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OJ Simpson's “Hypothetical”: “I Remember I Grabbed The Knife”
Hotair ^ | 03/12/2018 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 03/12/2018 12:28:24 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Normally, a “hypothetical” would get couched in a lot of ifs and third-person references. In 2006, when O.J. Simpson wanted to sell a book describing the hypothetical manner in which the brutal double-murder of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman was committed, he did an interview with Fox News hosted by publisher Judith Regan to promote it. The interview got buried after massive criticism of the project, but Fox dusted it off last night and promoted it as OJ’s confession. And it certainly appears they weren’t kidding, either:

In the interview, Simpson described Goldman as “a guy that I didn’t really recognize. I may have seen him around, but I really didn’t recognize him.”

At one point, Simpson referenced a friend, whom he identifies only as “Charlie,” who went with him to confront Brown and handed him the knife that would be used as the murder weapon in the scenario.

“As things got heated, I just remember Nicole fell and hurt herself and this guy kind of got into a karate thing. And I said, ‘Well, you think you can kick my ass?’ And I remember I grabbed the knife — I do remember that portion, taking a knife from Charlie — and to be honest after that I don’t remember, except I’m standing there and there’s all kind of stuff around and …” he said, trailing off.

Judith Regan, who conducted the interview in 2006 for the book, “If I Did It,” pressed Simpson: “What kind of stuff?” “Blood and stuff around,” he replied.

It doesn’t sound hypothetical at all here, and didn’t to Regan at the time, either. She spoke with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota this morning, who asked why it didn’t air in 2006 when she first recorded the interview. Regan says Camerota should ask Fox and News Corp, but noted that the families of the victims objected to the whole idea of the interview:

Judith Regan, who conducted a bombshell interview with O.J. Simpson in 2006, explains why it's only surfacing now: "That wasn't my decision. It was a NewsCorp decision to cancel the whole project." https://t.co/tTcDVpz5lt https://t.co/BUV1xLF7l9

— New Day (@NewDay) March 12, 2018

The original prosecutors objected to the event too, and the objections were a little more substantial than Regan credits with Camerota. Everyone involved had concerns about Simpson exploiting the murders to reinflate his celebrity value, or at least to make that attempt, and accused Fox and Regan of exploiting the murders for profit and ratings. That’s why Rupert Murdoch eventually apologized for partnering on the project and shelving the interview and why the publisher spiked Simpson’s book. Fred Goldman eventually seized the manuscript in enforcing the multi-million-dollar wrongful death judgment on Simpson and published it as OJ’s confession, with the word “If” made very small in comparison to the rest of the title, “I Did It.”

One of the prosecutors who publicly objected at the time was Christopher Darden, the man who infamously demanded that Simpson try on the bloody gloves in the courtroom. He changed his mind last night after watching the interview:

In the view of prosecutor Christopher Darden, O.J. Simpson confesses to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in his 2006 TV interview that aired Sunday night. …

Darden was featured on the two-hour special, “O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?” as part of a panel of experts who added commentary and analysis intercut with sections of the 2006 interview. Moderator Soledad O’Brien emphasized that Simpson was not paid by contemporary producers of the special.

During the interview, Simpson appears at times delusional, saying that he went to Nicole’s condo on the night she died with a friend he described as “Charlie,” who gave him a knife as he encountered Nicole and later Ron Goldman.

“I think he’s confessed to murder. If I’d known he said this in 2006 I would not have objected to the release of this video,” Darden said. “I don’t think there’s any question of his involvement and that he is the person who is wielding the knife.”

There wasn’t much question about it in 1994 and 1995, either. Prosecutors had a mountain of evidence against Simpson but made several strategic errors during the trial, of which the bloody-glove maneuver was just the most notorious. Simpson’s legal team delivered a magnificent performance of misdirection and distraction, and the obsessive media coverage probably doomed the issue from the start. But it was clear then and has remained clear all along that Simpson committed the murders, and the only question left is the identity of “Charlie,” his “hyopthetical” accomplice.

In retrospect, one might wonder why Simpson agreed to the interview at all, given his wise decision not to take the stand during the trial. The answer is probably that he didn’t have much to lose. Having been acquitted, Simpson could not be retried for the murders (although “Charlie” certainly could get prosecuted for them, if he’s ever identified). Having lost the civil case to the Goldmans, there wasn’t any financial incentive to stay quiet either. The only real damage this will create for Simpson is among his fans who continue to insist to this day that he got framed, a position that will be all but unsustainable with Simpson talking in the first person and in a definite tone about what happened that night. Denial is a strong impulse and so is belief in conspiracy theories, but they both have their limits. We hope.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: oj; ojsimpson
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1 posted on 03/12/2018 12:28:24 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Racialized jury.


2 posted on 03/12/2018 12:39:43 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: SeekAndFind

Nice that he confessed, but I’ve never had any doubts that he did it.


3 posted on 03/12/2018 12:42:31 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker

He got loose because the tards on the jury said many people have the same DNA. If he was white he would have cut a plea deal the first hour with all that evidence proving he did it.


4 posted on 03/12/2018 12:44:37 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: SeekAndFind

He obviously left out the details, which he remembers perfectly, and changed other information so that he wasn’t giving anyone a real lead on what he did.


