1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
The press reports on Gomez plight widespread moral outrage within the Malaysian public. A special parliamentary session was held on 10 December 1992 which saw all 96 members of the Dewan Rakyat present to pass a unanimous resolution to curb the powers of the rulers if necessary. The subsequent parliamentary session on 27 December saw discussions to remove legal immunity which agitated Sultan Iskandar to hold a rally to oppose the government's actions, but was forced to cancel after intense government pressure. Members of the opposition party had a passive stance towards the government's proposals, particularly from Semangat 46.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
A ruler's session was held on 16 January 1993, the following year, which requested the government for additional time for consideration of the government's decision. After extensive negotiation, some rulers chose to refuse to endorse the proposed changes to the Federal Constitution, even after the offer for a special court to prosecute the rulers was proposed, claiming that the implementation of a special court would bring about difficulties in legal technicalities.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
The proposed amendments also came with the rule to allow commoners to criticise the Sultans, even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong without fear of the Sedition Act, with the exception of questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy of Malaysia. In addition, the proposed amendments also sought to limit the power of the rulers to pardon offences of family members. Public criticisms of the rulers was also allowed by amendments to the Sedition Act, which makes it no longer an offence to criticise the royalty except to areas pertaining to their legitimate existence.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
Nevertheless, parliamentary sessions on subsequent days saw the Dewan Rakyat table the proposed amendments in spite of the Sultans' objections, citing as far to say that there was no need to obtain royal assent to implement laws. Back in 1983, the constitution had been amended so that a veto by the Agong can be over-ridden by a parliamentary vote. Shortly before the Dewan Rakyat concluded its session, 133 out of 180 MPs passed the proposed changes although members of the opposition parties abstained from voting, citing indifferences. The following day, Dewan Negara passed a unanimous resolution to approve of the proposed amendments.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
The three rulers, on the other hand, continued to withhold their consent to the amendments which saw the government threatening to withdraw the privileges and continued attacks via the national media on instances of royal excesses of their extravagant lifestyles and even hinting a possibility of ending constitutional monarchy in Malaysia, such as the publication of an article of monarchs who abdicated or were disposed since World War II. A compromise was reached with the Agong when the government offered a compromise which allowed the rulers to delay any legislation within sixty days, provided that the delays were given reasons. The previous proposals offered only a delay of fifteen days for any legislation that were to be raised in parliament.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Parliamentary debates and resolutions
The Dewan Rakyat passed its implementation on 8 March 1993, while the Dewan Negara approved of its implementation on 30 March. A new chapter, Part XV of the Constitution entitled "Proceedings against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers" was also enshrined.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Media coverage
The government-backed media, on its part, launched a series of reports between 1992 and 1993 detailing alleged misdeeds by members of the royalty not only by the Johor royal family but also on other royal houses from other states, questioning their extravagant lifestyles and misuse of moral authority to gain alleged concessions. The Pahang royal family, in particular, was criticised for the way which they allegedly gained favourable timber forestry concession rates and the unusually high shares which they were accorded in the timber forestry industry.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Media coverage
The views of the Islamic Religious leaders were also well publicised, who criticised the royal excesses and even went as far as placing members of the royalty as equal members with the commoners in the eyes of Allah.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Media coverage
In Kelantan, Sultan Ismail Petra was also heavily criticised for failing to pay import duty taxes after he purchased a convoy of imported Italian luxury sports car as well as alleged biased support for Semangat 46 by Dr Mahathir, for violating the constitution which states that monarchs will have to take on a neutral role in political affairs. The leader of Semangat 46,  Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Mohd Hamzah was a member of the Kelantan royal family.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Aftermath
Another further constitutional amendment in May 1994 allowed any law that has been passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara to become law within 30 days, irrespective of whether the Agong had given his assent. The new legislation further reduced the veto power of the Agong — amended previously in 1983, which also sparked a constitutional crisis. The older bill stated that Rulers could withhold assent of a proposed amendment within 30 days once both houses of parliament pass a proposed amendment.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Aftermath
The new constitutional amendment took some interesting twists following its amendments: In 1996, a Singaporean filed to sue the Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang for defamation in the special court for the rulers, which was turned down by the Special Court, establishing the precedent that the right to sue a ruler only belongs to a Malaysian citizen.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Aftermath
In 1998, then Tengku Idris (later Sultan Sharafuddin) of Selangor sued a company, Dikim Holdings in the High Court. In 1999, when his father, Sultan Salahuddin was elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Paramount Ruler) of Malaysia, Tengku Idris was appointed as Regent of Selangor. The case was referred to the Federal Court on whether the Regent is considered a ruler, which the court replied in the negative. In 2001, Sultan Salahuddin died and Tengku Idris ascended the Selangor throne.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Aftermath
The case was referred to the Federal Court again, which the court ruled that the High Court had lost jurisdiction over the case, and the case must be withdrawn and refiled in the Special Court. In both cases, only the Special Court had authority to exercise jurisdiction over the rulers, whether they were to be tried or intended to try another party.


1993 amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia, Aftermath
The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar became the first ruler to have judgement made against him in the Special Court, whereby he was ordered to settle US$1 million in debts he had owed to a bank. The landmark verdict prompted his oldest son, the Regent of Negeri Sembilan, Tunku Naquiyuddin to advocate the restoration of rulers' immunity  during a speech in November 2008. This raised concerns among the public, in view of the history of past royal excesses, but specifically the Gomez incident. Tunku Naquiyuddin, however, added further that immunity to rulers should not be extended to cases when rulers commit acts of criminality, such as assault.


1993 bombing of RSS office in Chennai
Coordinates: 1993 bombing of RSS office in Chennai refers to the bombing of a head office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 8 August 1993 by terrorists. The bombings left eleven people dead and seven others injured.


1993 bombing of RSS office in Chennai
The special CBI court tried eighteen of the accused under the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. They had been earlier given life imprisonment by a TADA court in Chennai for their involvement in the blast on 8 August 1993 at the RSS office in Chennai. The CBI has announced a reward of Rs.10 lakh for providing credible information about Mushtaq Ahmed, one of the main accused in the blast.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson
In 1993, Los Angeles dentist and screenwriter Evan Chandler publicly accused American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan Christopher "Jordy" Chandler. Case files state that the relationship between Jackson and Jordan began in February 1993, but other sources cite May 1992. Jordan's stepfather, car dealer David Schwartz, introduced Jordan to Jackson after Jackson rented a vehicle from Schwartz's dealership. Chandler initially encouraged the friendship. However, Chandler later confronted his ex-wife June, who had custody of Jordan, with suspicions that their son had been in an inappropriate relationship with Jackson; June dismissed the idea.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson
On July 15, Mathis Abrams, a psychiatrist, sent a letter to Chandler's attorney, Barry Rothman, stating there was "reasonable suspicion" of sexual abuse. Abrams wrote that if there was a child abuse claim, he would be required by law to contact the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services. On August 4, Chandler and Jordan met with Jackson and Anthony Pellicano, Jackson's private investigator, and Chandler read out Abrams' letter. He opened negotiations to resolve the issue with a financial settlement. Chandler and Rothman had rejected a $350,000 offer from Jackson. On September 14, 1993, the Chandlers filed a lawsuit against Jackson for sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson
On August 24, 1993, as the third leg of Jackson's Dangerous World Tour began, news of the allegations broke to the public and received worldwide media attention. Jackson canceled the remainder of the tour citing health problems arising from the scandal. In January 1994, Jackson reached a financial settlement for an undisclosed sum with the Chandlers. In September 1994, the criminal investigation was closed after the Chandlers declined to cooperate, leaving the case without its main witness.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson
The allegations affected Jackson's public image and commercial standing, and several endorsement deals were canceled, including Jackson's decade-long Pepsi endorsement which ended due to Jackson cancelling his Dangerous World Tour. Similar allegations were made by other parties in 2005, leading to a trial in which Jackson was found not guilty. In November 2009, five months after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler was found dead from suicide by gunshot at his luxury apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey, after several years of depression and estrangement from his family.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Background
According to Consequence of Sound, in 1993, the pop star Michael Jackson was the most popular musician in the world. In February that year, Jackson's car broke down and was towed to a local garage, Rent-A-Wreck. Rent-A-Wreck owner David Schwartz called his wife, June Chandler-Schwartz, to meet Jackson. She brought her son from a previous marriage, Jordan Chandler. Jordan's father, Evan Chandler, was a dentist who treated Hollywood celebrities. He was also a screenwriter who co-wrote the 1993 comedy Robin Hood: Men In Tights.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Background
Jackson and Jordan became close; the National Enquirer ran a featured story with the title "Michael's New Adopted Family," implying that Jackson had "stolen" Jordan from Evan. Jackson invited Jordan, his stepsister and his mother to visit his home, Neverland Ranch, on the weekends. They would also take trips to Las Vegas and Florida. These trips interfered with Jordan's scheduled visits with Evan, with Jordan preferring to visit Neverland Ranch.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Background
In May, Evan encouraged Jackson to spend more time with Jordan. Evan even suggested that Jackson should build an addition onto his house; when they were denied planning permission, Chandler suggested Jackson should buy him a house. In the same month, Jordan and June flew with Jackson to Monaco for the World Music Awards. According to June's lawyer, Michael Freeman, Evan was jealous and felt left out. Upon their return, Jackson stayed in the Schwartz-Chandler home for five days; Jackson slept in a room with Jordan and his stepbrother. Chandler said this is when he became suspicious of sexual misconduct by Jackson, although he said that Jackson and Jordan were clothed when he saw them in bed together, and never claimed to have witnessed sexual misconduct. Jordan and Jackson's contact ended in June 1993.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
On 8 July, Schwartz phoned Evan to discuss Jordan’s relationship with Jackson. Unbeknownst to Evan, Schwartz recorded the phone call. Even though at this point his son did not accuse Jackson, Chandler was hostile about Jackson, describing him as "evil" and complained that Jackson stopped calling him. He also complained that his ex-wife and his son were not willing to take his phone calls either and called Jackson and his son "users". He said he had hired "the nastiest son of a bitch he could find", lawyer Barry Rothman, to humiliate Jackson


