- LOS ANGELES (Reuters)
- Less than two weeks after Michael Jackson was hit with child molestation
charges, the pop star appeared to be engulfed in an internal struggle on
Tuesday over control of his legal defense and public image.
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- Jackson's chief spokesman, Stuart Backerman, stepped
down on Monday, telling Reuters in an interview that he had "strategic
differences" with other members of the team, including hard-charging
criminal attorney Mark Geragos.
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- But he denied reports that Geragos fired him for speaking
to reporters outside a party for Jackson at the 45-year-old entertainer's
Neverland Valley Ranch.
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- "I was never fired," Backerman said.
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- Backerman's resignation came a day after CBS News broadcast
an interview with Jackson in which the erstwhile "King of Pop"
defended his practice of sleeping with young boys and accused police of
roughing him up him during his arrest.
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- It was not immediately clear who was acting as Jackson's
spokesman following Backerman's departure.
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- Geragos -- who has held two indignant press conferences
since charges of engaging in lewd acts with a boy under the age of 14 were
filed against Jackson on Dec. 18 -- sat in on the TV interview and at one
point prevented Jackson from answering a question from "60 Minutes"
reporter Ed Bradley.
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- The high-profile criminal attorney declined to discuss
Backerman during a brief interview with Reuters, saying only: "I'm
not engaging on this. I have no comment on any of this. It's a non-story."
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- GERAGOS: NATION OF ISLAM REPORT 'NONSENSE'
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- Geragos also denied a report in the New York Times that
officials from the Nation of Islam, a black separatist movement headed
by Louis Farrakhan, had taken control of Jackson's business and personal
affairs.
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- "It's total nonsense," Geragos said of the
Times story.
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- Sources close to Geragos, who asked not to be identified,
said Nation of Islam members were working out of the attorney's office
but said that Leonard Muhammad, chief of staff for the Nation of Islam
and a son-in-law of Farrakhan, was consulting with Geragos.
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- The Nation of Islam also denied having an official relationship
with Jackson, who was raised a Jehovah's Witness.
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- "The Nation of Islam, in response to several inquiries,
has said today that it has no official business or professional relationship
with Mr. Michael Jackson," according to a statement posted on the
group's Web site on Monday. "The Nation of Islam joins thousands of
other people in wishing him well."
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- A spokesman could not be reached on Tuesday to elaborate
on the statement.
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- The New York Times on Tuesday cited an unidentified colleague
saying Backerman resigned to protest the Nation of Islam's influence. The
newspaper, citing Jackson's friends, employees and business associates,
reported that members of the Nation of Islam were invited to Neverland
several weeks ago to provide security.
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- The report said the Nation of Islam, including Muhammad,
are restricting access to Jackson and making decisions for him about business,
media and legal strategy. Farrakhan has been criticized for using anti-Semitic
and anti-white rhetoric in espousing empowerment for black Americans.
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