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Michael Jackson's will is lost, former publicist says. She asks Trump for help

Michael Jackson's will is lost, his former publicist announced in a bizarre news conference that also addressed the abuse allegations against the King of Pop and made mention of President Donald Trump.

Raymone Bain, the late singer's former spokeswoman , told reporters Thursday that she does not have his will and does not know where a copy is. Bain held the surprise 25-minute news conference in Washington, D.C., live-streamed via CNN, to announce the creation of a charity in the singer's name, the MJ Legacy Foundation.

"I don't have it. I don't know where it is," she said. "I have wished, I have hoped and I have prayed that Michael Jackson's will – dated Oct. 6, 2006 – would be found, revealed, discovered, dropped from the sky. Because in it, he painstakingly outlined how he wanted his legacy to be preserved and maintained."

Jackson’s estate said in a statement to USA TODAY that Bain was "not authorized to act on behalf of the Michael Jackson Estate nor to use Michael Jackson’s name in any way for charitable or her own commercial purposes." The statement did not directly address Jackson's will.

In this 2005 photo, Michael Jackson publicist Raymone Bain greets attorney Brian Oxman before the second day of Jackson's child molestation trial at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

While she had the floor, Bain defended Jackson from the allegations leveled earlier this year in the documentary "Leaving Neverland." Bain addressed the accusations made by Wade Robson and James Safechuck and argued that Jackson “has been a victim since his death, over and over again, and it's time to stop.” Jackson died June 25, 2009

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"Michael Jackson is no punching bag, and he deserves better," she said, echoing the Jackson estate's condemnation of the documentary and calling it a “biased, one-sided documentary."

“I sincerely believe that these new revelations were timed for the beginning of the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. And I believe it was their goal to derail anything being planned in his honor," she said. 

Jackson's estate said in its statement, "We do agree with (Bain's) comments about 'Leaving Neverland,' " adding it supported her "encouraging a boycott of HBO over its inexcusable disparagement of Michael Jackson’s character."

Bain went on to discuss Jackson's friendship with Trump and claimed she "would love to be able to ask the president to help me find Michael Jackson’s 2006 will."

"Michael considered him a very close friend, and he said to me on many occasions that Mr. Trump was one of the few people who never turned his back on him, and who was there to help him during his trial," she said. 

The purpose of the MJ Legacy Foundation, Bain said, would be to “preserve, protect and defend his name while supporting the numerous organizations he supported during his life.”

“He may no longer be with us, but through the foundation, we’re hoping he’ll continue to live among us," she said. 

Recent developments in the fallout over "Leaving Neverland" have included a new lawsuit brought by three Jackson fan clubs in France against Robson and Safechuck, accusing them of unfairly harming the singer's reputation. 

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