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. I've given him full authority to do that ... If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever ... Michael's career will be over ... This man is going to be humiliated beyond belief. He will not believe what is going to happen to him, beyond his worst nightmares. He will not sell one more record.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
When Schwartz asked how this would affect Jordan, Chandler replied:


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
That’s irrelevant to me. The bottom line is, yes, his mother is harming him, and Michael is harming him. I can prove that, and I will prove that. It cost me tens of thousands of dollars to get the information I got, and you know I don’t have that kind of money. I’m willing to go down financially.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
In August 1993, Chandler extracted one of Jordan's teeth. While Jordan was under the effects of the sedative, Evan asked him if Jackson had ever touched his penis; Jordan said yes.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
Chandler and his legal team approached Jackson asking for $20 million, or threatened to take the dispute to a criminal court. Jackson refused, saying, "No way in hell." A few weeks later, Jackson's legal team made a counter-offer of $1 million; this was declined by Chandler, who then requested $15 million. Jackson refused and lowered his offer to $350,000, which Chandler also refused.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations
On July 15, child psychiatrist Mathis Abrams wrote to Rothman, who was seeking an expert opinion to help establish the allegations against Jackson. Abrams wrote that there was "reasonable suspicion" of sexual abuse without having met Evan or Jordan. He also said that, if this were a real case and not a hypothetical one, he would be required by law to report the matter to the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services. On August 17, Evan took Jordan to Abrams and told him Jordan had been molested. Over a three-hour session, Jordan told Abrams that Jackson had sexually abused him for months, and gave graphic accounts of masturbation and oral sex. Jordan repeated these allegations to police and described Jackson's penis.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
On August 18, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. June Chandler initially told police that she did not believe Jackson molested her son; however, her position wavered a few days later.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Neverland Ranch. Police questioned thirty children who were friends of Jackson; all stated that he was not a child molester. Gary Hearne, Jackson's chauffeur, testified in his deposition to driving Jackson to Jordan Chandler's house at night, and collecting Jackson in the morning for a period of about thirty days.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
On the day the allegations were made public, August 24, Jackson began the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour, in Bangkok. That day, Anthony Pellicano, a private detective hired by Jackson, held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from Jackson. He did not mention that Jackson had made several counter-offers. The Jackson family also held a press conference, saying it was their "unequivocal belief" that Michael was a victim of extortion. On August 26, Jackson's promoters publicly released an audiotape of him apologizing to his fans for cancelling his second show in two days.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
According to the county's DCFS reports on August 26, Jordan Chandler had difficulty remembering the times and dates of his alleged molestation. "However, the minor was consistent in his story," one document stated. Another investigation source said, "There's no medical evidence, no taped evidence. The search warrant [at Jackson's home] didn't result in anything that would support a criminal filing." The child abuse case file read that Jordan first told his father about the alleged abuse, in spite of Jackson's alleged threats.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
Jordan claimed that he and his father then met with Jackson and his lawyers, "and confronted him with allegations in an effort to make a settlement and avoid a court hearing." Evan had unsuccessfully sought a $20-million movie production and financing deal with Jackson and wanted a settlement to avoid going to court.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
Pellicano said Chandler's negotiations had been an attempt to extort Jackson. To try to demonstrate this, he produced illicit recordings of his negotiations with Rothman. According to the Los Angeles Times, "illicit tape recordings are generally not admissible as evidence in criminal cases, but California law makes an exception in cases where extortion is threatened." Howard Weitzman turned over the tapes to the district attorney's office.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
On August 31, attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference stating she had been retained on behalf of the Chandlers, and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made. On September 10, Allred said that she was off the case, declining further comment as to why. On September 13, the Chandlers hired Larry R. Feldman, former Los Angeles County Bar Association president.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
In September 1993, police officers traveled to the Philippines to interview two of Jackson's ex-housekeepers. However, the ex-employees lacked credibility due to a back salary argument they had with Jackson. On November 8, police also searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst. Several parents of Jackson's children friends complained of aggressive investigative techniques by police. They claimed the police frightened their children with lies such as "we have nude photos of you", and told parents their children had been molested even though their children had denied it.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
On October 6, 1993, Jordan Chandler underwent a psychiatric interview with Dr. Richard Gardner in New York. Dr. Gardner had formulated Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) in 1985, a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Jordan gave his account of what allegedly happened between him and Jackson in May 1993, during their trip to Monaco for the World Music Awards. On November 8, police searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation
The Schwartzes gave the tape of Chandler's July conversation with Schwartz to the authorities, who leaked it to the press. The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson's defense against the allegations made against him. Jackson and his supporters argued that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort Jackson. The tape was publicly released by Jackson's private investigator Anthony Pellicano, after edits had been made. In October 1994, Mary A. Fischer of GQ reported it was Chandler who initially accused Jackson of molesting his son, before he demanded a screenwriting deal from Jackson instead of going to the police.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Testimony from staff and other children
In September 1993, police officers traveled to the Philippines to interview two of Jackson's ex-housekeepers. However, the ex-employees lacked credibility due to a back salary argument they had with Jackson. Several parents of Jackson's children friends complained of aggressive investigative techniques by police. They claimed the police frightened their children with lies such as "we have nude photos of you", and told parents their children had been molested even though their children had denied it.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Testimony from staff and other children
Brett Barnes, aged eleven, publicly said he had shared a bed with Jackson, but insisted there was no sexual abuse: "I was on one side of the bed and he was on the other. It was a big bed." Wade Robson, aged ten, told Fox Television that he too shared a bed with Jackson but nothing sexual had happened.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Testimony from staff and other children
A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson, saying he was fired because he "knew too much," and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy. Instead of reporting this alleged event to the police, he sold the story to Hard Copy for $150,000. On December 13, 1993, Jackson's maid, Blanca Francia, alleged that she "quit in disgust" after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child, but did not inform the police. Lisa D. Campbell reported that Francia had been fired in 1991 and had sold her story to Hard Copy for $20,000. However, when Diane Dimond interviewed Francia on the show, she denied being fired but acknowledged being compensated by Hard Copy.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Testimony from staff and other children
On December 2, 1993, attorney Charles Mathews held a press conference about his clients allegedly being threatened and harassed by Anthony Pellicano's machinations. Mathews was representing Jackson's former security guards in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed on November 22. The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination due to "firsthand personal knowledge of many of [Michael Jackson's] nighttime visits with young boys."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Investigation into Chandler
