Was the King of Pop actually innocent in the first sexual molestation case in the 1990s? Was he instead the victim of a devious extortion plot as has been claimed? Some clues could lie within the thick stacks of documents held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The U.S. Justice Department is set to release recently declassified documents about Jackson that may shed light about the sexual molestation case and trial of 1993.
According to media reports, the late legendary attorney Johnnie Cochran had contacted the FBI in 1993, claiming Evan Chandler was falsely accusing Jackson of molesting his 13-year-old son, Jordan, in order to extort money from Jackson. Jackson later settled the suit for a reported $20 million.
Approximately half of the 679-page document will be released to the public about the Jackson that contains the lawsuits of the sexual molestation cases of both 1993 and 2004.
The other pages will remain classified, particularly as it pertains to the activities surrounding, and leading up to, Jackson’s death as it is still part of an ongoing investigation. Jackson died on June 25 at age 50 from a toxic brew of powerful sedatives, including fatal injections of the anesthetic Propofol.
Cochran became a household name when he headed the “Dream Team” of lawyers who secured an acquittal in the O.J. Simpson “Trial of the Century” double murder case in 1995. His statement, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” became one of the most famous legal phrases ever uttered and ostensibly helped overcome overwhelming evidence suggesting Simpson’s guilt.
Cochran also single-handedly secured the complete exoneration of former Black Panther Party leader Geranimo Pratt after he’d been falsely imprisoned for 26 years for the murder of a white schoolteacher.
Because of Cochran’s work on Jackson’s behalf, the singer behind “Thriller” and “Off the Wall” attended Cochran’s funeral in Los Angeles in 2005.
–terry shropshire
