Day 26 of the AEG trial: Randy Phillips continues testimony

In today’s session, questions were put to Randy Phillips by Katherine Jackson’s attorney, Brian Panish, who followed up on the matter.

Panish displayed emails that had been exchanged between AEG executives, the team led by Louie, and Dan Bruckman, AEG colleagues. In these emails, Phillips was described as “scared and angry.” In an email sent on June 20, Louie wrote, “We’ve run into a big problem with MJ.” Bruckman replied: “Given that Randy has been scared and angry this week, I think there must be something wrong. Is it pre-show anxiety, or should we get a straight jacket and call the insurance agent?”

(A straight jacket is a special garment for the mentally ill that keeps their hands secured in its long sleeves so they don’t harm themselves or others.) Phillips, while taking the stand, denied that he had been scared and angry, but said he was worried and preoccupied about the concerts. He said that a scared and angry person shakes, but he had not.

These emails also suggest that he and/or Jackson (the person referred to is not specified) had a mental health issue. The video of Louie’s team’s interrogation of the court was shown. He said the person they were referring to was Randy Phillips—not MJ.

Phillips denied this claim and said he had no such problem.

During his own interrogation, Dan Bruckman also said he didn’t know what had caused Phillips to be described as scared and angry.

Panish: “Do you think MJ needed a straight jacket?”Phillips: “No, I don’t think so. That was a general comment.”

Phillips said the question in their email was whether it was “just stage fright and the show goes on,” or whether “I can’t handle it and the show gets canceled.”

In the end, Phillips said the emails were about him, but Panish had a different view. He said Bruckman’s use of “insurance” in the email showed the person being discussed was Michael.

Phillips said he didn’t remember what had been discussed in a phone call with Murray. In his initial testimony during interrogations, he had said the conversation lasted three minutes. Evidence was presented in court showing that the conversation was actually 25 minutes. That phone call took place on June 20 after receiving an email from Kenny Ortega. In that email, Ortega had told Phillips about his concerns.

He said the idea that Conrad Murray was the cause of Michael’s illness had never crossed his mind.

“Maybe in that call I read the emails for him (Murray). I wasn’t asking anything more about Michael’s health situation than what was in the emails. I don’t remember the conversation.”

Phillips said Murray had called his home. He said that in the This Is It tour production team, everyone was given a list of other people’s contact numbers. But he didn’t know how Dr. Murray had obtained that list. Dr. Murray had his home phone number. Phillips initially said he might have gotten his number from the list provided to staff; he then said Murray had gotten his contact number from Frank DeLeo, Michael’s tour manager. Panish displayed a business card of Phillips that he had given to Dr. Murray. Phillips’s mobile number was written on the back of that card. The card was found in Murray’s car by police.

Panish took the opportunity to remind the court again that three people—Dr. Murray, Kenny Ortega, and John Hagadall—had warned Phillips about the deterioration in Michael’s health.

Panish: “Doctor, did the tour manager and tour director tell you that MJ’s health was declining?”Phillips: “I don’t remember what I told the doctor.”

He continued that Dr. Murray did not agree with Ortega and Hagadall’s statements about Michael’s health. He said he was receiving conflicting information from Dr. Murray and Kenny Ortega about Michael’s health.

Panish then turned to an email Phillips had written to Ortega. He provided Phillips with a copied version of the emails. That version contained Panish’s notes in the margins. Phillips returned them without looking at the pages. The audience laughed, and then Phillips received another copy of the emails.

In an email dated June 20, Phillips had written to Ortega:

“It’s necessary that neither I, nor you, nor anyone else, make claims of medical and psychological knowledge. I had a long conversation with Dr. Murray, and the more I get to know him, the more respect I have for him. He said not only is Michael physically ready for the tour—and that discouraging him, instead of preventing his condition from getting worse, speeds it up—but that he is also mentally capable. Dr. Murray was speaking with me from Michael’s home; he spent the morning with MJ. This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone). He doesn’t need (the money) for this tour, so he is completely courteous and unbiased. It is extremely vital that we surround Michael with our love and support and listen to what he says and how he wants to be prepared for July 13 (the tour opening). You can’t imagine the harm and consequences of stopping this tour at this time. I’m not just talking about the benefits to AEG; I’m also considering MJ’s well-being, and the many crises, issues, and lawsuits that will be formed against him. Today at 4 p.m. I have an appointment with him at the Forum. Please be steadfast. Many alarm bells have rung. It’s time to put out the fire so the whole building doesn’t burn.”

Panish pointed out that Phillips’s statements in this email completely contradict what Kenny Ortega had written in emails about Michael’s weakness.

Panish: “Did you make up stories and lie to Mr. Ortega?”Phillips: “No, I didn’t lie. I just wanted to calm things down and get them under control until the meeting.”

Phillips said that, given the practices where Murray worked and that he had packaged them to join the tour, he thought Murray was a successful doctor.

Phillips: “That’s what I took from it.”Panish: “And it wasn’t?”Phillips: “It was in the past.”

