Re: [General Discussion] AEG files their summary judgment motion asking to dismiss Katherine's lawsu
Everybody has opinion who hired CM, including Mike Garcia, former bodyguard:
BANFIELD: Michael Jackson was one of the most scrutinized superstars ever to grace a stage. He was under the microscope for most of his life. And he remains so nearly four years after his death. In California court, his mom and kids are going after the people who promoted his final concert tour alleging that they are ultimately responsible for his death. You can get to know a guy pretty well if you're with him 24/7. And one of Jackson's body guards, Mike Garcia, was just that, always around the king of pop.
Mike, thanks for be being with us.
The key to this trial is just who employed Dr. Conrad Murray. Was it in fact Michael Jackson who was his boss? Or was it AEG, the company behind the concert? As an employee of Mr. Jackson's and as someone who was around him all the time, was he capable of employing any one, hiring, firing?
MIKE GARCIA, FORMER MICHAEL JACKSON BODY GUARD: It's good to see you again Ms. Banfield.
From what I've seen in the way he dealt with us, he never handled any of his business directly. So on the side of if he was directly employed by Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson employed him directly, and I don't see that happening.
BANFIELD: How was it for you? You worked with him. You were there with him, his kids, in his house, outside his house. You saw their day to day. But at the same time you had your issues, just functioning as a paid employee.
GARCIA: Right, we didn't get paid for several months. He wasn't in charge of his own business. To say that Mr. Jackson employed him it directly, I don't think that was the case.
BANFIELD: So that would speak very well to AEG's case, because they say they weren't the guys who had hired Conrad Murray, or doesn't speak to his case, sorry. One of the things that AEG does say is that Michael Jackson was so affected by all of the civil trials he went through in the it pedophile allegations three was a wreck, that he was drug addled and an insomniac who needed treatment and he was responsible for his own death because of going through all that. What were his nights like?
GARCIA: Well, definitely, you know, there was a situation that was going on. But I think that the fact that, you know, when you're in the care of a doctor and the doctor's taking care of you, and at the end of the day, who's paying the doctor, which I, from what I've learned is that it was AEG. Once the doctor signed the contract of being that doctor, he's in full responsibility.
BANFIELD: So what about the nights though? Is what AEG says true about just the notion that this was an insomniac? Did you see him up in the night wandering, those kinds of things?
GARCIA: We have his times when he would be up at night, but you've got to understand it can be kind of boring being in the House all the time or being inside the hotel. So I think being up at any hour of the day is irrelevant. It's not necessarily something important to look at. I mean, he did live in kind of a closed world, so him being up at 4:00 in the morning or singing or practicing, you know, that's not uncommon.
BANFIELD: What about his life with his kids? What kind of dad was he? Did you see --
(CROSSTALK)
GARCIA: Fantastic.
BANFIELD: Was he the same? Did he do things the way most parents do?
GARCIA: He did above and beyond. He was very huge on their education. Always quizzed them. If we went to go see Imax videos and things like that he would quiz the kids. I remember being in Virginia. We had our food catered to us. He didn't want the breakfast catered to the house because he wanted to make the children breakfast every single morning. You're talking about a guy who's very hands on with three children.
BANFIELD: You liked him, right, as your boss?
GARCIA: Absolutely. Absolutely.
BANFIELD: And must be watching their case very closely, Mike. GARCIA: Yes. You know, having the conversations of him passing, it's incredible to see how, what this guy was doing for the world and how he felt for his fans and things leak that. It's very, it's a shame, you know, it's a shame that somebody like that is not with us anymore. He, and he treated us with the utmost respect. For us that was very pleasant to see because we weren't getting paid and things like that. So I was very hands on. He would make the calls for us to get paid. So with him treating us and asking about our families and very personable with us, we appreciated that.
BANFIELD: I hope we talk again. They're in jury selection now. Nice to see you again.
GARCIA: Thanks, Ms. Banfield.
BANFIELD: We encourage you to watch the "Michael Jackson, Final Days" documentary. Coming Friday night at 10:00 eastern on CNN.
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1304/04/cnr.06.html
