Intervention

It is reported that Michael Jackson's siblings are planning an intervention with their brother, that will include Thomas Mesereau (Jackson's lawyer from the child molestation case).

Allegedly, Jackson's health is failing; according to reports in the media, his liver is damaged and he has been seen vomiting blood.

The Jackson family are reportedly laying the blame for Michael's decline in mental and physical health at the door of publicist/manager Raymone Bain and aide de camp/nanny Grace Rwaramba.

Whatever the truth of otherwise of these allegations, the resulting media bun fight (as accusation and counter accusation is made by the interested parties) will not make pleasant reading for Jackson, who to some extent appears to be caught in the middle of this.

Another Day Another Trial

It seems that Michael Jackson has some form of addiction to court cases, as yet another one is appearing in his already busy court schedule.

Jackson is now being sued for legal fees he allegedly owes Ayscough & Marar, an LA law firm, who claim that Jackson owes them $200K for their services in 2005.

Attorney Brent Ayscough claims that his firm was hired by Jackson, to provide legal services during his child molestation trial. One of the cases that the firm were allegedly asked to oversee was the suit brought against Jackson by former business associate Marc Schaffel.

Ayscough and Marar's lawyers claim that they were paid on time until mid 2005, when Jackson's legal fees were paid out by his trial lawyer Thomas Mesereau's company.

They claim that the money paid to Mesereau was to be spread around several law firms, who were all working for Jackson. However, Ayscough & Marar claim that they haven't received that money. Mesereau & Yu are not named as defendants in the case.

The lawsuit filed by Ayscough & Marar also details some of Jackson's debts; including $300M to Fortress Investment Group and $1.6M to his brother Randy.

If the allegations are true, it seems that the lesson to be learnt here is that when working for Jackson demand payment in advance.

Mesereau Denies Split

Tom Mesereau, Michael Jackson's lawyer, has denied reports that he has dropped Jackson because of late payments.

Last week Mesereau withdrew from two impending lawsuits. However, Mesereau insists that he never intended to form a long-term partnership with Jackson. He also states that he remains close friends with Jackson.

Quote:

"I am very disturbed by the false, erroneous, and self-serving reports about the relationship between Michael Jackson, my law partner, Susan Yu, and me.

For approximately seven months, we assisted Michael Jackson in this effort. We never intended to assume these obligations on a permanent basis.

We are still in communications with Michael Jackson, and his assistants, and remain close friends. People should leave Mr Jackson and his family alone."

Mesereau Quits

Tom Mesereau, Michael Jackson's lead attorney in last year's child molestation case, has quit his position as Jackson's lawyer.

Mesereau and his partner, Susan Yu, resigned yesterday. They were representing Jackson in his $4M lawsuit brought by Jackson's ex-business partner Marc Schaffel.

However, neither Mesereau nor Yu appeared for Schaffel's deposition last week.

It appears, according to reports, that Mesereau has quit because he is not getting paid.

It is very unwise of Jackson to treat the lawyer, who won the molestation case, in this manner.

Juror Jackson

In a strange twist of fate, Michael Jackson has received a jury summons.

However, don't expect him to attend; his lawyers have filed paperwork for a deferment, based on the fact that he now lives in Bahrain.

Jackson's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, is quoted as saying:

"He is permanently living outside of the United States."

Gary Blair, the Jury Commissioner, said:

"All he has to do is show he has legal residency somewhere else and he'll be exempted."

The Trials Continue

Michael Jackson, despite ending one trial in California, has several other "legal" issues to attend to.

Jackson flew to London on Friday to take a deposition by the attorney representing his former business partner, Marc Schaffel.

Schaffel is suing Jackson for $4M, for an unpaid loan.

However, because Jackson does not want to return to the USA he requested that the deposition be served at London's Dorchester Hotel.

Jackson paid for Schaffel, King, Mesereau, Jackson's Houston attorney Michael Sydow and their entourages to fly London via business class and for their hotel bills.

Nice trip!

Allegedly, Jackson claimed innocence, by denying knowledge of the items that Schaffel bought for him.

Other legal matters that Jackson must attend to include:

-$48M lawsuit brought by Darien Dash

-Custody/visitation fight with the mother of his two eldest children

-A civil action brought by a New Orleans man, who claims to have a repressed memory of Jackson molesting him when he was underage

Janet Arvizo Charged With Fraud

The above title, frankly, should hold no surprises for anyone who has followed the trial of Michael Jackson.

Janet Arvizo, mother of Jackson's accuser, made absolutely no friends in the court room during her testimony.

She was exposed as a "grifter" and scam artist who defrauded J C Penny and others. Indeed, when the allegation about welfare fruad was raised during the trial, she adopted the fifth amendment.