Panish, referring to Phillips’s line in the email—“we check everyone”—asked whether that statement was true or false. Phillips said: “It’s not true. It’s hard to give a yes-or-no answer. It’s not true because ‘everyone’ means all people.”

Panish: “So the statement ‘we check everyone’ was a false claim you wrote to Mr. Ortega, yes?”Phillips: “Looking back, yes.”

Phillips: “You call it a ‘wrong statement,’ but I call it a ‘guess.’”

Panish asked about Phillips’s statement that “he doesn’t need this tour.”

Phillips: “I used my guess again, based on the data I had. I had no facts to say that he was courteous and unbiased.”

Phillips said that when he wrote the email, he believed he was telling the truth, even though he had no evidence.

Phillips testified that in an email to a female manager at Sony, he had requested that she remind him at another time so he could tell her that Dr. Murray, on the night (June 19) when he was required to care for Michael, had spent his time where. The judge allowed Panish to say only that Murray had been at a social gathering, while the main location had been a club for nude dancers. That venue had been revealed in the 2011 court case involving Murray. Murray was a regular customer of that kind of club.

In earlier sessions, it was revealed that Paul Gongwer, an executive at the company, had written to Randy Phillips in an email that he should take Murray with him to see Michael: “Take the doctor with you—why wasn’t he there last night (June 19)?” In the June 19 court session, Gongwer had testified: “Yes, if MJ was sick, why wasn’t his doctor with him?” Michael appeared in the rehearsal session held that day looking ill and weak.

Brian Panish then asked about the tour staff’s suggestion to Phillips that Michael needed a psychologist. Phillips repeated what he had said in his testimony last week—that he had not brought in a psychologist. Today he said hiring a psychologist would not have been the right thing to do.

Phillips said the meeting at Michael’s home on June 20 lasted an hour. Murray and Phillips sat on a couch, while Michael sat on a chaise lounge and Kenny Ortega sat on another couch. During interrogations, Phillips had said that Ortega had spoken about Michael’s physical and mental condition. Today, on the stand, he said Ortega hadn’t said anything specific.

Phillips: “He talked about Michael being present in rehearsals. In my belief, nothing about Michael’s physical or mental condition came up. Most of what was said was by Dr. Murray.”

Panish pressed Phillips about changes in his testimony.

Phillips said: “My memory about events from the past four years is better now. The purpose of that meeting was to understand what went wrong based on the events of June 19, and why MJ had been absent from rehearsals.”

Panish: “Did Mr. Ortega say he was worried about MJ being sleep-deprived?”Phillips: “I don’t remember. I know he asked about food, but I don’t remember him saying anything about sleep.”

Panish: “Dr. Murray’s statements conflict with Ortega’s, don’t they?”Phillips: “Yes.”

Panish: “Dr. Murray said MJ had no problem?”Phillips: “He reassured Mr. Ortega that MJ was fine and would be at rehearsals.”

Without going into details, Phillips said that during this meeting Ortega and Murray argued with each other. He added that Murray’s contract was not discussed in that meeting because it didn’t look good.

According to Phillips, in addition to Murray, Michael also reassured them that there was no problem and that he was fine. Murray told them Michael had probably caught the flu. In court, Phillips said nothing was said about Michael’s sleep problem. But earlier, during his interrogations, he had said that Michael’s sleep had also been discussed.

Panish showed Phillips an email in which the company’s financial department team—Team Wylie—had written to an insurance agent that Phillips and Murray were responsible for handling Michael’s attendance at tour rehearsals. Phillips denied this on the stand and said he had no such responsibility. The email also said that Kenny Ortega was probably not following up enough on Michael’s attendance at rehearsals.

In another question, Panish asked about the June 20 meeting at Michael’s home, saying: did Michael have chills that day?

Phillips: “No, absolutely not.”

At one of the meetings, a vase had been broken. Phillips explained that he, Frank DeLeo, and Paul Gongwer were present at the meeting. He said he didn’t know who broke the vase, but it might have been DeLeo. He said the vase hadn’t been broken on June 20—it had been broken in the days before.

Panish: “Was there a meeting where you threatened MJ with canceling the concerts and seizing all his assets?”Phillips: “Absolutely not.”Panish: “Did you tell him that if the tour didn’t happen, he would lose everything—including his children?”Phillips: “That’s ridiculous—no.”

Phillips said Michael was an exceptional father. He also denied the claim that he had told people Michael was an alcoholic addict and was about to become homeless.

Panish: “Did you ever tell MJ that you pay for the toilet paper in his home?”Phillips: “No.”

Phillips also denied what was said Murray had stated during the June 20 meeting, saying nothing like that had been said. It appears Murray had said: “I can’t take it anymore.” Phillips said that during that visit Murray cared about Ortega’s words, but his position toward him was clear: know your limits and don’t interfere in medical matters! Phillips said that when Murray blamed Ortega for interfering in matters related to him, the atmosphere became tense.

Phillips continued that Ortega asked Michael to rest for two days and spend time with his children. After that, Michael carried out two of his best rehearsal performances on June 23 and 24, and the next day he died.

