The Kelly File: Duggar Interview 2015.06.03

[NJRach]

But Joshie was a child. C'mon people. He is excused! What BS. So, in the Duggar World, at age 15 you are still a child and not accountable for any actions.

 

So how is it ok to be married at age 17, in Michelle's case, or age 20 as for Josh and Jessa? I guess they rocket right from childhood, past puberty and into adulthood in a few short years.

 

What a crock. As was the entire interview.

 

My favorite statement was that the girls have been victimized MORE by the bad publicity than by Joshie. That made me want to put my fist through the TV> 

[natyxg]

Here are my notes:

Begins with MK suggesting that police report was obtained illegally. Interview begins with an immediate reminder that Josh confessed on his own in each case. The girls had no memory of the first two instances as they were sleeping. The first instances occurred right after Josh turned 14. He was “curious” about girls and touched them “over their clothes” they were sleeping. They talked to the two girls immediately, but neither girl remembered those instances. They decided to handle these first two cases “in house” by punishing Josh and watching him all the time. They did the “best they could under the circumstances. “ Then there were two more instances where Josh “touched their breasts over their clothes.” It wasn’t rape; it was fondling. They then discuss how they worked to protect their daughters while still working to save Josh. When the youngest daughter was touched, Josh was removed from the home that same day. Again, Josh confessed. Here, Michelle begins to cry and says that they tried so hard to raise them to know the difference between right and wrong. They talked with other families who had similar problems and learned from their stories that things could have been much worse. Josh had “fondled” the girls while they were sleep.

After Josh went to Little Rock for “Christian counseling,” they decided to take the next “important step” in his recovery, which was to go to the law. They went directly to the closest police station with no plans to report Josh to any particular officer. One that they happened to know was on duty and Josh confessed everything to that officer. They brought along a family friend as a witness. Duggars believe this officer lied when he said Josh only confessed to one incident. They say Josh confessed to all and that this officer is worried because he broke the law by not beginning an official investigation as a mandatory reporter.

Jim Bob claims that Josh and all the children went to “accredited professional counseling” and Josh paid for his own counseling. They also put many, many safeguards in place to separate the boys and girls and set strict boundaries (no girls on boys laps, no boy babysitters, etc). They did not feel Josh was a threat at that point. Josh had been born a “new creature” through God.

MK suggests again and again that report was obtained illegally and that juvenile records were sealed. At this point the interview turns to how the report should never have been released and that the police chief may have had a personal vendetta against Josh, that she refused to shake his hand once, that she mentioned having a few things to take care of before she retired. Michelle cries that her daughters have been re-victimized by the tabloids.

Why haven’t they been honest this whole time about this “secret.” They claim that they don’t go around telling strangers all about their private lives. They claim that they received a “clean bill of health” from family services and that they were assured that the record was sealed and that the girls’ trust in law enforcement has been shattered.

They claim that they did not live in fear that they would be found out because the records were sealed. Now that it has been they have prayed that people will see that if God can forgive Josh, God forgives everyone.

They are talking with lawyers about suing the city over the release of the report. They don’t know if the show will continue but they asked “why should the entire family be punished for the mistakes of the one?” They repeat again that the girls didn’t even know they had been victimized really until the report was released to the backpack. They say that they are fine either way and that they will continue their ministry and continue to love each other. The family is trying to “regroup” after this “unprecedented” attack against them.

 

Thanks for the summary. I will try to catch it later, but I am surprised they admitted to all those things. I guess I expected way more vagueness.

[Vermicious Knid]

More on Laurence O'Donnell; had on a reporter from the Daily Beast and a clinical psychologist who works with abuse survivors. The psychologist made the point the girls weren't safe in the home, the parents only knew what they were told. She totally hammered them on being arrogant and minimizing the whole thing, along with framing themselves as victims. She described them as an incestuous family and said this behavior is classic.  Lawrence was outraged over their outrage about juvenile records being released. He played Michelle's robocall and Megyn asking about it, then had a gay father respond. He failed them as parents and said there was no humanity to her. If anyone wants to catch the rerun it will be at 10:44 PST, 1:44 EST.