Now she has been charged with welfare fraud by prosecutors, who say that she lied about her finances when she applied for public assistance.

Los Angeles District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said:

"These charges are the result of a very careful investigation of allegations that she basically lied to receive aid. We felt the evidence was sufficient to file these counts".

Prosecutors accuse Janet of defrauding the welfare system out $18K.

She could, if convicted, face more than five years in prison.

Jackson's attorney, Tom Mesereau said Jackson had been informed of the charges.

Quote:

"I have always maintained that the case against Michael Jackson was a fraud and a disgrace and these charges confirm that. We brought this information to District Attorney Sneddon early on in the case hoping that he would dismiss the charges against Michael Jackson. Unfortunately he was stubborn and denied our request."

Jackson Went To Hospital

Tom Mesereau, Michael Jackson's lawyer, has given an interview to the BBC; in which he said that Jackson had to go to hospital, after the trial, to be treated for weight loss and dehydration.

Quote:

"Michael Jackson was ill from time to time. In fact, people didn't realize he actually entered the hospital after the verdict..He was dehydrated, he had lost a tremendous amount of weight, he was having trouble keeping food down, he was terrified about what was going happen to his children and he had a recurring back problem,".

Mesereau said that Jackson would not settle out of court if further allegations were made against him.

"I am concerned because he is a perpetual target. There still is a perception among some people that he ... doesn't want to go to court and will settle,...We will be fighting any of these suits all the way if they happen."

Mesereau said that he hoped that nobody in the future would live in Jackson's home to spend the night to avoid future false claims.

"I advised Mr Jackson not to let any families in his home again,".

Leno Does Mesereau

Jay Leno hosted Michael Jackson's defence attorney, Tom Mesereau, on his Tonight Show last night.

Leno kicked off by saying that Jackson could start a show in Las Vegas by "playing Diana Ross in the 'Legends Show.'"

Mesereau, who seemed not to be that happy during the interview, said:

"Michael Jackson is an artist. He's a creative spirit. He likes to sit in a tree and compose music,".

He went on to attack prosecutor Tom Sneddon, saying "he had a personal vendetta".

I thought that these guys were professionals, who didn't take their roles personally?

He said that Jackson's settlement with Jordie Chandler was a mistake, I think that is very true indeed.

Jackson To Sue Sneddon?

Tom Mesereau, Michael Jackson's defence attorney, is reportedly urging Jackson to go back to court and sue Tom Sneddon for "malicious prosecution".

I would have though that the best thing for Jackson would be to get away from lawyers and courts for a while, and to make an attempt to rebuild his brand.

I note that there are also rumours that he may sue Martin Bashir, in London, for his 2003 documentary.

Mesereau made his suggestion, about suing Sneddon, on Larry King Live.

Quote:

"Do I think this was done maliciously and unfairly? Absolutely...I think that he was treated in a way that no one else would have been similarly treated. It's because he's a mega-celebrity."

Adding:

"I think their biggest problem was they were not objective about their case, they believed things they wanted to believe, they tried to prove theories that were absurd and they tried to demonise Michael Jackson."

Sometimes though, even in victory, it is better to get on with your life and let the dust settle.

Jackson To Stop Sleeping With Children

The above headline highlights just how bizarre this whole case has been.

Precisely why some parents allowed their children to sleep with a middle aged man, or why he would wish to, has never been answered satisfactorily.

I can't but help speculate that had Jackson been poor, then the parents would never have allowed their children to "sleep over".

Money and celebrity seems to allow people to break normal codes of behaviour.

Be that as it may, Jackson's lawyer Tom Mesereau has stated that Jackson will now no longer sleep with children.

How very wise!

Quote:

"He's not going to do that anymore..He's not going to make himself vulnerable to this anymore."

Jackson's official website, www.mjjsource.com, equates the acquittal with; Martin Luther King's birthday, the day Nelson Mandela was freed and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Hubris is a dangerous reaction, and often comes to bite you back.

There are two lessons to be learned from this sorry tale of depravity, greed, manipulation and dishonesty:

1 Middle aged men should not sleep with children

2 Parents should not allow middle aged men to sleep with their children

The thing is, we all knew that anyway.

Mesereau 1 Bain 0

It seems that Tom Mesereau has won the power struggle, reported on this site a few days ago, as to who should be the official voice of Michael Jackson during the jury deliberation phase.

Raymone Bain, on Friday, issued a short statement to reporters that denied rumours that she had been fired. However, Jackson's MJJ Productions later put out a statement on its Web site saying she had been fired.

Even Jesse Jackson has been quiet for the last few days.

