son. He doesn’t specify why. And uh I find that very disturbing and so does my client obviously. But it’s extremely disturbing that he should be interfering with our case her. And I don’t know what his reasons are. I can only guess and I don’t want to speculate on that.
DIMOND: ….David there’s been much said by the Jackson camp about your ex-wife. And there’s been a lot said by the man sitting there next to you. Can you set the record straight about her mental stability, about how she has acted in the past. Is she an unstable woman?
DAVID: She’s very emotional. She’s very uh…she’s either one way or the other. She’s very excited and happy about something, or very sad. I don’t really know how to describe it. But she does handle things with all…very emotional.
DIMOND: Has she been institutionalized in the past as Russell [father’s Attorney] has said?
DAVID: She self…admitted herself, yes.
DIMOND: And when was that? What year was that?
DAVID: Sometime in 1998. And some time recently, I guess. They…that’s what the media has been saying.
DIMOND: Well, no media I know has been able to validate that. Russell do you have some information?
HALPERN: Well we know in 1998 that she was admitted to a lockdown facility. And also we’ve…we heard from people that are around her that she may have also recently admitted herself. Now we’re not sure of that at this time. However, I have observed her conduct…more properly put, my daughter who is an attorney had witnessed her conduct out in a hallway during some of our court proceedings. And she exhibited conduct that was consistent with a person who suffers from a bipolar disorder. And so uh, I’ve heard from other people that she also has that type of uh…characteristics that a person like that…
DIMOND: None of that, however, would go to the fact whether her son, David’s son, has been sexually molested or not. Pedophiles–and I’m not saying Michael Jackson is one–but pedophiles often zero in on families who are in turmoil; on children who have parents that may be distracted by divorce. And that was the case with your family, wasn’t it David?
DAVID: No! No. Michael’s been a long term friend. And we knew him well before our separation, our divorce.
DIMOND: I thought it was a matter of just a year or so.
DAVID: Oh no. We’ve known him for a while now.
DIMOND: You’ve always known Michael Jackson to be an honest man, a good man with your children?
DAVID: Yes.
Dimond says people tell her they don’t understand how parents can let their children be around Jackson period
HALPERN: Well you know, Diane, I’ve allowed my client to answer a couple of questions that border on a violation of the court order. And I think this is getting into an area that could endanger my client, because if Mr. Sneddon feels that he’s [David’s] speaking about the character of Mr. Jackson, in any way, that that would be speaking on the issues of the case. And uh he could find himself in a contempt citation. I don’t want that to occur.
DIMOND: There are skeptics who would say that David might be trying to reunite with his family and this boy because there might be a pot of gold at the end of this case; if they decide to file a civil suit.
DAVID: [sigh]
HALPERN: Ok let me answer this in this way. We’ve been offered a lot of money from foreign newspapers to have his story be given and he has refused every offer. And I might note that the ex-wife, I think, has permitted the London Sun to uh, take pictures of the children. Also…
DIMOND: Did you say the mother allowed that? Sort of like set it up or something?
HALPERN: Well we…I’ve heard different reports from various reporters that the mother has received as much as $200,000.00. Now, that may or may not be true. And during the deposition of her, I’m going to ask her these exact questions. Also I might note that, if there is a lawsuit by the young man, the money that the boy gets goes only to the child. It does not go to either parent…under California law…
DIMOND: Under California law, um hum.
HALPERN: Under California law, it goes into trust until he reaches a majority. And the parents do not benefit at all from that lawsuit unless they…
DIMOND: And further, Russel, I’ll add in the seconds we have left here, should the recipient of any reward like that pass away, the settlement passes away as well. David, we have about 20 seconds left. Something you’d like to say to your children?
DAVID: I would like to say to each one of my children that I love them and I miss them. And I’m trying everything I can to get to see them. And I’ll just keep trying as long as people listen.
-MJEOL
(excuse any typos)
Quotes from Interview with Accuser’s Father and Russ Halpern, his attorney. This is not an official transcript. I just went through the audio and wrote down the specific quotes of some very important parts.
Show: Crier Live (Guest host: Diane Dimond)
Date: Feb 20 2004
Size: 1.66MB
Dimond asks them about just getting out of court
HALPERN: We had a hearing to see whether we could resolve the matter informally. Unfortunately, David’s wife [sic] chose not to appear.
DIMOND: Any hint on when the judge might decide on his petition for custody?
HALPERN: Well we have a hearing set now for April 2. Prior to that, we’re going to have some depositions taken. I’ve been speaking to her attorney to try to settle this matter because I believe eventually my client will be given visitation at the beginning. And we want to see whether we can have that done right away. I think it’s best for all his children.
Dimond asks the father what he thought when he heard the allegations involved his son
HALPERN: I’m sorry to interrupt. But he is under a gag order. He cannot comment on the Jackson case in any way because he is a potential witness in this case. That’s been a gag order issued by the superior court in Santa Barbara for all witnesses and potential witnesses. We’ve been informed by the Geragos camp that they will probably call my client as a witness.