[Spencer Hastings]

I guess the two married girls have already been married off, so there's no reason to maintain any more purity, so they get to speak. (Besides I can't imagine Jana wanting to, Jinger would just stare at Jessa, and Joy was very young when it all happened).

Jesse and Jill's headships probably approved the interview. Jana wouldn't touch that interview chair if you paid her a million dollars. Jinger would just break my heart. I would under no circumstances want Joy to speak out. She's just too young for all of this. So young.

[mynextmistake]

As suspected, Jim Bob and Michelle downplayed everything. "Josh did this a couple of times for a few seconds and it was over clothes. Then a year or so later under clothing."  They continually attempted to minimize the effect it had on the girls. "Some of them didn't even know what happened."

 

CNN, Don Lemon followed up with a panel of people, there was a therapist on the panel. One said "Josh Duggar is an adult, why isn't he doing this interview, not his parents?!"  The therapist had misgivings about Jill and Jessa doing their own interview since the clips of the interview showed that Jill was clearly distressed and crying. Jessa wasn't crying but she spoke with a shaking voice. The expert said that putting them out on display right now could re-traumatize them and cause even deeper damage. The expert on child molestation also said that even young boys that commit this type of crime is very often removed from the home and placed in a facility where they are staffed by licensed professionals skilled in treating children that show pedophile traits. And, that child is usually held there for up to a year and a half.

I have so much compassion for Jill and Jessa. Their beliefs are not my beliefs, and their reactions to this would not be my reactions, but first and foremost they are survivors of childhood abuse. I hope they are both getting appropriate support and assistance right now.

[auntieminem]

I hope to not get blasted but I think Joe Q Christian public will be ok with this interview and their reasoning.  I am not anti Christian and am a single, liberal woman.  I did read all the police reports and in fact the sleeping victims did say they didn't know except the sitter on the couch woke up thinking he was taking her covers as did one of the sleeping victims.  The under the clothes was when when the very young victim was on his lap and another in the laundry room.  One of the sisters told on him for the book reading incident.  So yes he did confess to all the others (that we know of) and was told on for the one.  

 

I also agree it is awful that In Touch published the report and the victims/survivors had no control.  The preview with Jill broke my heart.  I am so sorry for her and the other victims/survivors.  I also would never criticize any of the family for hunkering down and defending one another from what the feel are attacks.  My family would do the same and actually I can imagine many families would also try to fix their issues themselves rather than getting outsiders involved. However they really flubbed it up.  Again not defending their actions but I don't think they ever said they took Josh to a friend who was a State police, that was all supposition that they were friends.  It is a small town where everyone knows everyone.  

 

I fault them they tried to deal with it themselves and failed and that they first turned to their (my opinion awful church) and did not immediately go to law and real professional help.  They say they got real help, which I think was a requirement after the police report who got CPS involved.  

 

I hate the whole Gothard thing and hope that the family will find its way out  but going after them will only make them double down.  This is a teaching moment, hope someone benefits.  

[RazzleberryPie]

I also thought it was really strange that they insisted this happens in a lot of families. No, it doesn't, and even if it did, that doesn't make it better.

[asuwur]

Well, when asked about suing, what he DID say was, "We are talking to lawyers...." and then appeared to back pedal and say that they want to advocate to keep minor records sealed....

 

In the end I'm willing to bet they won't sue to prevent further scrutiny of their parenting.

Edited June 4, 2015 by asuwur

[Ilovemylabs]

Yes. Since the female judge has short hair and a career, it's clear to Michelle that she's a lesbian who is part of the "gay agenda".

She wasn't a female judge.  She was the police chief.  Releasing the report was illegal. The law is crystal clear in Arkansas.  Sealed juvenile records are exempt from the FOIA without an order from a judge.  She did not have that.    It is claimed she consulted an attorney before she released it.  In that case the attorney should be disbarred.  As a parent of a child who had a juvenile record, I am appalled at what happened.  My child is not the same person he was then.  I thought Megyn's statistics about recidivism were interesting.  And I will state again that I believe those victims had come to terms with what happened and are being victimized yet again.  I share the opinion that most parents would have tried to handle such a situation by themselves.  Not unusual at all. 

[SoSueMe]

I had to turn it off twice, so yeah, I went back for more at one point.  Wasn't that surreal?  

