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Liar, Liar Pants On Fire

Michael Jackson’s ranch manager conceded on Tuesday that he lied when he told police that the singer never slept with children. Jackson Defense Witness Admits Lying to Police [Reuters.com]. He also testified that Jackson had a collection of bondage dolls, after first denying that he had ever seen Jackson with “adult materials.” And this was a defense witness! Reuters reported that:

Asked whether Jackson had female friends aside from his two wives, [Joe] Marcus again faltered before naming actress Elizabeth Taylor and singer Liza Minelli.

“So, we’re up to two?” a sarcastic [prosecutor Gordon] Auchincloss said, prompting an objection from defense lawyer Robert Sanger.

Marcus . . . appeared uncomfortable under cross-examination, often looking to Jackson before answering difficult questions.

Lawyers can’t always control their own witnesses on cross-examination, but this is stupidity at its worst. Calling as a defense witness a person who lied to the police about the central witness in the case is really inexcusable. Of course, this may be all that Tom Meserau and his team have to work with. Not much.

He’s Really Sick

Michael Jackson “Really Was Sick” Judge Says [Reuters.com]. It’s a good thing juries decide these cases, because Jacko’s “flu-like symptoms” hardly justify a week-long delay in jury selection in his child abuse trial. It’s also probably a really stupid defense tactic, as it allowed the jury pool to watch ABC’s “Michael Jackson’s Secret World” last Thursday night, with all its pedophelia overtones and weird behaviors, filmed and otherwise, about the pop music legend. And remember, the child by his side at that 2002 interview — where Jackson unabashedly spoke about sharing his bed with young boys — is the same boy who is now the centerpiece of this criminal trial.

Maybe the judge got the tense wrong. It’s not that Jackson was really sick last week, it’s that he is really sick.