Dimond asks David about his son being a “good boy, an honest boy"
DAVID: He’s very honest.
DIMOND: Well…so…so you’re telling me he doesn’t make up stories and when you hear he may be in potential danger…
HALPERN: Well…
DIMOND: …this is one reason why you want to get to see him.
DAVID: Yes. I want to get to see him as soon as possible for his health and for his well-being.
Dimond asks if he thinks his son is “up to” a trial because of his health
DAVID: Well that’s what I want to find out as soon as possible. I want to find out how he’s feeling and how his health is because I’m unaware of anything that’s happening around him or to him. So um, until I get that meeting with them, with all three of my children and him, I’ll know that. I’ll know what to do.
DIMOND: Do you somehow think that–not your wife, not talking about that–I’m talking about the district attorney in Santa Barbara, law enforcement. Do you think they’re trying to keep you away from your son for some reason?
HALPERN: I can…let me speak to that. I can answer that better. They have interfered with this family law dispute. Mr. Zonin (sp?) has sent a letter to the attorney for his [David’s] ex-wife.
DIMOND: …he’s the assistant DA…
HALPERN: Yeah. That’s the assistant DA who’s assigned to prosecute this case. In the letter he says he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for my client to see his son. He doesn’t specify why. And uh I find that very disturbing and so does my client obviously. But it’s extremely disturbing that he should be interfering with our case her. And I don’t know what his reasons are. I can only guess and I don’t want to speculate on that.
DIMOND: ….David there’s been much said by the Jackson camp about your ex-wife. And there’s been a lot said by the man sitting there next to you. Can you set the record straight about her mental stability, about how she has acted in the past. Is she an unstable woman?
DAVID: She’s very emotional. She’s very uh…she’s either one way or the other. She’s very excited and happy about something, or very sad. I don’t really know how to describe it. But she does handle things with all…very emotional.
DIMOND: Has she been institutionalized in the past as Russell [father’s Attorney] has said?
DAVID: She self…admitted herself, yes.
DIMOND: And when was that? What year was that?
DAVID: Sometime in 1998. And some time recently, I guess. They…that’s what the media has been saying.
DIMOND: Well, no media I know has been able to validate that. Russell do you have some information?
HALPERN: Well we know in 1998 that she was admitted to a lockdown facility. And also we’ve…we heard from people that are around her that she may have also recently admitted herself. Now we’re not sure of that at this time. However, I have observed her conduct…more properly put, my daughter who is an attorney had witnessed her conduct out in a hallway during some of our court proceedings. And she exhibited conduct that was consistent with a person who suffers from a bipolar disorder. And so uh, I’ve heard from other people that she also has that type of uh…characteristics that a person like that…
DIMOND: None of that, however, would go to the fact whether her son, David’s son, has been sexually molested or not. Pedophiles–and I’m not saying Michael Jackson is one–but pedophiles often zero in on families who are in turmoil; on children who have parents that may be distracted by divorce. And that was the case with your family, wasn’t it David?
DAVID: No! No. Michael’s been a long term friend. And we knew him well before our separation, our divorce.
DIMOND: I thought it was a matter of just a year or so.
DAVID: Oh no. We’ve known him for a while now.
DIMOND: You’ve always known Michael Jackson to be an honest man, a good man with your children?
DAVID: Yes.
Dimond says people tell her they don’t understand how parents can let their children be around Jackson period
HALPERN: Well you know, Diane, I’ve allowed my client to answer a couple of questions that border on a violation of the court order. And I think this is getting into an area that could endanger my client, because if Mr. Sneddon feels that he’s [David’s] speaking about the character of Mr. Jackson, in any way, that that would be speaking on the issues of the case. And uh he could find himself in a contempt citation. I don’t want that to occur.
DIMOND: There are skeptics who would say that David might be trying to reunite with his family and this boy because there might be a pot of gold at the end of this case; if they decide to file a civil suit.
DAVID: [sigh]
HALPERN: Ok let me answer this in this way. We’ve been offered a lot of money from foreign newspapers to have his story be given and he has refused every offer. And I might note that the ex-wife, I think, has permitted the London Sun to uh, take pictures of the children. Also…
DIMOND: Did you say the mother allowed that? Sort of like set it up or something?
HALPERN: Well we…I’ve heard different reports from various reporters that the mother has received as much as $200,000.00. Now, that may or may not be true. And during the deposition of her, I’m going to ask her these exact questions. Also I might note that, if there is a lawsuit by the young man, the money that the boy gets goes only to the child. It does not go to either parent…under California law…
DIMOND: Under California law, um hum.
HALPERN: Under California law, it goes into trust until he reaches a majority. And the parents do not benefit at all from that lawsuit unless they…
DIMOND: And further, Russel, I’ll add in the seconds we have left here, should the recipient of any reward like that pass away, the settlement passes away as well. David, we have about 20 seconds left. Something you’d like to say to your children?
DAVID: I would like to say to each one of my children that I love them and I miss them. And I’m trying everything I can to get to see them. And I’ll just keep trying as long as people listen.
-MJEOL