 

Did y'all notice that when they talked about the wicked media jumping on this story they started with Chris Hayes from MSNBC?  They didn't show ET or Access Hollywood or the other gossip shows.  It was the LIBERAL MEDIA persecuting them!

 

I just can't get over how it is not possible for them to feel any empathy for the victims of their extreme agenda.  The liberals and the homosexuals are out to get them!  And they are so righteous!

 

And did Michelle grow about six extra inches of hair recently?  She had more hair than Jill, Jessa, and Jana combined!

Cool how Megyn was covered up to her chin and speaking of hair, did she wear extensions for JB's benefit?

[SometimesBites]

1. Michelle wants to focus on the police report being leaked or illegally obtained. All right, then. FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, let's just say she's right--that police report that describes her teenaged son sexually fondling her little girls was wrongly obtained.

 

AND...? Now lets talk about what happened and how it was handled. Because the following is not a syllogism:

Premise A: Josh molested his little sisters and a police report was (eventually) made.

Premise B: The police report was later obtained illegally.

Therefore: Public outcry about Josh's behavior is irrelevant at best, a vicious "attack" at worst.

 

Nope. Doesn't compute.

 

2. So they want to hammer on Josh's age at the time, and that he cried about it? Okay, I'll give you that one, too. He was (in the real world) a high school freshman, and he cried. Buckets. He was SO sorry!

Now. If a 14/15 year-old complete stranger had sexually touched their little girls 12 years ago (REPEATEDLY!) would they be defending that kid now? You know...if he CRIED enough? Yeah...I thought not. I'm thinking in those circumstances Jim Bob would have introduced a bill legalizing public stoning for the perpetrator.

 

3. They didn't feel they needed to make their private family business a public matter, eh? Oh, of course not! Butting into the private affairs of other people is THEIR prerogative. They can completely politicize the private home lives of perfect strangers and map their own beliefs onto others, because GOD.

 

4. At the end of every single excuse they make about what happened, someone should stand next to them and say, "and then you decided to do a reality TV show."

Edited June 4, 2015 by SometimesBites

[farmgal4]

It's fair enough that they can't win. They shouldn't have done an interview at all but they're desperate to save the gravy train of the show and were willing to take the risk. 

 

I think their gamble failed.

TLC execs will be up late tonight checking out the viewer response to the interview. I predict that there will be an announcement by TLC by Friday, if not before. Well, maybe not; they may wait until Friday's interview to decide whether they'll do a spinoff show with the married daughters.

[Cherrio]

How many times did they repeat that the girls were asleep or that hero Josh came and told them? LIARS.

First 5 seconds into it, that is what I said LIARS !     The report clearly states the parents found out because one of the daughters came to them upset and crying.

Meghan I guess she just darn furgot about that, I reckon. 

[pennben]

 

I had blocked Fox news with parental controls for when my father came into town because he doesn't just watch it, he obsesses over it and I refused to let him do that in my house last time he came to visit.

 

I just laughed out loud for a long while at this!  I never was clever enough to use parental controls on my parents (cough:  Hallmark Channel :  cough)

[cheatincheetos]

Do you have a Twitter link?  I don't use Twitter.

you can try a search like:   www.google.com/#q=%23DuggarInterview+twitter

and still see a good selection of quotes if you don't feel like making a twitter account at the moment.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

Cool how Megyn was covered up to her chin and speaking of hair, did she wear extensions for JB's benefit?

 

Funny enough, I noticed when she walked in the door that she was wearing very tight pants! The top was modest but the bottoms were flashy.

 

I'm not sure whether she has extensions, but I watched her show the other night and thought her hair looked good from the front, but mullet-ish in the back. Not sure what to make of that! Love how she keeps us guessing with that whole ensemble, though.

[natyxg]

She wasn't a female judge.  She was the police chief.  Releasing the report was illegal. The law is crystal clear in Arkansas.  Sealed juvenile records are exempt from the FOIA without an order from a judge.  She did not have that.    It is claimed she consulted an attorney before she released it.  In that case the attorney should be disbarred.  As a parent of a child who had a juvenile record, I am appalled at what happened.  My child is not the same person he was then.  I thought Megyn's statistics about recidivism were interesting.  And I will state again that I believe those victims had come to terms with what happened and are being victimized yet again.  I share the opinion that most parents would have tried to handle such a situation by themselves.  Not unusual at all. 

