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In a playful attempt to circumvent the gag order that may prevent potential witness Jay Leno from making jokes about the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, Leno has been interrupting his monologue to hand off his trademark softball material to a series of similarly unfunny (but legally unhampered) peers, like Brad Garrett and Dennis Miller. According to NBC, however, Leno's hilarious workaround is totally unnecessary:

But an NBC official who has been briefed on the matter, and who insisted on anonymity because it is a legal issue, said the network did not believe that Mr. Leno was bound by the order and thus felt he could tell "whatever joke he chooses."

Mr. Leno, the official added, "is just poking fun at the situation."

Oh, Jay, you joker! We hope this doesn't mean that we'll be deprived of Thursday night's gag, when Carrot Top is scheduled to appear on stage to read aloud from a copy of Barely Legal.