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MSNBC : Mike Taibbi report about previous "allegations" March 28 2005
Version: .wmv
Submitted Date: 2005/3/28
Description:
Accessible for now
Air date: March 28 2005
MIKE TAIBBI: …Three of the five have denied publicly that they were ever abused by Michael Jackson. The other two accepted financial settlements in the millions of dollars.
…Tom Mesereau, Jackson's lead defense attorney on the other hand brought back judge Melville's own statement in a pre-trial hearing to him saying that the judge once said in court -- he did, I was there -- that he would not allow this old evidence to be brought in rescue a weak case in chief.
And Mesereau said in court that this case is a bad case that's going to get worse -- his words. That he'd been able to successfully impeach the testimony not just of the accuser, but of his key corroborating witnesses: his brother and his sister.
…I keep saying "alleged" because it is that. It's going to be challenged. In fact Tom Mesereau said there will be, in his words, 'full blown trials' to challenge the credibility of each of these witnesses. By some estimates, outside the courtroom, this could add months to this trial.
…
TAIBBI:…One of the witnesses who's allowed to testify according to the judge's ruling is Bob Jones who was an associate of Michael Jackson's for some years. And had in the past, according to Tom Sneddon the prosecutor, made statements that were incriminating about Michael Jackson.
Tom Sneddon said in court today that it is in fact true that Bob Jones has recanted those statements. So, he's gonna get on the stand. He'll say whatever he's going to say. Tom Sneddon said he didn't know what he was gonna say. He will certainly be challenged vigorously by the defense.
Some of these witnesses have made as many as 8 statements in prior depositions and in court testimony and in interviews with law enforcement. So there's a lot of material from which these impeaching bit of testimony and interview statements can be drawn in order to challenge whatever they say in court. So this is going to extend the trial.