 

Are police reports juvenile records? There was no arrest made or anything. (Honest question, I do not know about these things).

[Sew Sumi]

Having just seen a picture of toddler Jordyn sitting on the lap of Joe Maxwell, who would have been about 19 at the time, I'd say that the Duggars aren't watching out for their girls like they claim to be. 

 

I'm still ragey; it may take me a day to get my thoughts together to post, aside from the fact that there were multiple logical fallacies. You could have pretty much put the list on a dartboard, blindfolded yourself, thrown the dart, and landed on one that was abused by either Megyn or the Duggars. 

 

Michelle needs to stop it with the crocodile tears. That was pathetic. 

 

Liberal "agenda" in the form of nebulous "people" blamed? Check. False outrage as they continue to protect the Golden Son? Check. 

 

I'll go back and read everyone else'e thoughts, rewatch while not liveblogging, and come back with some cogent thoughts not formed in a haze or rage. 

[randomania]

"Sure, we knew, but his sisters said they were cool with him when we told them to, so everything's hunky-dory. We totally got help for the boy – he's the important one here, after all. We even made him pay for it out of his own allowance so he knew we were serious about it. So shut up, leftist conspiracy!"

 

But my favorite – and by "favorite" I mean "someone get me a tall glass of vodka and hold me – was the insistence that Josh wasn't technically a pedophile, and that the parents didn't technically have to report it. Are these people outsourcing their answers to the seedier corners of Reddit?

 

On second thought, make it a whole bottle of vodka. And a vacation. Like, to Mars.

[natyxg]

I just started watching and my first thought is that at least JB looks like an actual person to me for the first time ever. Michelle continues to be a creepy robot.

[mywinston]

An hour of straight lies and bullshit. We all read the police report, you douchebags, we know nothing you're saying is anything resembling the truth. How many times did we hear "it was OVER the clothes!" "They were asleep, they didn't even know it happened!" "It was twelve years ago!" Oh, does that make it okay? Shut the fuck up. "Josh came to US." Oh, what a hero. Also, what a humongous lie. Everything was spin.

 

The whole tone of the interview was basically "Poor Josh, and by extension, us." When the interviewer finally attempted to ask a real question and inquire about the girls, these two dumbasses just turned it right back around to Josh! To see him flapping his ignorant mouth about abortion and homosexuality when we know what he did made my skin crawl. But hey, God forgave him, right?

 

Them trying to explain away Josh's systematic molesting of all his sisters down to the youngest as curiosity sickened me. A 15 year old does not fondle and violate a 5 year old because of curiosity. And who didn't just love Jim Bob's explaining to us the literal definition of pedophile so we could know that Josh definitely isn't one. Those few months before his sixteenth birthday really changes things, huh, you moron?

 

I hate these people. I hope this show is yanked so fast their heads spin.

[springtime]

you can try a search like:   www.google.com/#q=%23DuggarInterview+twitter

and still see a good selection of quotes if you don't feel like making a twitter account at the moment.

You don't need to have a twitter account to read tweets about the interview:

 

https://twitter.com/hashtag/DuggarInterview?src=tren

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

Cool how Megyn was covered up to her chin and speaking of hair, did she wear extensions for JB's benefit?

I'm going to jump into the shallow end of the pool for a minute....

When they showed the back of Megyn Kelly's head, all I could think was that those were some ratty-looking extensions (a la Britney Spears).

And why is the hair that frames Michelle's face so much darker than the rest of her hair? Is it supposed to be ombré but it just came out a mess? I'm so confused.

[asuwur]

Am I the only one who thought that JB got sort of aggressively snotty with Megyn in getting into the whole "adult" vs. "child" thing at the end of the interview.

[Sew Sumi]

Michelle mentioned that the family received services from the Childrens Safety Center. Licensed clinical providers. At least they did one thing right.

http://www.childrenssafetycenter.org

To paraphrase JB: Oh, he wasn't a pedophile. He needed to be 16 for that. He was just a child preying on other children.

Seriously?!!!

