Michael Lohan Says Matt Lauer Didn't Ambush Dina

By Rob Shuter Posted Aug 16th 2010 06:55AM

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Michael Lohan, fact checker. The celebrity dad is calling out ex-wife Dina's "lies" during her slightly squeamish sit-down with the 'Today' show. Michael doesn't think host Matt Lauer ambushed her, as Dina believes (according to a family friend), and Michael tells me exclusively that Dina has "failed miserably with Lindsay" and just needs to admit her failure (and also stop saying they've been split for 15 years).

"Matt didn't ambush Dina. If anything Matt was easy on her. Dina hardly gave him a chance to ask questions and when he did, she didn't answer them or just lied," Michael Lohan tells me.

According to PopEater sources, Dina wanted to focus the 'Today' chat on Judge Marsha Revel's alleged mishandling of her daughter's case, along with her take on the media's portrayal of Lindsay. Instead, Lauer pressed Dina to defend Lindsay and address scrutiny for the way she raised the troubled starlet.

"As a parent, you have to let them go a little bit," she said during the Friday morning chat. "You can't make your child not go out and go to a club and not get behind the wheel of a car."

Michael tells me that Dina just needs to be honest and admit her mistakes. But after Friday's performance, he's not so sure what to think.

"I don't know whether Dina needs the rehab, serious counseling, an exorcism or jail," he says. "Her constant denials and lies on 'Today' only prove how corrupted her heart and motives are."

Dina also raised eyebrows when she told Lauer that she hasn't been with Michael for 15 years, even though their divorce was only finalized in 2007.

"We have only been divorced for five years, so I don't know why Dina told Lauer that we haven't been together in 15 years. My youngest son is only 14. I saw my boys a month ago and spent the day with our daughter, Ali, just a month ago," Michael told me in response to Dina's claims.

But Michael tells me he knows the best path for his daughter.

"What Lindsay needs is family therapy with Dina and me. Something that has been recommended by professionals for years, however, Dina just won't let it happen. It's all about money controlling Lindsay to Dina. She has failed miserably with Lindsay. We have both caused this situation with our daughter and we need to fix it together as parents."

And although Michael is one parent who finally admits responsibility, he says, "The only thing Dina got right in the interview with Matt Lauer on 'Today' is nothing has changed."

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Lindsay Snapshots

Dina Lohan leaves Lynwood Correctional Facility after visiting her daughter on July 29. Check out more pics of the Lohan Clan >>

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