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Jackson FBI Files: Child Molestation Probes, Death Threats
Bureau declassifies more than 300 pages detailing investigations into pop star
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The Hollywood sign might have been covered up by environmentalists, but Love is definitely in the Tinseltown air this Valentine’s Day. No, we don’t mean the baby factory of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, though nice to see you guys are still together, or the are-they-or-aren’t-they “Twilight” couple of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.
What we do mean is the undeniable attraction of eight couples that have seized the heart-shaped zeitgeist this year … for better or worse.
FBI files documenting death threats, extortion attempts, and child molestation accusations against Michael Jackson were released on Tuesday.
The bureau declassified more than 300 pages from its secret dossier on the singer following a Freedom of Information Act request from several news organizations.
Some of the information was procedural, and 346 pages were held back to protect sources, but there were several shocking revelations regarding the pop star's notorious friendships with teenage boys.
The documents illustrate the FBI's close involvement in probing charges of sexual abuse against the singer. According to the documents, the FBI assisted California law enforcement in their investigations of Jackson -- once between 1993 and 1994 and again between 2004 and 2005 -- for possible child molestation.
The files also mention an unnamed source who discusses a case against the singer, involving two Mexican boys that he purportedly molested in 1985 or 1987. The source said he was told the investigation allegedly was covered up because Jackson was to "receive an honor at the White House."
The specter of Jackson's controversial relationships with young boys is the sinew that ties together the seven files, much of which are concerned with the minutiae of investigative work. Among the questionable behavior cited in the files, some of which has been reported before, was the concerns of a Canadian couple who were riding on a train with Jackson in 1992. They had a compartment next to the pop star and a 13-year-old boy he described as his "cousin."
"Jackson was very possessive of the boy at night," the couple told the bureau. They also said they "heard questionable noises through [the] wall."
Another file – regarding the first alleged child molestation case -- details the LAPD’s plans to investigate the allegations against Jackson, stating that “two investigators from their task force would be traveling to Manila to interview two prior domestic employees of the Santa Barbara residence of Michael Jackson.”
“The United States Attorney’s position of not pursuing a federal investigation was expressed to the group,” a briefing reads.
The files contain information pertaining to the FBI's aborted 2004 investigation of Jackson on child molestation charges. The bureau closed this investigation when the key witness “advised the agents that he had no interest in testifying against” Jackson and “would legally fight any attempt to do so” and "believed he had done his part." Some are speculating that the bureau was trying to revive the 1993 child molestation case involving Jordan Chandler, a California boy who was 13 at the time.
Another FBI file -- with documents detailing a request by the U.S. Customs to review a videotape involved in a later child-molestation case -- refers to a videotape labeled “Michael Jackson’s Neverland Favorites An All Boy Anthology.” Analysis of the tape was hindered by its poor quality. Handwritten notes cite the video's "poor resolution, noise bars from mistracking throughout" and speculate that it "could be a copy of a copy of a copy."
Files spanning from January 15 to April 27, 2004, primarily concern a request by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office to provide digital forensic analysis on 16 computers as well as DVDs and CDs seized from Jackson's home.