How do we really know the kids were seen there? THOSE records would be confidential. They were fed a LOT of detailed information ie. "mandated reporters?" How did they know what one was since they don't live in the world? I think someone has been coaching them for this over the past few days. 

[Cherrio]

If everything was fine and dandy like JB said, then why did Josh sue ?

     I happen to agree with several experts that spoke out tonight that there is a lot more to this story.

 Lisa Bloom spoke tonight and last night and she was the most concise and honest. 

[drafan]

That was so super-infuriating. When JB kept saying the girls were asleep and never knew about it until someone else told them, my first thought was, "OMG, he also drugged them!"

 

JB made it sound like it was  "Touch and Confess" within a matter of seconds...like Josh  touched , then ran to them, crying of course, and told them what he had just done three seconds earlier. Well, OK....

 

JB's hand motion about touching a breast over the couch was beyond creepy.

 

The Jessa/Jill thing coming up looks even worse...I got the feeling that the tears (Jill) and bitch-face (Jessa) are for the finding out and not about the abuse. Remember, they aren't victims of Josh, just the evil outing. They want their spin-off show, dammit.

 

They all need to go away ASAP. Every one of them.

[asuwur]

I'm going to jump into the shallow end of the pool for a minute....

When they showed the back of Megyn Kelly's head, all I could think was that those were some ratty-looking extensions (a la Britney Spears).

And why is the hair that frames Michelle's face so much darker than the rest of her hair? Is it supposed to be ombré but it just came out a mess? I'm so confused.

I'm reasonably sure that if you asked Michelle about "ombre", she'd respond that she doesn't eat a lot of Mexican food.....

[NEGirl]

I was so angry over this interview. Poor Joshie, he was just 14, only a child, a young boy. Rarely discussing the victims and their feelings. They down played and minimized  everything. I did not even hear them discuss the touching under the clothes it was so brief. Why did Megyn not question them on the difference between their statements and the actual police reports when they were interviewed. She let them slide on all of that. This is why pre-approved question interviews are complete bs and a shame.  The are such sick people. They are more angery over the police report being released than what happened to the girls. Now they will speak out on Juvenile rights. Are they kiddding - would they have done that three weeks ago. Now they want to sue and get a ton of money.

My heart broke when I saw poor Jill crying. It is not surprising they chose the two married girils to speak. CNN just did a review of the interview which was interesting. Basically it said JB and Michelle failed, Josh should be investigated and the family at home should also be investigated.

 

*On a side note - when was the last time anyone ever saw flowers in that house? The camera made sure to pick that up a few times.

Edited June 4, 2015 by NEGirl

[ms.o]

Are police reports juvenile records? There was no arrest made or anything. (Honest question, I do not know about these things).

I am a juvenile officer, but not in Arkansas. No, police reports are not juvenile records UNLESS the reports were forward to JO for investigation. In this case, the local police and not a JO did the investigation. A juvenile court would have to authorize release of their records and that is NOT easy to do.

But again, this was the police department and not the courts decision. While I don't necessarily agree with it because of the victims I do think the report was legally obtained.

Edited June 4, 2015 by ms.o

[JoanArc]

I'm still white-hot with rage. What a desperate attempt to save the show. I'm glad it's backfiring. This is the Hindenberg colliding with the Titanic. No coming back, no spinoff lasting more than one episode. Nothing. Nada. No More Money.

 

I'm CERTAIN Jim Bob and Michelle were medicated. I work with medicated people every day. Michelle likely has a tolerance. Jim Bob doesn't.

 

Nothing much to add, other than I hope Michelle, Jim Bob, and Josh pay for this for the rest of their lives.

 

Jill looked very, very upset. Even Jessa was fronting. They've had two weeks to learn their lines, they needed three.

[Lemons]

 As a parent of a child who had a juvenile record, I am appalled at what happened.  My child is not the same person he was then.

 

A lot of adults have juvenile records for silly teen things like shoplifting, underage drinking, fighting, parties, etc.  Josh didn't have a juvenile record.  He got away with not having a juvenile record because the police officer or detective who was informed of the molestation trivialized it and didn't charge Josh with anything.