Power Struggle

There still seems to be a power struggle going on behind the gates of Neverland, between the Jackson pr machine/entourage and Tom Mesereau as to who has the right to speak on his behalf.

Mesereau, quite rightly, is telling people to shut their mouths; whilst the jury ponder the guilt or innocence of Jackson.

He knows that a misplaced word or impression could tip the scales of justice the wrong way.

However, it seems that Raymone Bain (Jackson's spokesperson) still likes to give a daily briefing to press.

Jesse Jackson, normally never shy in putting himself forward, seems to have taken heed of Mesereau; he has reportedly left Neverland, and is out of touch, at a meeting somewhere in Chicago.

There is an old saying: "if you hire a dog, let it do the barking".

In other words, Jackson has paid Mesereau to act on his behalf; it is time that he let him do just that.

Shut Up

As I have mooted already, the actions of "publicity shy" Jesse Jackson in telling the world Michael Jackson's thoughts have not been viewed as necessarily being in Michael Jackson's best interests.

Tom Mesereau have told the Reverend and also Raymone Bain, Michael Jackson's publicist, to shut up and stop talking about Jackson's health and hopes for acquittal.

Mesereau told the Jackson entourage to obey the judge, and keep quiet.

Raymone Bain has said that Jackson was idling away the time with his children, watching television and movies and taking calls from his lawyers.

Quote:

"He is good spirits but as you all can imagine he is very nervous. He is confident in his innocence,".

Mesereau issued a statement saying that he had not authorised anyone to hold news conferences on Jackson's behalf.

Quote:

"I have not authorised anyone to speak or hold any press conferences on behalf of Michael Jackson or his family...A gag order is in effect which the defence team will continue to honour."

Exactly, the best service that Jackson's entourage can their master is to shut up and wait for the jury to deliver their verdict.

Defence Concludes

In the closing arguments of the Michael Jackson trial, Tom Mesereau for the defence reiterated his claim that Janet Arvizo coached Gavin to lie under oath in order to extort Michael Jackson.

The defence team highlighted discrepancies in the testimony by Gavin, his two siblings and their mother. They pointed out that the Arvizos kept returning to Neverland, and had plenty of opportunities to call for help, if indeed they had been held against their will.

The jury will now begin their deliberations.

The clock is ticking, the media hold their breath.

Defence Failed

The prosecution yesterday accused the defence of failing in their task of exonerating Michael Jackson in his trial.

They stated that Michael Jackson targets vulnerable boys to bring them "into the world of the forbidden,".

Deputy District Attorney, Ron Zonen, said that the defence failed to keep promises made to the jury in opening statements; the defence's only strategy had been to attack the credibility of Janet Arvizo.

Zonen said that that Jackson has a pattern of going after susceptible boys and when he brings children to his Neverland ranch he separates them from parents and authority and fills their days with candy, video games and other amusements.

This is part of the "grooming process", he said.

He said that Jackson lowered their inhibitions by showing them pornography, appearing naked before them and simulating a sex act with a mannequin.

Quote:

"This case is about the exploitation and sexual abuse of a 13-year-old cancer survivor by an international celebrity,".

Zonen reminded the jury that the defence had said that Janet Arvizo had asked Mike Tyson, Adam Sandler and Jim Carey for money.

Quote:

"Did you see any of them come in here?...There's no evidence she received anything from the three of them."

Zonen said Mesereau also failed to prove that Janet Arvizo tried to negotiate for money, during the making of the rebuttal video, and that she tried to use Gavin's illness to make money.

Zonen said that Jackson never visited Gavin when he was in hospital in Los Angeles in 2000.

Zonen quoted from a letter written by Jackson to Gavin:

"But you have to really be honest in your heart that I AM your DAD and will take good care of you. DAD."

Another note said:

"I want you to have a great time in Florida. I'm very happy to be your DADDY. Blacket, Prince and Paris are your brothers and sister. Love Dad."

Zonen noted that Jackson had misspelled his son's (Blanket) nickname.

He also said that Jackson had urged the Arvizos to come to Florida, contradicting defence suggestions that the family had found out Jackson was there and wanted to get to him.

Defence May Be Cut Short

The defence case in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial could be ending sooner than anyone expected, that is according to Jackson's defence team.

Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone Bail, had originally said that they expected the defence phase of the trial would take about six weeks.

However, Tom Mesereau has reportedly told Judge Rodney Melville that this was an "overstatement".

Quote:

"I think a number of weeks is an overstatement of the amount of time we'll need here."

Jackson's team though are denying speculation that the defence will rest next week.