5 posted on 03/12/2018 12:44:57 PM PDT by Williams (Stop tolerating the intolerant.)
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To: shelterguy

Too much evidence they said, and a girl claimed Fuhrman used the N word once. Case closed.


6 posted on 03/12/2018 12:46:15 PM PDT by Williams (Stop tolerating the intolerant.)
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To: SeekAndFind

OJ’s lawyers need to remind him to NOT DISCUSS such things in public


7 posted on 03/12/2018 12:49:28 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicans aren't born, they're excreted." -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
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To: shelterguy

It was jury nullification motivated by racism IMHO. The blacks on that jury were never going to convict a black man, and a famous one at that.


8 posted on 03/12/2018 12:49:41 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: SeekAndFind

I don’t understand anything about this interview; “If I Did It”.
Why would anyone suggest it?
Why would anyone consider it?
It boggles the mind.

I guess OJ desires fame or even infamy far more than a quiet uneventful life. Apparently, he has no concern on how his family or Nicole’s family will be effected by all this being dredged up yet again. I, for one, have heard more than enough about this entire tragic mess.


9 posted on 03/12/2018 12:58:36 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: SeekAndFind

Best theory I’ve heard so far:

Cops arrived on the scene, realized Simpson finally killed her based on recent history. Figured it might be a difficult case, so they “helped” the prosecutors a little. Most of the defendants they deal with are represented by public defenders, who encourage them to cut a deal and move on.

Then Simpson hires lawyers intent on getting him acquitted and proceed to do whatever they need to do.

Moral of the story: Play it straight.


10 posted on 03/12/2018 1:00:58 PM PDT by MAexile (Bats left, votes rights)
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To: SeekAndFind

EVRYBODY knew he did it just like EVERYBODY knows Clinton is guilty as hell for countless treason,felonies and capital crimes. Some people are protected by skin color, gender, social/political class and money. America’s weak link is injustice especially with these two scumbag POS subhumans.


11 posted on 03/12/2018 1:07:44 PM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: SeekAndFind

The prosecutors tanked the case on purpose.

Just my opinion.


12 posted on 03/12/2018 1:17:53 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: lee martell

TV Ratings: ‘American Idol’ Stages a Solid Return on ABC, Unfazed by Fox’s O.J. Simpson Special. https://tiny.iavian.net/lzaw


13 posted on 03/12/2018 1:19:17 PM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: SeekAndFind
Can someone do a late-term abortion on this A$$Hat.
14 posted on 03/12/2018 1:21:03 PM PDT by EXCH54FE (Hurricane 416,Feisty Old Vet (Stand for the flag, kneel for the cross))
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To: BenLurkin

“”””The prosecutors tanked the case on purpose.

Just my opinion.”””””””””””

They turned it into a circus. Instead of putting the best prosecutors on the case they put a token woman and black guy in to play the parts of real prosecutors.

If they convicted him the brothas would have rioted big time again.


15 posted on 03/12/2018 1:29:45 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: BenLurkin

That jury was never going to find OJ guilty. It was 100% racial.


16 posted on 03/12/2018 1:30:51 PM PDT by utahagen (but but)
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To: BenLurkin

Darden should have had a pair of new gloves for OJ to also try on, besides the blood-socked shrunken/shriveled up evidence gloves.


17 posted on 03/12/2018 1:33:57 PM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra (Don't touch that thing! Don't let anybody touch that thing!I'm a doctor and I won't touch that thing)
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To: MAexile

Sounds about right. I believe the evidence was pretty clear in that, it was “enhanced”. There was substantial missing blood in a vial, which a detective took home with him BEFORE submitting for testing, the socks (only clothing found with any blood), when laid flat, had precise patterns of blood spatter on both sides of socks which indicated there wasn’t a leg in the socks. I also think the glove was planted. Did he do it, probably but I would have had a tough time finding him guilty (even knowing he did it) with the evidence alone, not to mention OJs time frame from the time of the murders to the time he got his ride to the airport.


18 posted on 03/12/2018 1:49:35 PM PDT by Toespi
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To: MAexile

Might be the “best theory” you’ve heard, but it is absolutely 100% NOT true. No evidence was planted. Zero, nada, none. Crime scene photos, videos in Simpson’s home and grounds, in his vehicle...all of it taken in situ that same night and early morning...ever piece of evidence was recorded exactly as found. Simpson viciously slaughtered two innocent people in a fit of rage and misplaced jealousy, and he got away with it thanks to people like you who willingly believe nonsense over facts.


19 posted on 03/12/2018 1:51:48 PM PDT by Avalon Memories ( Proud Deplorable. Proud born-in-the-USA American Dreamer.)
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To: BenLurkin

Ben, there is much logic in thinking they tanked it on purpose. I lived in Los Angeles during that time. We just had the Rodney King riots a couple of years before, and everyone was afraid of more, worse riots. This is why the case was moved to downtown L.A. instead of being tried in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. The media kept the race angle alive. The prosecution made some really boneheaded “mistakes,” and a truly savage double murderer walked. Living there during that time was a searing experience.


20 posted on 03/12/2018 1:58:41 PM PDT by Avalon Memories ( Proud Deplorable. Proud born-in-the-USA American Dreamer.)
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