[natyxg]

How do we really know the kids were seen there? THOSE records would be confidential. They were fed a LOT of detailed information ie. "mandated reporters?" How did they know what one was since they don't live in the world? I think someone has been coaching them for this over the past few days. 

 

There was a post that was rescued from 2007 made on some blog by a woman who claimed to know the Duggars. It pretty much said aaaalll of this that has come to light. One of the things she said was that the court mandated therapy for Josh and the girls, IIRC. But of course, there is no way to know if they went.

 

I used to think that the Duggars were very media savvyy because they were so good at creating their image. I take it back. It must have been some team doing it for them. I'm watching the interview and apparently they don't realize that the public isn't gonna be cool with all those things JB is detailing. It's one thing to read vague news of molestation on website that may or may not be accurate, and another to see them on camera and admitting there were a bunch of incidents, some under the clothes, that it was with Josh's sisters, etc etc. I imagine in their minds people wouldn't be too scandalized by that and would understand that Josh was young, etc etc.

 

They gave JB enough rope and he hang himself, I think.

[formerlyfreedom]

How do we really know the kids were seen there? THOSE records would be confidential. They were fed a LOT of detailed information ie. "mandated reporters?" How did they know what one was since they don't live in the world? I think someone has been coaching them for this over the past few days. 

 

My thoughts exactly, . As a mandated reporter through my job, I immediately zoned in on that statement.

[Tabbygirl521]

So many things to rail about but I will just say: JimBob says that after the 4th or 5th time (I think), they started talking to other families. And SO MANY had these same problems or WORSE, so Joshie is not so bad, I guess. I assume these are all Fundie families. Odd; I think I could poll a zillion of my heathen or mildly religious friends and find that none of them had molesting sons. I could be wrong...

[mynextmistake]

She wasn't a female judge.  She was the police chief.  Releasing the report was illegal. The law is crystal clear in Arkansas.  Sealed juvenile records are exempt from the FOIA without an order from a judge.  She did not have that.    It is claimed she consulted an attorney before she released it.  In that case the attorney should be disbarred.  As a parent of a child who had a juvenile record, I am appalled at what happened.  My child is not the same person he was then.  I thought Megyn's statistics about recidivism were interesting.  And I will state again that I believe those victims had come to terms with what happened and are being victimized yet again.  I share the opinion that most parents would have tried to handle such a situation by themselves.  Not unusual at all.

No, it's a lot more complicated than that. "Sealed juvenile record" usually refers to a formal court record, which in this case was not what was disclosed. Generally, in Arkansas, police records are exempt from FOIA disclosure ONLY if they are investigative in nature and relate to an ongoing investigation. At the time of disclosure of this report, this was not an ongoing investigation. There is also a provision in Arkansas law specifically exempting police reports regarding juvenile offenses from FOIA disclosure, but that exemption only applies to reports related to arrest or detention. IIRC, Josh was never arrested or detained.

I'm not saying it was or wasn't improper to release this particular report. I'd have to do quite a bit more research to form that opinion. But it certainly isn't "crystal clear" that anyone broke the law or should be disbarred here.

This is an interesting source regarding FOIA and police reports if anyone is interested: http://www.rcfp.org/rcfp/orders/docs/POLICE.pdf

[NJRach]

I can't imagine being one of the daughters and hearing my parents defending my pervert brother as they did. It totally invalidates their feelings and anger. And then to hear your father repeatedly say everything is now hunky dory and we've moved past that. The girls rightful rage has probably been long displaced by hopelessness. Jana's perpetual sad face and lack of emotion now makes total sense.

Edited June 4, 2015 by NJRach

[Cherrio]

How do we really know the kids were seen there? THOSE records would be confidential. They were fed a LOT of detailed information ie. "mandated reporters?" How did they know what one was since they don't live in the world? I think someone has been coaching them for this over the past few days. 

I agree, they were robotic answers they practiced for days.  Jb even answered at least twice with an answer he already used that had nothing to do with what he was asked.

         Really, the only question that should be asked every single day by all of us is where was Josh?    He is almost thirty years old.

[maggiemae]

Why on earth didn't Kelly bring up defrauding and Nike and placing full responsibility on girls for boys behavior and - molestation!