The police also began an investigation into Evan Chandler for extortion, finding that he was $68,400 behind in his child support payments despite being well-paid as a dentist. Following a five-month investigation, deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney Michael Montagna released a public statement stating no charges had been brought against Chandler, citing Jackson's lawyers' failure to file for extortion in a timely manner and Jackson's willingness to negotiate with Chandler for several weeks. Montagna explained that settlements were encouraged as they were favored by the law. Montagna also said the discussions between Jackson's representatives and Barry K. Rothman, Chandler's attorney at that time, appeared to have been attempts to settle a possible civil case, not efforts to extort money.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Use of sedatives
Chandler admitted he had used the sedative sodium amytal during Jordan's dental surgery, during which Jordan said Jackson had touched his penis. Sodium amytal is a barbiturate that puts people in a hypnotic state when injected intravenously. Studies carried out in 1952 demonstrated that it enabled false memories to be implanted. According to Alison Winter, a science historian at the University of Chicago, these types of drug place people in a state "extreme suggestibility ...  People will pick up on cues about what questioners want to hear and repeat that back."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Use of sedatives
Mark Torbiner, the dental anesthesiologist who administered the drug, told GQ that if sodium amytal was used, "it was for dental purposes". According to Diane Dimond of the tabloid TV program Hard Copy, Torbiner's records show that Robinul and Vistaril were administered instead of sodium amytal. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating Torbiner's administration of drugs during house calls, where he mostly gave patients morphine and Demerol.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Use of sedatives
Torbiner's credentials with the Board of Dental Examiners indicated that he was restricted by law to administering drugs solely for dental procedures, but he had not adhered to those restrictions; for example, he had given general anesthetic to Barry Rothman during hair transplant procedures. Torbiner had introduced Chandler and Rothman in 1991, when Rothman needed dental work.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Strip search
On February 10, 1993, Jackson had revealed in a televised interview that he had vitiligo, a skin disorder that destroys skin pigmentation and creates blotches. The interview was watched by 90 million viewers, and after it aired expert information on vitiligo was widely shared in the media. According to Pellicano, Jordan Chandler said in July 1993 that Jackson did lift his shirt once to show the blotches on his skin.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Strip search
On December 20, 1993, investigators for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the LAPD issued Jackson with a warrant for a strip search, as police wanted to verify Jordan's description of Jackson's private anatomy. The officers photographed Jackson's entire body. The police were looking for discoloration, any signs of vitiligo that Jordan had spoken about, or any other skin disorder. Refusal to comply would have been used in court as an indication of guilt.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Strip search
Those present for the prosecution were District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a detective, a photographer, and a doctor. Those present on behalf of Jackson were his two attorneys, a physician, a detective, a bodyguard, and a photographer. The attorneys and Sneddon agreed to leave the room when the examination took place. At Jackson's insistence, the prosecution detective also left. In an emotional state, Jackson stood on a platform in the middle of the room and disrobed. The search lasted for approximately 25 minutes. He was never touched.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Strip search
On January 28, 1994, Reuters and USA Today reported that an unidentified source informed them, "The pictures simply didn't match the boy's description." According to LAPD detective and pedophilia expert Bill Dworin, who spoke to NBC News in February 2003, Jordan's description matched the photos of Jackson's genitalia. Dworin did not believe that Jordan's accusations were coached. The DA and the sheriff's photographer stated that the description was accurate, but the jurors felt that the photos did not match the description. In March 1994, Jackson's mother Katherine was called to testify in front of the LA County Grand Jury. Investigators asked whether her son had altered the appearance of his genitalia. Jordan claimed that Jackson was circumcised. However, Jackson's autopsy report showed that he had not been circumcised and his foreskin appeared intact, with no signs of surgical restoration.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Investigation, Strip search
On January 4, 1994, Larry Feldman filed a court motion in an effort to obtain the police photographs of Jackson. The motion stated a "multiple choice" request: either provide copies of the photographs, submit Jackson to a second search, or the court can bar the photographs from the civil trial as evidence. Feldman said that the district attorney's office previously refused the request of these photographs. Jackson's lawyers asked a Santa Barbara County judge to order prosecutors to return the nude photographs, fearing they would become public, but were denied.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations by La Toya Jackson
On December 8, 1993, Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson, who had been estranged from the Jackson family and not seen her brother for several years, claimed Jackson was a pedophile. She said she had seen checks made out to different boys' families and that Jackson's own childhood physical abuse had turned him into an abuser. She and her then-husband Jack Gordon also said that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations by La Toya Jackson
On December 9, La Toya repeated her suspicions to Katie Couric on Today: "I do know he'd have boys over all the time and they'd stay in his room for days. Then they would come out ... There'd be another boy and he'd bring someone else but never two at a time."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Allegations by La Toya Jackson
La Toya claimed to have proof of Jackson's pedophilia and offered to disclose it for $500,000. A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began, but fell through when, as Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote, "she didn't have much to offer, after all". The Jackson family disowned her, and in later years she recanted the allegations, saying she had been forced to make the allegations by her husband. Prior to making the allegations, Gordon had been arrested for assaulting her and the couple divorced three years later. By the turn of the millennium, Jackson had forgiven his sister.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley
According to Chris Cadman, Jackson met Lisa Marie Presley around May 26, 1974, during a Jackson 5 engagement in Lake Tahoe. Her father, Elvis Presley, was closing a two-week engagement at the Sahara Tahoe while the Jackson 5 were just about to begin one. In November 1992, Jackson was reconnected with Presley through a mutual friend, and they talked almost every day by telephone. As the abuse accusations became public, he became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley
She stated, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it." She described him in one call as high, incoherent and delusional. He proposed to her over the phone in late 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?" They divorced less than two years later.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's health
Jackson took painkillers for his scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to deal with the stress of the allegations. Within a few months of the allegations becoming news, he had lost approximately 10 pounds and stopped eating. According to Jackson, he had a tendency to stop eating when "really upset or hurt" and his friend Elizabeth Taylor had to make him eat: "She took the spoon and would put it into my mouth." He said that he eventually became unconscious and had to be fed intravenously.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's health
While in Mexico on November 8, 1993, in a court deposition unrelated to the alleged child abuse, Jackson appeared drowsy, lacked concentration, and slurred while speaking. He said he could not remember the dates of his album releases or the names of people he had worked with, and took several minutes to name some of his recent albums. On November 12, Jackson canceled the remainder of his tour and flew with Taylor and her husband to London. When Jackson arrived at the airport, he had to be held up.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's health
He was rushed to the home of Elton John's manager and afterward to a clinic. When he was searched for drugs on entry, 18 vials of medicine were found in a suitcase. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers. While in the clinic, he took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's health
On November 15, Jackson's lawyer, Bert Fields, spoke publicly of their last meeting in Mexico City and Jackson's painkiller addiction: "[Michael's] life was in danger if he continued taking these massive quantities of drugs. He was barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level." Fields insisted that a U.S. drug rehabilitation center would not have the privacy Jackson wanted. He also stated that his client was not trying to evade investigation: "If Michael Jackson wanted an excuse to stay out of the United States, all he had to do is stay on his tour." On November 23, Fields resigned from the case.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
On December 22, 1993, Jackson responded to the accusations for the first time via satellite from Neverland Ranch:


