The FBI released formerly classified files on Michael Jackson today including information from the King of Pop's two child molestation cases and an extortion case in which he was the target.
The documents revealed that the feds helped local authorities investigate the singer for possible child molestation twice between 1993 and 2005. Neither case went to trial. Of the 333 pages released, 149 were linked to child molestation allegations.
The files -- released today through a Freedom of Information Act request from the Associated Press -- shed no new light on the events surrounding the singer's shocking death in June.
The documents revealed the following:
- A Jan. 24, 1997 report discusses a video tape partially marked "Michael Jackson's Neverland Favorites An All Boy Anthology." It's unclear what's on the tape other than it was "poor quality third or fourth generation recording," according to the files.
- Cops asked for the feds' involvement in 2004 because they believed the media frenzy surrounding Jackson's court proceedings could make the courthouse a potential terrorist target. The FBI provided assistance in the case but noted there was "no intelligence indicating a terrorist threat."
- In 1993, the Los Angeles Police Department asked the feds if they would be "interested in working on a possible federal violation against Jackson concerning the transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral purposes: the Mann Act." The U.S. attorney had no interest in the case, the FBI said.
- Jackson and John Gotti Sr. were the apparent targets of an extortion plot in 1992. One note to a newspaper in New York reads, "I told you what will happen to John if he doesn't pay up. Michael I will personally attempt to kill if he doesn't pay me my money."
- Authorities searched the 16 Macintosh computers in Jackson's home. Handwritten notes associated with the search read "nothing" besides "search string" for each computer that was examined for evidence.