[Cherrio]

I'm still white-hot with rage. What a desperate attempt to save the show. I'm glad it's backfiring. This is the Hindenberg colliding with the Titanic. No coming back, no spinoff lasting more than one episode. Nothing. Nada. No More Money.

 

I'm CERTAIN Jim Bob and Michelle were medicated. I work with medicated people every day. Michelle likely has a tolerance. Jim Bob doesn't.

 

Nothing much to add, other than I hope Michelle, Jim Bob, and Josh pay for this for the rest of their lives.

 

Jill looked very, very upset. Even Jessa was fronting. They've had two weeks to learn their lines, they needed three.

I was thinking the same thing, JB also looked medicated.

[Seashell Lover]

I must be in the minority then when it happened to my son his stepbrother did it to him as soon as I found out I called the police and reported it.

[Cherrio]

The most emotion they showed was anger over the reports being released and how they feel there is a vendetta or people are after them.

 Many posters here predicted that.

 JB was so nonchalant every time he talked about his daughters.   They were clearly secondary and not at all important.

 

Which again many posters have pointed out that their beliefs teach them to blame girls/women.

[brandyelf]

There's a difference between a court record and a police report.

[Wellfleet]

More on Laurence O'Donnell; had on a reporter from the Daily Beast and a clinical psychologist who works with abuse survivors. The psychologist made the point the girls weren't safe in the home, the parents only knew what they were told. She totally hammered them on being arrogant and minimizing the whole thing, along with framing themselves as victims. She described them as an incestuous family and said this behavior is classic.  Lawrence was outraged over their outrage about juvenile records being released. He played Michelle's robocall and Megyn asking about it, then had a gay father respond. He failed them as parents and said there was no humanity to her. If anyone wants to catch the rerun it will be at 10:44 PST, 1:44 EST.

 

Lawrence is awesome - thanks for the info.

[graefin]

I think it's clear they didn't manage to find a crisis management PR firm to work with them.

Also telling that you can see flashes of anger and bitterness particularly in JimBob. These are not nice people.

[mangosplums]

The therapist had misgivings about Jill and Jessa doing their own interview since the clips of the interview showed that Jill was clearly distressed and crying. Jessa wasn't crying but she spoke with a shaking voice. The expert said that putting them out on display right now could re-traumatize them and cause even deeper damage.

 

That is really upsetting. I didn't see the preview, but to hear how they are behaving is worrisome. I was really hoping that it was thier own idea to do this interview and that they had insisted on it,  so they coud set the recond straight in thier own words, but the fact that they are so upset and uncomfortable talking about it on camera (rightfully so) leads me to believe they were told by JB and Michelle to do this interview, which is just awful, and definitely retraumatizing. I feel for them.

[NJRach]

It was interesting that they didn't want Josh to go to a facility that deals with child molesters because he didn't need to be with "those types," or whatever phrase they used. He is indeed their prince and golden child. 

[natyxg]

I think it's clear they didn't manage to find a crisis management PR firm to work with them.

Also telling that you can see flashes of anger and bitterness particularly in JimBob. These are not nice people.

It is so shocking to me how the reporter was obviously baiting JB  to get him to express guilt over failing his daughters, failing to protect his daughters, and he just kept going back to josh josh josh. Damn! Definitely not nice people. Michele could not even get real tears out.

[JoanArc]

 

I was thinking the same thing, JB also looked medicated.

It's the speech pattern, the dullness. It's also likely why Michelle can't fake realistic tears.

 

Michelle had that cheat sheet in her lap, and Jim Bob's iphone was tuned on in his lap. God forbid they go off script. The hasty editing was painful to watch.

 

I really, really don't understand why Jim Bob went against what's in the police report, like about one of the girls running to them for help. Does he think they won't get called out? Big mistake. They should've stayed on radio silence forever.

 

I really think there's still another shoe due to drop.

[Janet Snakehole]

I can't imagine being one of the daughters and hearing my parents defending my pervert brother as they did. It totally invalidates their feelings and anger. And then to hear your father repeatedly say everything is now hunky dory and we've moved past that. The girls rightful rage has probably been long displaced by hopelessness. Jana's perpetual sad face and lack of emotion now makes total sense.

Not to mention that two of them have to be dragged out to an interview to forgive their molester; who gets to hide behind his parents defending him.