In his interrogations, Phillips had said that on June 20, nothing was said about Michael resting on June 21 and 22.

Panish then asked Phillips about an email he had sent regarding the outcome of that day’s meeting to Louie’s team, John Branca, and others. That email had been sent after John Branca, Michael’s attorney, had told Phillips in an email that he knew a trusted psychologist who could help Michael.

In his response to that email, Phillips wrote: “Forget it—things aren’t as bad as Ortega said in his email. John, it’s not the time to bring a new person into his life.”

After reading that email, Phillips—who was gradually losing his composure—called Panish “stubborn,” and the judge reprimanded him, telling Phillips to watch his words.

Then the judge, very abruptly, at 2:24 p.m., decided to announce a recess and, after dismissing the jury, warned Phillips that he had to answer all questions. He said, with frustration:

“Mr. Phillips, you need to answer all questions that are asked. The lawyers are working hard to get answers from you. Your arguing with the lawyers isn’t getting us anywhere—it only makes your own testimony sessions longer.”

The judge noted that his testimony had already gone much longer than expected, and if it continued like this, Phillips would be back in the stand for another week.

Phillips said his goal was to give the correct answers and not get trapped in the defense attorney’s questions.

Judge: “But these are clear questions. When you provide more information, it might not be good for you.”

Jessica Benna, the company’s attorney, defended Randy Phillips, saying Panish’s questions were ambiguous.

Panish said his intention was to finish questioning Phillips today. He didn’t argue with the judge or the company’s attorney. Pointing to his many efforts to get answers from Phillips, he said: “I worked very hard—it’s hard!”

Phillips said he understood and that he also wanted to return to his work. He promised he would take a different approach and cooperate more.

After the recess ended, the jury returned to court to discuss more emails.

In an email, Phillips had written: “This man is trying to worry me.” Phillips said he meant Kenny Ortega. He explained: “I was worried about two things: I wanted Kenny Ortega to attend the meeting (June 20) with an open mind, and I didn’t want him to step aside.”

Panish showed the video of Phillips’s interrogation in court. In the video, Phillips says he doesn’t know what he was worried about.

Emphasizing that he hadn’t changed his testimony, Phillips said his testimony today was illuminating.

Panish asked whether the fact that caused Phillips’s concern about Ortega had just now come to his mind.

Phillips: “I remember many more things now.”

Panish attacked him and asked how he could not have remembered those things during the interrogation at the time.

Panish said that at that time the company had spent $30 million on the tour. Phillips said it was $28 million.

An email from Louie to Phillips dated March 13, 2009: “Phil (Anschutz) can be a skeptical miser. He thinks he’s the smartest of everyone.”

Anschutz is the founder and owner of the company.

Another email shown was from Phillips’s assistant, who had been looking for a physiotherapist for him three days before Michael’s death.

Here, Panish asked about Dr. Arnold Klein, Michael’s dermatologist, and displayed an email from Michael Keene, Michael’s business manager.

On June 23, Keene had written to DeLeo and Phillips: “In the list of doctors who help us get ready for opening night (of the tour), what does Arnold Klein do?”

Phillips’s response: “He scares us to death because he’s injecting things into him (Michael).”

Keene: “Well, since we owe him $48,000 and he wants his money, maybe I should stop paying him so he doesn’t inject anything else (into Michael). I know the details of his work (Klein).”

Phillips said Keene suggested that he show him the $48,000 invoice that Klein had requested for Michael’s medical services. Phillips had looked at the invoice. Referring to the invoice, he said it was for multiple injections of skin-beautifying drugs such as Restylane and Botox, as well as other unspecified muscle injections.

Panish asked about Michael’s rehearsals on June 23 and 24. Phillips said he couldn’t remember which songs were performed on each of those days. He said he had watched the rehearsals for those two days completely.

Panish: “MJ never performed the show all the way through—he performed it, sir?”Phillips: “No, they weren’t ready for that yet.”

On June 23, Phillips testified that during a three-hour session he witnessed the rehearsals. He said Michael participated in the rehearsal session for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Panish: “Did MJ feel cold on June 23?”Phillips: “I don’t remember.”Panish: “Have you ever seen MJ walking around wrapped in a blanket?”Phillips: “It’s possible because the place (Staples Center) had a freezer. But I don’t remember.”

At 12:54:15 p.m. London time on June 25—just a few hours before Michael’s death—an insurance agent had written to Murray:

“We are dealing with a very important matter, and your urgent attention would be appreciated.”

The agent’s email requested access to Michael’s medical records and documents.

Phillips said that after Michael’s death, he learned from the media that Murray had been Michael’s doctor since 2006.

Panish, referring to the insurance agent’s email, said: “Here, Dr. Murray was helping AEG get insurance for (the company), right?”Phillips: “Right.”

Contrary to Brian Panish’s prediction, today’s testimony by Phillips did not end. He will be back in court tomorrow.

Source: eMJey.com / ABC News & AP