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
There have been many disgusting statements made recently concerning allegations of improper conduct on my part. These statements about me are totally false. As I have maintained from the very beginning, I am hoping for a speedy end to this horrifying, horrifying experience to which I have been subjected. I shall not in this statement respond to all of the false allegations being made against me since my lawyers have advised me that this is not the proper forum in which to do that.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the mass—matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions. I ask all of you to wait and hear the truth before you label or condemn me. Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent. I have been forced to submit to a dehumanizing and humiliating examination by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department earlier this week.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
They served a search warrant on me which allowed them to view and photograph my body including my penis, my buttocks, my lower torso, thighs, and any other area that they wanted. They were supposedly looking for any discoloration, spotting, blotches, or other evidence of a skin color disorder called vitiligo, which I have previously spoken about. The warrant also directed me to cooperate in any examination of my body by their physician to determine the condition of my skin including whether I have vitiligo or any other skin disorder.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
The warrant further stated that I had no right to refuse the examination or photographs, and if I failed to cooperate with them, they would introduce that refusal at any trial as an indication of my guilt. It was the most humiliating ordeal of my life, one that no person should ever have to suffer. And even after experiencing the indignity of this search, the parties involved were still not satisfied and wanted to take even more pictures. It was a nightmare, a horrifying nightmare. But if this is what I have to endure to prove my innocence, my complete innocence, so be it.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Jackson's response
On January 5, 1994, a few weeks before the settlement, Jackson gave a five-minute speech at the 26th NAACP Image Awards asserting his innocence and received a standing ovation. During the ceremony, one presenter had included Jackson in a list of names, calling him "Michael (Innocent Until Proven Guilty) Jackson."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Media reaction
Most of the information available on the allegations was released (officially or unofficially) by the prosecution and unchallenged by Jackson. He was largely portrayed as guilty by the media, which used sensational headlines implying guilt when the content itself did not support the headline. Stories were purchased of his alleged criminal activity, police investigation material was leaked, and unflattering photographs of Jackson were printed.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Media reaction
Two weeks after the allegations were reported, the headline "Michael Jackson: A Curtain Closes" reflected the attitude of most tabloid media. The New York Post ran the headline "Peter Pan or pervert". In a piece for Hard Copy, Dimond—a journalist who spent the next fifteen years trying to prove Jackson was a pedophile—ran a story stating it had acquired "new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson, and they are chilling; they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin". In fact, the document stated that Culkin denied being abused by Jackson.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Media reaction
Two tabloid media outlets bought confidential leaked documents from the LAPD for $20,000. A number of Jackson's former employees—most of whom had worked at Neverland—sold stories which alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson's part, instead of reporting their claims to police. One couple asked for $100,000, claiming that Jackson had sexually caressed Culkin. For a fee of $500,000, they would also allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin's pants. Culkin strongly denied the allegation and did so again in court during Jackson's 2005 trial.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Media reaction
When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation, the Daily Mirror (UK) held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where he would appear next. A Daily Express headline read "Drug treatment star faces life on the run", while a News of the World headline said Jackson was a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable. Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime. A poll at the time, conducted by A Current Affair, found that nearly 75 percent of Americans believed Jackson was telling the truth.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
On September 14, 1993, Jordan Chandler and his parents filed a lawsuit against Jackson. The lawsuit claimed that Jackson had committed sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence. In November, Jackson's lawyers asked the case be put on hold for as long as six years or until the criminal case was concluded. Concerns about a civil trial during an ongoing criminal investigation, and prosecutors' access to plaintiffs' civil trial information, stemmed from Jackson's Fifth Amendment rights. Since two grand juries deemed there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges by the end of the investigation, the prosecution could have been able to form the elements of a case around the defense strategy in the trial, creating a situation akin to double jeopardy.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
Superior Court Judge David M. Rothman ordered Jackson's deposition scheduled before the end of January 1994 but said he might reconsider if Jackson was indicted on criminal charges. Jackson agreed to be deposed on January 18. His attorneys said he was eager to testify, but also said they might oppose the deposition if criminal charges were filed or were still under consideration on his deposition date. They said if charges were filed, they would want the criminal trial to go first.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
However, when authorities notified Jackson's lawyers that they expected their investigation to continue at least through February, Jackson's team failed to win a delay of the civil case. Rothman denied the motion to delay the civil proceedings until the criminal investigation had been completed, and set March 21, 1994, as the trial start date.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
On December 17, 1993, Rothman allowed the prosecutors to receive information from Jackson's lawyers and approved discovery information for media disclosure. Both Feldman's and Jackson's camps expressed concerns about Jackson's right to a fair trial being compromised by publicly discussing discovery results. Johnnie Cochran and Howard Weitzman, attorneys representing Jackson, argued that investigators were trying to use the suit to advance their criminal investigation, a technique that should not be allowed.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
On January 24, 1994, prosecutors announced that they would not bring charges against Chandler for attempted extortion, as Jackson's camp had been slow to report an extortion claim to the police and had tried to negotiate a settlement for several weeks. Chandler had made his settlement demand in early August 1993, and the Jackson camp had filed extortion charges against the Chandler camp in late August. In the extortion investigation, a search warrant was never sought to search the homes and offices of Chandler and Barry Rothman. No grand jury convened when both men refused police interviews.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
In contrast, the police had searched Jackson's residences solely based on Jordan's allegations, and taken lengths to interview or intimidate witnesses. Weitzman said they had not gone to the police earlier because "It was our hope that this would all go away. We tried to keep it as much in-house as we could."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit
In February 1994, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury convened to assess whether criminal charges should be filed. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury began in March 1994. By 1994 prosecution departments in California had spent $2 million and convened two grand juries, but Jordan Chandler's allegations could not be corroborated.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
Jackson's legal team would meet three times a week at Taylor's home to discuss the case. Eventually, it was agreed that Jackson was too sick to endure a lengthy trial and that he should settle out of court.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
The lawsuit was settled on January 25, 1994, with $15,331,250 to be held in a trust fund for Jordan, $1.5 million for each of his parents, and $5 million for the family's lawyer, for a total of approximately $23 million. According to a motion passed to Judge Melville in 2004, "the settlement was for global claims of negligence and the lawsuit was defended by Mr. Jackson's insurance carrier. The [carrier] negotiated and paid the settlement, over the protests of Mr. Jackson and his personal legal counsel."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
On January 29, 1994, the Associated Press reported that Jackson had requested his insurance company (Transamerica Insurance Group) to financially contribute to the settlement. A lawyer for TIG, Jordan Harriman, had made a "one-time-only" offer to Jackson on January 13 to resolve his claim. Jackson refused that offer but further negotiations followed. Russ Wardrip, a TIG claims analyst, had sent a January 13 registered letter to Jackson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman:


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
...acts of sexual activity do not constitute [accidental] bodily injury. Further, acts of sexual activity, especially those against a minor, are inherently intentional, wrongful and harmful. Coverage for such acts is precluded by [the] California Insurance Code.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
According to Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau, Jackson's insurance company was "the source of the settlement amounts", as noted in a 2005 memorandum in People v. Jackson. The memorandum also noted that "an insurance carrier has the right to settle claims covered by insurance where it decides settlement is expedient and the insured may not interfere with nor prevent such settlements", as established by a number of precedents in California.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
Defeating the right would involve convincing a court with the power to overrule the precedent that the earlier decision was either wrongly decided or more often, "clearly" wrong (depending on the criteria of the court) or the court must be convinced to distinguish the case. That is, to make the ruling narrower than that in the precedent due to some difference in facts between the current and precedent case while supporting the result reached in the earlier case.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
In 2004, Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau said: "People who intended to earn millions of dollars from [Jackson's] record and music promotions did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits. Michael Jackson now regrets making these payments. These settlements were entered into with one primary condition – that condition was that Mr. Jackson never admitted any wrongdoing. [ He] always denied doing anything wrong ... Mr. Jackson now realizes the advice he received was wrong." Jackson explained why he had settled: "I wanted to go on with my life. Too many people had already been hurt. I want to make records. I want to sing. I want to perform again ... It's my talent. My hard work. My life. My decision." He also wanted to avoid a "media circus".