Given the total "balls up" that the prosecution have made in this case, re the remarkably dishonest set of witnesses that they produced, one can understand the defence not wishing/needing to make this a protracted spectacle.

Janet Keeps Schtum

Janet Jackson (nee Arvizo) made yet another appearance on the witness stand, in Michael Jackson's trial yesterday, I honestly thought that we had seen the last of her!

In her final curtain call she cited attorney-client privilege, by refusing to say whether she was represented by a lawyer during the time period in which she and her children were allegedly held captive by Jackson.

Thomas Mesereau, for the defence, asked Janet if she had been represented by attorney Michael Manning from 2001 to 2004 re issues involving her divorce.

Janet said that Manning had helped her on several issues involving the divorce. Seemingly he worked for her for free; and that as a result she was, in her words, one of his low-priority clients.

Mesereau asked Janet if Manning was her attorney at the time of the alleged captivity, she asked:

"Is that attorney-client privilege?"

Mesereau dropped the question when she cited privilege.

Hot Air

Janet Jackson (nee Arvizo) took the stand again yesterday, in the Michael Jackson trial.

It is fair to say that she gave yet another bravura performance; which further "endeared" her to the jury, and ensured that no one was left in any doubt about her intelligence or moral character.

Janet said that she once told sheriff's deputies that she feared Jackson had a plan for her, and her family, to disappear from Neverland in a hot air balloon.

What had she been drinking?

Seemingly Janet felt that this remark had been taken out of context. Quote:

"He's taking it out of context. He's minimising it. I told police that (Jackson associates) had many ways to make us disappear,".

Mesereau, for the defence, retorted:

"And someone mentioned to you a hot air balloon?".

Janet said:

"That was one of the ways,".

Janet contended that Jackson did not really care about children, merely what he could do to them. Quote:

"He managed to fool the world. Now, because of this criminal case people know who he really is."

Despite this "revelation" in her mind, about Jackson's character, it was shown that she had written a letter to Jackson in gushing terms with a heart and X's and O's on it. Seemingly, if Janet is to be believed, this was written under duress.

She denied ever asking for money, "Money doesn't buy happiness."

But it does buy a manicure, doesn't it Janet?

Then for good measure Janet entered into a tirade against social workers, saying that they were only interested in not being sued by Jackson.

Despite her statement about money, it was shown that she received cheques for $20K which she put into her mother's bank account.

Oddly enough though, she could not remember how any of the money had been used for Gavin.

Funny that!

Despite appearing to be an idiot, Janet did manage to have the brains to open a bank account; in which people could deposit money for Gavin's benefit. The money though, was not used for Gavin.

Mesereau asked:

"Did you withdraw thousands of dollars from that account?".

Janet said:

"Yes," .

"And was any of that money for medical expenses?" the attorney asked.

"No," she said.

What was it used for Janet?

It seems that Gavin's treatment was covered by the father's medical insurance, in other words Janet paid for nothing to help her son.

Janet maintained her story that Jackson planned to send her and her family off to Brazil indefinitely, against their will.

Janet was oddly reluctant to give an answer that was coherent, when asked as to why she did not contact the police about the alleged kidnap. She repeated that she couldn't then.

Nonsense!

To my view this woman is probably the best witness for the defence, the prosecution must be mad for placing her on the stand.

Here's Janet

Janet Jackson (nee Arvizo) made another "spirited", and "emotional", performance in the witness stand at Michael Jackson's trial yesterday.

This time, to add credibility to her testimony and character, she admitted lying under oath twice in an unrelated case.

Tom Mesereau for the defence "went to town" on her, insinuating that she was a con artists; for her part Janet obliged all and sundry by giving long winded rambling answers, that had little to do with the case in hand.

What are the prosecution thinking of using this person in their case?

Mesereau went to work on her $150K action against JC Penney, where the Arvizos received that amount after claiming that they were manhandled by security guards.

Mesereau pointed out that Janet had sworn that she had never been abused by her husband at the time. Quote:

"You were not telling the truth under oath when you made those statements,".

Answer:

"This is correct,".

She also admitted being untruthful, when she said in the lawsuit that her husband was honest.

Janet also stated, in relation to the rebuttal video, that she had given a poor performance. Mesereau contradicted her saying:

"I think you're a good one."

Judge Rodney Melville gave him a slapped wrist for this.

Janet then went on to say that everything on the video, even breaks where Gavin complains about his seat and the family laughs at jokes, was scripted by Jackson aides.

She said that met with one of Jackson's lackeys 10 times at Neverland, to discuss what she would say on the video. Mesereau noted that this was the first time this piece of information had come up.

As a witness she is a disaster area. That of course does not mean that the abuse did not take place.