Skip to main content
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
Law
CNN Access

Jackson family attorney: Prosecutor 'bent on defaming Michael'

Brian Oxman
Brian Oxman

Story Tools

more video VIDEO
Michael Jackson has been booked, posted bail, released and given an arraignment date of January 9.
premium content

Jermaine Jackson says his brother Michael is being falsely accused.
premium content

Pop star Michael Jackson returns to Las Vegas, Nevada, after being booked. (partial audio)
premium content
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
CNN Access
Michael Jackson
Diane Dimond
Crime, Law and Justice

(CNN) -- One day after pop star Michael Jackson surrendered to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department facing allegations of child molestation, the Jackson family was to respond to the accusations in a network interview Friday.

CNN anchor Carol Costello spoke with Brian Oxman, attorney for the Jackson family and a family friend, in Anaheim, California, about how the family is coping.

COSTELLO: You talked recently with the Jackson family, his brother Randy specifically?

OXMAN: A little less than 15 minutes ago. And Randy is holding together well. He is talking to all of his brothers to try and get together to make a public statement. And they want to express their feelings to the world, to say that they are just very disturbed by this entire process, that they think that what the district attorney in Santa Barbara County has done is just improper, and the manner in which the district attorney held their press conference is improper, and they want to make a statement which puts out their feelings of support for Michael.

COSTELLO: Well, I want to play for our audience what Jermaine [Jackson] said specifically on our air recently.

Audio begins

JACKSON: The whole family supports Michael 100 percent, 1,000 percent. Michael is innocent. And just to let you know how I feel, I'm very disappointed in the system, in which things were done.

This is nothing but a modern-day lynching. This is what they want to see, him in handcuffs. You got it. But it won't be for long, I promise you.

Audio ends

COSTELLO: That modern-day lynching line has gotten many people upset. Did you talk to the family about that when you just spoke with them 15 minutes ago?

OXMAN: I only talked about their feelings, and their feelings go right along with what you heard Jermaine say. Jermaine is the most outspoken member of the family. He's extremely articulate. And I've got to say that I do agree with him, that there is so much impropriety in what the prosecutor has done here that it approaches exactly what Jermaine is talking about.

COSTELLO: And you're specifically talking about the reporter Diane Dimond who seems to have some inside information?

OXMAN: What we have here is we have a prosecutor who seems bent on defaming Michael in the press. And really, the whole family is just staggered by this kind of effort.

At the press conference, we saw this jovial, jocular, excited impression of all the people making jokes and smiling. It was like a Broadway opening, where everyone was just congratulating themselves on finally being able to prosecute Michael Jackson. That's not professional prosecutors. That is just totally improper, and they know it is.

COSTELLO: So you're specifically talking about the DA and not the messenger here, as in Diane Dimond.

OXMAN: Diane Dimond has part of the problem here. The prosecutors are selectively leaking information, which is a violation of professional ethics. They have no right to do so. They are telling Ms. Dimond things which they should never be telling her. It is against the rules of professional conduct.

I teach legal ethics. And this is the kind of thing which the bar says is unlawful.

COSTELLO: Well, Brian, I feel I must give Diane Dimond's side of the story, because she did give us a statement. I am going to read it for our audience. She says: "Attacking the messenger is a typical Jackson tactic. I think people will see right through it." What do you say to that?

OXMAN: I love Ms. Dimond. She is absolutely a beautiful, wonderful woman. But she should not be participating in an ethical violation which is being perpetrated by a prosecutor. It is simply wrong to participate in that kind of thing.


Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Ex-Tyco CEO found guilty
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards

City:

International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.