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Lawsuit, Settlement
The settlement cannot be used as evidence of guilt in future civil and criminal cases. In 1994, Larry Feldman said "nobody bought anybody's silence" with the civil settlement. Bribery to not testify in a trial is a felony according to California Penal Code 138. Receiving such a bribe is also a felony according to this law.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Closure of investigation
District Attorney Gil Garcetti said that the settlement did not affect criminal prosecution and that the investigation was ongoing. Jordan Chandler was interviewed after the settlement by detectives seeking evidence of child molestation, but no criminal charges were filed. On May 2, 1994, the Santa Barbara County grand jury disbanded without indicting Jackson, while a Los Angeles County grand jury continued to investigate the sexual abuse allegations.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Closure of investigation
On April 11, 1994, the grand jury session in Santa Barbara was extended by 90 days, allowing DA Sneddon to gather more evidence. Prosecution sources said they were frustrated in their grand jury probe, failing to find direct evidence of the molestation charges. The final grand jury disbanded in July without returning an indictment against Jackson.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Closure of investigation
The Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994. Until that time, Jordan Chandler had indicated his possible willingness to testify according to prosecutors. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994. District attorney Sneddon and Lauren Weis, head of the county DA's Sex Crimes Unit, said that ending the investigation did not reflect any lack of faith in the alleged victims' credibility. The entire investigation involved two grand juries and more than 400 people interviewed over a period of 13 months.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Closure of investigation
DA Sneddon said several leads were explored which later turned out to be false. According to the grand juries, the evidence presented by the Santa Barbara police and the LAPD was not convincing enough to indict Jackson or subpoena him, even though grand juries can indict the accused purely on hearsay evidence. According to a 1994 report by Variety, a source in contact with the grand juries said that none of the witnesses had produced anything to directly implicate Jackson. According to a 1994 report by Showbiz Today, the grand jurors claimed that "no damaging evidence was heard" and they "did not hear any damaging testimony" during the hearings. The FBI files on Michael Jackson, released after his death, also noted that the prosecution had no outstanding leads.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
A week after the settlement in January 1994, L.A. District Attorney Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibited sexual assault victims from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings. The amendment, introduced into the state assembly in February, would have immediately allowed Garcetti to compel Jordan Chandler's testimony.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
On February 15, 1994, PBS Frontline aired the documentary Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Story about the tabloid sensationalism, more preoccupied with selling papers than reporting an accurate narrative of the scandal. The documentary reported Jackson's housekeepers Mark and Faye Quindoy selling stories about Jackson for money, and bargaining for more money regarding child abuse allegations. They were depicted as untrustworthy. Phillip and Stella LeMarque, another pair of former employees to Jackson, sold a child abuse story to tabloids through pornographic film actor Paul Barresi, who once successfully sold a story to the National Enquirer.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
At the opportunity of the scandal, Barresi made a taped recording of alleged evidence and told the Globe that he intended to turn it over to the district attorney. The Globe and Barresi agreed on $15,000 for his story. Splash News journalist Kevin Smith said, "A lot of people who claimed to have witnessed Jackson doing this, that or the other—they weren't going to the police first. Their main interest was money, and they would come to journalists who could give them money. So in those circumstances, journalists know more about what happened than the police do."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
Three years later, Victor M. Gutierrez self-published a book on the relationship between Jordan Chandler and Jackson. Gutierrez claimed that the book is based on a diary Jordan had kept at the time and included details of alleged sexual encounters with Jackson. According to German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, Gutierrez attended meetings of North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a group advocating the decriminalization of pedophilia and pederasty, as a reporter in the 1980s. He said the group thought of Jackson as "one of us" and they insisted that the relationship between Jordan and Jackson was romantic.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
In 1997, Jackson filed a civil suit against Gutierrez for slander after the writer claimed that he had a tape of Jackson molesting his nephew Jeremy, son of Jermaine Jackson. The jury ruled in Jackson's favor, awarding him $2.7 million. Gutierrez fled to Chile after the suit. Jackson's attorney Zia Modabber said, "Jurors told us that they not only wanted to compensate Mr. Jackson and punish Victor Gutierrez, but to send a message that they are tired of tabloids lying about celebrities for money."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
Jackson also filed a $100 million lawsuit against Diane Dimond after she appeared on KABC morning show Ken and Barkley to discuss Gutierrez's alleged tape. After the report was broadcast, Jackson announced he would sue members of the media who "spread vicious lies and rumors about me in their attempts to make money, benefit their careers, sell papers or get viewers to watch their programs." It was dismissed in 1997.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath
Jordan legally emancipated himself from his parents in 1994, at age 14. In 1996, Evan Chandler sued Jackson for around $60 million, claiming Jackson had breached an agreement never to discuss the case. In 1999, a court ruled in Jackson's favor and threw out the lawsuit. In 2006, Jordan accused his father of attacking him with a barbell, choking him and spraying his face with mace. The charges were dropped. On November 5, 2009, fourteen weeks after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler was found dead following an apparent suicide.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Effect on Jackson's career
Jackson's commercial standing and public image declined in the wake of the allegations. The government of Dubai forbade him from performing in response to an anonymous pamphlet campaign that attacked him as immoral. Jackson backed out of a deal to create a song and video to tie-in with the film Addams Family Values, returning an estimated $5 million, and a brand of fragrances was canceled because of Jackson's drug problems. On November 14, 1993, PepsiCo dropped their nine-year partnership with him, causing some fans to boycott the company. According to conflicting sources, Jackson agreed to compose music for the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but left the project and was uncredited, possibly due to the allegations.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Effect on Jackson's career
Jackson produced a special show for the premium cable network HBO, For One Night Only, to be recorded in front of a special invited audience at New York City's Beacon Theatre for broadcast in December 1995. The shows were canceled after Jackson collapsed at the theater on December 6 during rehearsals. Jackson was admitted overnight to Beth Israel Medical Center North. The shows were never rescheduled. The following year, Jackson began the HIStory World Tour. Despite the show's success, Jackson's only concerts in the USA were two shows at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jackson completed the video once planned for Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts, with a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Effect on Jackson's career
Jackson's album HIStory, released shortly after the allegations, "creates an atmosphere of paranoia," according to critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Its content focuses on the public struggles Jackson went through prior to its production. In the songs "Scream", "Tabloid Junkie", and "You Are Not Alone", Jackson expresses his anger and hurt at the media. In the ballad "Stranger in Moscow", he laments his "swift and sudden fall from grace". In "D.S. ", he attacks a character identified as Tom Sneddon, the District Attorney who requested his strip search. Jackson describes the person as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Sneddon said: "I have not, shall we say, done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Effect on Jackson's career
According to The Washington Post, the O.J. Simpson trial overshadowed Jackson's scandal. A source from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said the scandal took "a back seat" once the Simpson case emerged. Scriptwriter Alison Taylor said, "O.J. Simpson is the best thing that ever happened to Michael Jackson."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Further allegations
On December 18, 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to commit a child sexual abuse felony against Gavin Arvizo. Jackson denied the allegations. Sneddon again led the prosecution.


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Further allegations
The People v. Jackson trial began in Santa Maria, California, on January 31, 2005. The judge allowed testimony about past allegations, including the 1993 case, to establish whether the defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes. However, Jordan Chandler had left the country to avoid testifying. Mesereau later said: "The prosecutors tried to get [Chandler] to show up and he wouldn't. If he had, I had witnesses who were going to come in and say he told them it never happened and that he would never talk to his parents again for what they made him say."


1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson, Aftermath, Further allegations
June Chandler testified that she had not spoken to her son in 11 years. During her testimony, she claimed that she could not remember being counter-sued by Jackson and that she had never heard of her own attorney. She also said she never witnessed any molestation. Jackson was found not guilty of all 14 charges on June 13, 2005.


1993 congressional hearings on video games
On December 7, 1993, and March 5, 1994, members of the combined United States Senate Committees on Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary held congressional hearings with several spokespersons for companies in the video game industry including Nintendo and Sega, involving violence in video games and the perceived impacts on children. The hearing was a result of concerns raised by members of the public on the 1993 releases of Night Trap, Mortal Kombat and later Doom which was released after the first hearing. Besides general concerns related to violence in video games, the situation had been inflamed by a moral panic over gun violence, as well as the state of the industry and an intense rivalry between Sega and Nintendo.


1993 congressional hearings on video games
The hearings, led by Senators Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl, put the video game companies to task for the realistic depiction of violence in video games, and threatened that Congress would take action to regulate the industry if they did not take steps themselves. As a result, the American video game industry created the Interactive Digital Software Association (now known as the Entertainment Software Association) in July 1994 to serve as an advocacy group for the industry, and subsequently formed the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to provide content ratings on video games sold at retail in North America.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background
Since as early as the 1970s, video games have been criticized for having violent content that psychologically influence players. In 1982, the Surgeon General C. Everett Koop asserted that video games may be affecting the health and well-being of young people and were potentially addictive. However, until the 1990s, the perceived target market for video games was generally for children, and manufacturers of video games typically did not include high levels of graphic violence in their games. Most computer game software would be sold through toy stores like Toys 'R' Us or general retail outlets like Sears and Wal-Mart, rather than computer stores.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, State of the industry
By 1993, the video game industry had recovered from the 1983 crash, and was estimated to be worth US$6 billion. Video game consoles had reached the 16-bit era with the ability to support higher resolution graphics. Alongside this, video games had started to draw older players, creating a market for games with more mature content, both on home consoles and in arcades.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, State of the industry
During this period, two key players were Nintendo and Sega. Nintendo had been instrumental in helping to recover the North American market after the crash with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES); in 1990, Nintendo sales accounted for 90% of the US$3 billionUS market. Its successor system, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), was released in 1991. However, to avoid repeating one of the issues that caused the crash, Nintendo took care to limit and review what third-party games could be made for its platforms to avoid a glut of poor games.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, State of the industry
Sega, which had already released its Sega Genesis in the US in 1989, found their sales to be lagging behind Nintendo. In an aggressive campaign aimed at the United States market, Sega heavily pushed the game Sonic the Hedgehog, with its titular character aimed to become Sega's mascot and rival that of Nintendo's Mario. Sega was also less selective about which games it allowed on the platform, allowing many more third-party games onto the system to increase its library in contrast to Nintendo's. Further, Sega used marketing language purposely aimed at Nintendo, such as "Sega does what Nintendon't".


