Mukasey's O.J. Simpson problem

by James Oliphant

What do O.J. Simpson and Michael Mukasey, the president's choice for attorney general, have in common?

You would think little, except perhaps for running through the occasional airport to catch a flight.

But the fallen football star and the former federal judge seem to be circling each other in odd ways. Mukasey is most famous for presiding over the trial of the so-called "Blind Sheik," Omar Abdel Rahman, who after a lengthy trial in 1995 was found guilty of conspiring to blow up targets in the New York City region. He's now doing life in prison.

As it turns out, Simpson's trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman ran almost concurrently with Mukasey's signature moment in the sun -- both verdicts were rendered in October 1995 -- making the sheik's trial almost a footnote by comparison. Mary Jo White, who was the U.S. attorney who prosecuted Rahman, says that then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani remarked that the Rahman trial was the one that most of America should have been watching instead of Simpson's.

And now, as luck or karma would have it, their paths have crossed again 12 years later. No sooner did Mukasey's name surface this weekend as the leading contender for the AG job than Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly storming into a hotel room with a gun to recover some memorabilia. And today, Mukasey has competed head-to-head with O.J. for cable news airtime -- and that's a contest in which no one has ever bested the Juice. Not even Princess Diana or Michael Jackson.

So when Mukasey's confirmation hearings begin, someone might want to keep a close eye on Simpson.

(Photo: Former NFL player O.J. Simpson in police custody, Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong.)