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, State of the industry
By 1992, Sega had obtained 65% of the US gaming market, overtaking Nintendo's dominant position. Subsequently, a strong rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was formed, referred as the "Console Wars", which continued through the next decade and into the fifth generation of consoles, after which Sega dropped out of the hardware market and became principally a game developer and publisher, and at times working collaboratively with Nintendo.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Existing content ratings system
Prior to 1994, the video game industry did not have a unified content rating system. Entering 1993, the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau had heard rumblings from politicians that the content of video games was under scrutiny, and sent word to its board members, Sega and Nintendo. Sega agreed that they should have a ratings system, and had developed its Videogame Rating Council in June 1993 in association independent educators, psychologists, child development experts and sociologists.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Existing content ratings system
The Videogames Rating Council had three principal ratings for games released on the Genesis platform: GA for General Audiences, MA-13 for games intended for those thirteen years and older, and MA-17 for those 17 years and older. Sega debuted their system in June 1993 just prior to the release of Mortal Kombat for the Genesis, knowing the ratings system would help mitigate concerns over the violent content in the game. Nintendo did not have a ratings system, but as it had control over the cartridge manufacturing process, it would only publish games they felt appropriate for a family console. Nintendo also refused to use Sega's ratings solution due to their continued corporate rivalry.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Existing content ratings system
A further difficulty for the industry was that there was no established trade group for the video game industry. While many of the game publishers belonged to the Software Publishers Association, this group represented more practical software interests, such as word processors and spreadsheets, and the Association did not hold the entertainment software membership in high regard.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
Fighting games had become a lucrative property after the release of Capcom's arcade Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991, which established many conventions of the genre. While Sega lured many of Nintendo's third-party developers to break their exclusivity agreements to publish games only for the Nintendo consoles, Capcom remained loyal to Nintendo, licensing only a few titles to Sega to publish, and only the SNES received the home console port of Street Fighter II in 1992, which was said to help keep the SNES sales ahead of the Genesis in the United States for that year.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
Numerous other fighting games followed to try to capture on Street Fighter II's success, but most notably was Midway's Mortal Kombat, first released as an arcade game in 1992. Mortal Kombat was highly controversial at its release: as a fighter game, the game has photo-realistic sprites of the game's characters, graphic spurting of blood on several hits, and a number of "fatalities" such as decapitation or impaling a body on spikes.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
Despite the game's advertising indicating the game was meant for mature audiences, the perception that video games were still aimed at children caused parents and other concerned groups to criticize the violence within the game. However, at this point, Mortal Kombat was only an arcade game, making it relatively easy to segregate it from other arcade games if necessary.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
Greg Fischbach, the co-founder and CEO of Acclaim Entertainment, the company that had secured the license for home console versions of the game, said that while the negative press attention helped to boost the game's popularity, "[w]e didn't want that press or publicity", and recognized that the industry might need to take steps to quell similar problems in the future.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
Because of its success in the arcade, Acclaim Entertainment started to bring Mortal Kombat to various home consoles. Both Sega and Nintendo both sought the game for their consoles, the Genesis and the SNES, respectively. Both companies recognized the issue with the level of gore in the game, but took very different approaches. Sega, staying with their attempt to capture as much of the market, went with trying to keep as much of the visual gore from the arcade game in place.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Mortal Kombat
While the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat as shipped eliminated the blood and fatalities, they could be activated via the use of a well-published cheat code. As the game, as shipped, did not include the blood and gore, Sega labelled it with their MA-13 VRC label. On the other hand, Nintendo wanted to keep games on their system appropriate for families and children, and required Acclaim to change the red blood to grey sweat, edit the fatalities, and change other parts of the game's artwork to remove elements like severed heads on spikes. Sega's version of Mortal Kombat outsold Nintendo's by a factor of five. This furthered the existing rivalry between the two companies.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Night Trap
Night Trap is a 1992 game developed by Digital Pictures and released on the Sega CD, a CD-ROM attachment for the Sega Genesis. Night Trap is presented as an interactive movie, using full-motion video to show scenes and allowing players to choose their next option, creating divergence in the story. The game's narration centered on the disappearance of teenage girls (starring Dana Plato) at a winery estate, tied in with the appearance of vampire-like beings that feed on young females. Subsequently, the video scenes often veered into some sexually-alluring context as well as violence with various encounters.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Night Trap
Night Trap drew criticism worldwide, but which helped to publicize it. Similar issues were brought up in the United Kingdom, with former Sega of Europe development director Mike Brogan noting that "Night Trap got Sega an awful lot of publicity... Questions were even raised in the UK Parliament about its suitability. This came at a time when Sega was capitalizing on its image as an edgy company with attitude, and this only served to reinforce that image." However, in retrospective, much of this criticism was deemed misguided.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Night Trap
Steven L. Kent writes that "Reading the transcripts of the 1993 hearings, it is hard to believe that anybody had ever actually played Night Trap. Few people bothered to acknowledge that the goal of Night Trap was not to kill women but to save them from vampires. Players did not even kill the vampires—they simply trapped them in Rube Goldberg–like booby traps. Nearly everyone who referred to Night Trap mentioned a scene in which a girl in a rather modest teddy is caught by the vampires and killed. The scene was meant to show players that they had lost and allowed too many vampires into the house." Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com noted that "its game objectives were mischaracterized either through ignorance or deliberate obfuscation, transforming it from bland and barely titillating FMV adventure to child-corrupting sexual boogeyman."


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Lethal Enforcers
Lethal Enforcers was a 1992 arcade game released in 1992 by Konami which used light guns; the player takes the role of a police officer to lethally take down criminals while avoiding killing civilians and fellow police officers or being shot by criminals. The game was rendered using photo-realistic imagery which drew some concern. It was ported to home consoles the next year (on Sega systems in late 1993, and on the SNES by early 1994). These games shipped with the Konami Justifier, a plastic light gun modeled after a revolver.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Moral panic around gun violence
In the months prior to the hearings, there had been a small moral panic in America on gun-related crimes, which fueled the concerns related to violent video games. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,  gun-related homicides had reached record highs in 1993 since the 1970s. Both Congress and the Justice Department were looking to reduce the amount of violence on television.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Congressional concern
The violence in video games became a concern after Mortal Kombat's home console release in September 1992. One of Senator Joe Lieberman's former chief of staff, Bill Andresen, had been asked by his son to purchase the Sega version of Mortal Kombat for him. Andresen was appalled by the amount of violence in the game, and approached Lieberman on the matter. Lieberman was also shocked by the content of the game and began gathering more information. Lieberman had stated he had heard about Night Trap, evaluated the game himself, and also recognized its content as problematic.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Congressional concern
By December 1, 1993, Lieberman held a press conference alongside other children's advocates including Bob Keeshan, the actor of "Captain Kangaroo". Lieberman stated his intention to open a congressional hearing the following week to address the issue of violent video games and the lack of content ratings, and his plans to introduce a ratings body through legislation to regulate the video game industry. During the conference, he showed footage from Mortal Kombat, Night Trap, and other games.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Congressional concern
Lieberman's research concluded that the average video game player at the time was between seven and twelve years old, and that video game publishers were marketing violence to children. Lieberman commented on the sales of Mortal Kombat to date, having sold 3 million copies by that point and was estimated to bring in over US$100 million by the end of the year, demonstrating the greed of the industry to use violence to cater to children. Of Night Trap, Lieberman said "I looked at that game, too, and there was a classic.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Background, Congressional concern
It ends with this attack scene on this woman in lingerie, in her bathroom. I know that the creator of the game said it was all meant to be a satire of Dracula; but nonetheless, I thought it sent out the wrong message." Lieberman stated "Few parents would buy these games for their kids if they knew what was in them" and "We're talking about video games that glorify violence and teach children to enjoy inflicting the most gruesome forms of cruelty imaginable." Lieberman subsequently stated that while he'd "like to ban all the violent video games", he knew this would conflict with the First Amendment, and instead wanted to seek a solution involving a content ratings system, which he felt would not impede First Amendment rights.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
The first hearing was held on December 9, 1993, in front of the combined Governmental Affairs and Judiciary Senate committees. At the time, Senate was on recess, so the only Senators present were Lieberman, Kohl and Byron Dorgan.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Hours before the hearing, representatives of the video game industry announced that they have agreed to endorse and develop an industry-standard video game content ratings system, as an attempt to defuse the bad publicity of the hearings. This announcement was referred to several times throughout the first hearing.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
The first half of the hearing was devoted to the experts on education and child psychology. These four discussed their concerns and findings on the impact of violence in video games on children. Chase stated "Electronic games, because they are active rather than passive, can do more than desensitize impressionable children to violence. They actually encourage violence as the resolution of first resort by rewarding participants for killing one's opponents in the most grisly ways imaginable."


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Provenzo iterated his findings in writing Video Kids, stated that recent games had become "overwhelmingly violent, sexist, and racist", and affirmed that he felt that with games like Night Trap, the industry was "endorsing violence" and further called for a ratings system. Droz stated that children "need action, but they do not need to find murder as a form of entertainment".


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
The second half of the hearing focused on the industry representatives. During the hearing, both Sega and Nintendo continued their ongoing rivalry, accusing the other of the reason behind the hearings. Nintendo's Lincoln had led off his part of the testimony by acknowledging Nintendo's action to remove some of the violence of Mortal Kombat, which observers found gave Lincoln more respect from Lieberman than Sega's White received. One of White's key points was the transformation of the video game industry from primarily having a younger audience to an adult, and that Night Trap was meant only for adults.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Lincoln retorted these claims, telling White, "I can't just sit here and allow you to be told that the video game industry has been transformed from children [as primary consumers] to adults." White referred to statistics collected from warranty cards on hardware and game sales that Sega kept and Nintendo would have also kept to justify the older demographics of current video games. Further, Lincoln asserted that Sega only developed its rating system after the release of Night Trap and only started to label its games after the game was criticized by consumers. White responded by showing a videotape of violent video games on the SNES and stressed the importance of rating video games, which at this point, Nintendo lacked.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Of Lethal Enforcers, Lieberman criticized the design of the Konami Enforcer to resemble a revolver; an infamous still of C-SPAN's coverage of the hearings was Lieberman holding up the Enforcer to talk about its realistic nature. Sega's White countered that Nintendo had a similar light gun product on the market, the Super Scope, that was shaped after a bazooka. Lieberman asserted that both the Enforcer and Super Scope looked too much like real weapons and should not be in the hands of children.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Lieberman was also critical of how the video game industry company approached advertising. During the hearing it showcased a Sega television advertisement where a school-aged child wins several video games over others, and then makes the other students obey his commands. Lieberman also expressed concern on Sega's Videogame Ratings Council, that while the ratings were reasonable, there was no standardization of how they were displayed, sometimes only printed on the game cartridge itself, and thus preventing parents from being able to review these before purchase.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, First hearing
Kohl warned the video game publishers that "If you don't do something about [content ratings], we will." speaking to the start of a bill Lieberman had been drafting that would have the government become involved in a ratings system. By the end of the hearing, Sega and Nintendo said they would commit themselves towards working with retail outlets including Sears and Toys 'R' Us to create a voluntary content ratings system to denote any violence or sexual content in their games, to be modeled after the film rating system created by the Motion Picture Association of America. At the conclusion of the first hearing, Lieberman decided they would have a second session in a few months to see on the progress of the industry on this effort.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Video Game Rating Act of 1994
Following the December 1993 hearing, Senator Lieberman, co-sponsored by Kohl and Dorgan, introduced the Video Games Rating Act of 1994 (S.1823) on February 3, 1994 to the Senate;the equivalent bill (H.R.3785) was introduced to the House of Representatives by Tom Lantos. The Act, if passed, would have established an Interactive Entertainment Rating Commission, a five-member panel appointed by the President. This commission would then have coordinated with the video game industry to develop a ratings system and method of disseminating information related to violence and sexually explicit content to potential buyers. Lieberman asserted that the bill had been presented as to coerce the video game industry to take voluntary action themselves to come up with a ratings system, but that he had no plans to follow through on the bill should the industry come to an agreement.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Interim events
As a result of the Congressional hearings, Night Trap started to generate more sales. According to Digital Pictures founder Tom Zito, "You know, I sold 50,000 units of Night Trap a week after those hearings." Two weeks before Christmas 1993, Night Trap was removed from store shelves in the US's two largest toy store chains, Toys "R" Us and Kay-Bee Toys, after receiving numerous complaints. Michael Goldstein, the vice president of Toys 'R' Us, stated in mid-December that this was "a decision we made several weeks ago with the concurrence of Sega, which agrees with our decision".


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Interim events
Sega withdrew Night Trap from all retail markets in January 1994, but not after selling over 250,000 copies. Bill White, Sega Vice President of Marketing, stated that Night Trap was pulled because the continued controversy surrounding it prevented constructive dialogue about an industry-wide rating system. Sega also stated at the time they would later release a censored version pending the establishment of an industry-wide ratings system.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Second hearing
The second hearing was held on March 5, 1994, which included as speakers:


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Second hearing
Heistand presented himself as part of the newly formed Interactive Entertainment Industry Rating Commission, the industry group working to establish the desired ratings systems. He reported to the joint committee that seven companies, including Electronic Arts, Sega, Nintendo, Atari, Acclaim, Philips and 3DO, representing about 60% of video game software in the United States, had committed to developing an industry software ratings board.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Second hearing
Heistand said they anticipated to have come to agreements on the ratings standards by June 1994, such that by November of that year (in time for the holiday shopping season), they will be able to rate all new games coming to the market going forward, an estimated 2,500 games per year. However, Heistand also reported that the industry said there would too much effort to review all previously released games. Heistand also cautioned that the system may not take off if they could not get other software developers outside the group to also sign on to support the ratings system.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Second hearing
Lieberman acknowledged the proposed system as a critical step towards helping parents make informed decisions, but cautioned that until the rating system was in place, they would not be removing the proposed bill from their agenda. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us, and Babbages agreed that they would only stock games that have received these ratings, though had not yet decided on how to handle selling games rating for adults to children. The Senators still expressed concern at the type of content the industry was willing to produce.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Hearings, Second hearing
Kohl stated "Let me give you my honest perspective on this issue: Violent video games that degrade women are harmful to our children and are garbage... But we live by and cherish a Constitution that prevents government from censoring material. So we will try to live with a rating system". Lieberman stated "'the video game industry had practiced self-restraint before now, we wouldn't be here today".


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Reactions
By April 1994, the coalition of companies represented by Heistand established the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), with Acclaim's Fischbach serving as its initial CEO. One of the first tasks taken by the IDSA was to establish the promised rating system. While Sega offered their existing VRC as a basis, Nintendo, among others, steadfastly refused as they did not want to have to deal with anything created by their main competitor. Instead, a vendor-independent solution was developed, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), with a new set of rating standards developed in conjunction with parents and educators. The ESRB ratings system was modeled after the Motion Picture Association of America, defining five age-related categories, but also adding a set of descriptive terms that would appear next to the rating to describe the specific content that would be found in the game.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Reactions
The ESRB was formally introduced to Congress in July 1994 to show that they had met Lieberman's goal, and the Board became officially active on September 13, 1994. Lieberman stated in a 2017 interview that the video game industry "actually came up with a rating system that I think at the time — I honestly haven't been back to this in a long time — was the best. Much better than the movies." The IDSA also served to become the industry trade association to help advocate for the industry to the government and other groups. Eventually, IDSA was renamed to the Entertainment Software Association and launched the industry's principal trade show, the Electronic Entertainment Expo.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Reactions
While The 3DO Company had stated they would help back an industry-wide solution to content ratings, they concurrently developed their own 3DO Rating System for games released on the 3DO platform. The 3DO system was voluntary and unlike the ESRB, allowed the publisher to select the rating. Publishers of 3DO games were split whether to use the ESRB or 3DO system. Ultimately, 3DO exited the hardware business around 1996, nullifying the need of the 3DO Rating System.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Reactions
Separately, the Software Publishers Association (now the Software and Information Industry Association), the Association of Shareware Professionals, and other groups that represented developers of video game software on personal computers felt that the proposed ESRB system, which was based principally on age ratings, was not sufficient and wanted to inform parents to the specific types of content that would be in their games. These groups developed the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) in 1994 which rated games in three areas: violence, sexual content, and language, with each being rated among five levels. The following year, the RSAC system was also developed for Internet cites under the "RSACi" system. By 1999, RSAC and RSACi were transitioned to the Internet Content Rating Association dedicated specifically for rating Internet content, while software developers adopted the ESRB system for their games.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
Senator Lieberman continued to monitor the video game industry following the hearings, a general part of his own position related to violent content from entertainment industries. In 1997, he stated that one of his intentions of the 1993 hearings was to have the industry regulate how much violence that the video game industry was putting into its games by having them implement the ratings system, but felt that "[t]he rating system has not stopped game producers from putting out some very violent games."


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
Mortal Kombat II was released to arcades in its final form by January 1994, and to home consoles later that year. Among other changes, the game added a variation on "Fatalities" called "Friendships", which would occur if the player performed a separate move mechanically similar to a fatality; in such a case, the winning fighter would do a non-hostile action, such as giving the defeated fighter a virtual present. According to John Tobias, co-creator of Mortal Kombat, these friendships were added due to response from the Congressional hearings.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
When the home console versions were released, after the establishment for the ESRB, Nintendo did not take issue with the amount of violence in the game, and allowed it to release without any changes on the SNES. The SNES version of Mortal Kombat II outsold the Sega Genesis version that year.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
id Software's Doom, a first-person shooter where the player fought hellish creatures and included graphic violence, was released on December 10, 1993, the day following the first hearing. Outside of the hearings, there was concern by parents and other organizations on the violence in this game as well. While Doom was not mentioned in either Senate hearing, it would come up again in 1999 following the Columbine High School massacre, where the perpetrators had described their planned attack as something straight out of Doom. As a result, Doom is frequently classified along with Mortal Kombat, Night Trap, and Lethal Enforcers as early examples of violent video games highlighted by the media.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
At the time of the hearings, video games were not established as a protected form of speech covered under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, though Lieberman and others had stated their concerns about First Amendment rights through censoring violent games and sought the ratings approach. Since the formation of the ESRB, attempts have been made by lawmakers at federal and state levels to restrict video game sales by their ESRB rating, principally in regards to their level of violence.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
In a landmark case in 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association that video games are an art form, protected by the First Amendment. The ruling found that while states can pass laws to block the sale of "obscene" video games to minors, violence would not fall within the Miller test of what is considered obscene.


1993 congressional hearings on video games, Legacy
One of Howard Lincoln's statements during the first hearing was "Let me say for the record, I want to state that Night Trap will never appear on a Nintendo System." The statement was jokingly referred to in 2018 when a remake of Night Trap for its 25th anniversary was announced for release on the Nintendo Switch among other systems.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq
The cruise missiles strike on Iraq in June 1993 were ordered by U.S. President Bill Clinton as both a retaliation and a warning triggered by the attempted assassination by alleged Iraqi agents on former U.S. President George H. W. Bush while on a visit to Kuwait from 14–16 April 1993.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq
On June 27, 1993, 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched by two US Navy warships into downtown Baghdad. These hit a building which was believed to be the headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence Service in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Iraq claimed that nine civilians were killed in the attack and three civilian houses destroyed.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, George HW Bush assassination plot
On the night of 13 April 1993, a day before George H. W. Bush was scheduled to visit Kuwait City to commemorate the international coalition victory against Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, Kuwaiti authorities arrested 17 persons suspected in the plot to kill Bush using explosives hidden in a Toyota Landcruiser.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, George HW Bush assassination plot
The Kuwaitis recovered the Landcruiser, which contained between 80 and 90 kilograms of plastic explosives, composed mostly of RDX, connected to a detonator (called the "Bush device" in an FBI laboratory report). They also recovered ten cube-shaped plastic explosive devices with detonators (called "cube bombs" in an FBI laboratory report) from the Landcruiser.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, George HW Bush assassination plot, Responsible party
Clinton was convinced the attack was masterminded by the Iraqi Intelligence Service by two alleged pieces of evidence. First, the suspects in the plot made detailed confessions to FBI agents in Kuwait. However, the defendants retracted the confessions and said they had been beaten into a fabricated confession.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, George HW Bush assassination plot, Responsible party
Second, FBI and CIA bomb experts claimed the captured car bombs to be made in Iraq, including a 175-pound car bomb found in Kuwait City on 14 April. However, these explosives were mass produced throughout the Middle East and not only Iraq.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, George HW Bush assassination plot, Responsible party
In October 1993, New Yorker investigative journalist Seymour Hersh assailed the US government’s case as "seriously flawed", noting that seven bomb experts had told him that the devices were mass-produced and probably not manufactured in Iraq. Ultimately, an analysis by the CIA's Counterterrorism Mission Center concluded the assassination plot was most likely fabricated by Kuwaiti authorities. CIA analysts concluded that the Kuwaiti government "may have then decided to claim this (smuggling) operation was directed against Bush" in explaining the origins of the alleged assassination plot.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, Cruise missile attack on Baghdad
Between 1AM and 2AM local time on 26 June/June 27, 1993, 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched by two US Navy warships into downtown Baghdad. These hit a building which was believed to be the headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence Service in the Mansour district of Baghdad. Iraq claimed that nine civilians were killed in the attack and three civilian houses destroyed. The missiles were fired from the destroyer USS Peterson in the Red Sea and the cruiser USS Chancellorsville in the Persian Gulf.


1993 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, Cruise missile attack on Baghdad
Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin, stated in a June 27, 1993, interview with The Washington Post:


1993 du Maurier Classic
The 1993 du Maurier Classic was contested from August 26–29 at London Hunt Club. It was the 21st edition of the du Maurier Classic, and the 15th edition as a major championship on the LPGA Tour.


1993 du Maurier Classic
This event was won by Brandie Burton in a sudden-death playoff with Betsy King with a birdie on the first extra playoff hole.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi
Mass killings of Tutsis were conducted by the majority-Hutu populace in Burundi from 21 October to December 1993, under an eruption of ethnic animosity and riots following the assassination of Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye in an attempted coup d'état. The massacres took place in all provinces apart from Makamba and Bururi, and were primarily undertaken by Hutu peasants. At many points throughout, Tutsis took vengeance and initiated massacres in response.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi
The United Nations Population Fund and the Government of Burund conducted study which in 2002 which concluded that a total of 116,059 died during the events. The question of whether the killings of Tutsis arose from a planned genocide or from spontaneous violence remains heavily disputed among academics and Burundians who lived through the events.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi, Background
The demographics of Burundi through the 1960s and 1970s were roughly 86 percent Hutu, 13 percent Tutsi, and 1 percent Twa. For most of this period, the Tutsi maintained a near monopoly on senior government and military positions. Burundi gained its independence from Belgium in 1962, and in May 1965 the first post-independence elections were held. The Hutu candidates scored a landslide victory, capturing 23 seats out of a total 33. But, instead of appointing a Hutu prime minister, the king Mwambutsa IV appointed a Tutsi prince, Léopold Biha, as Prime Minister. On October 18, 1965, Hutus, angry with the king's decision, attempted a coup. The king fled the country, but the coup ultimately failed.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi, Background
In 1972 another Hutu coup attempt was crushed by the Tutsi-dominated government and armed forces, resulting in a genocide in which between 100,000 and 150,000, mostly Hutus, were killed.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi, Prelude, Ethnic polarization escalates in Burundi during the 1990s
In June 1993 in Burundi, the Hutu Party, Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi, FRODEBU, and its presidential candidate, Melchior Ndadaye, won the election and formed a government.


1993 ethnic violence in Burundi, Massacres
Tensions finally reaching the boiling point on 21 October 1993 when President Ndadaye was assassinated during a coup attempt, and the country descended into a period of civil strife. The Rwanda-based Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) reported that a coup had taken place and that Ndadaye had been captured on 21 October. This led young FRODEBU members to arm themselves and take Tutsis and Hutu UPRONA members hostage. Once RTLM announced later that day that Ndadaye was dead, the hostages were executed.