The false equivalence of Trump and O.J. trials
Since the impeachment case against President Donald Trump sputtered to its inevitable conclusion early this month, the analogy has circulated that Trump’s acquittal should be considered akin to the popular … Continue reading
Chuck Todd’s bad impeachment analogy
The impeachment case against President Donald Trump seems ominous in its outsize claims but is still quite thin on evidence. That, of course, hasn’t prevented Trump’s foes from pronouncing him … Continue reading
O.J. case ‘do over’: Why the ’95 trial is alive in popular consciousness
For Marcia Clark, the prosecutor who tried O.J. Simpson for double murder in 1995, and lost, The Fix series on ABC is something of a wishful do-over. More broadly the … Continue reading
For Bill Clinton, the reckoning grinds on
It’s mid-August, almost exactly 20 years since Bill Clinton’s petulant, 4½ minute speech in which he conceded to having had an “improper” sexual relationship with a former White House intern … Continue reading
Remembering Bill Clinton’s finger-wagging denial-lie, 20 years on
His eyes were narrowed, his face flushed. He wagged an index finger for emphasis and he nearly spat the words as television cameras rolled: “I want to say one thing … Continue reading
O.J. Simpson wins parole, but it’s no 1995 moment
O.J. Simpson’s parole hearing today in Nevada may have been widely watched and much-anticipated. But it was no “flashbulb moment,” not an occasion so rare and powerful that it will … Continue reading
No cause for cheer if O.J. Simpson wins parole
If he is paroled, it will be no cause for cheer. Expectations are that O.J. Simpson — former football star, erstwhile celebrity, and now aging felon — will win parole … Continue reading
Ballyhoo over FX series leads to outsize claims about O.J. case
The media ballyhoo over the FX miniseries about the O.J. Simpson murder saga of 1994-95 has been accompanied by a variety of misconceptions and exaggerated claims about the case and … Continue reading
The 1995 ‘Trial of the Century’ is back: But so what?
When the cable miniseries meets recent history, distortion is predictable. So it is with the FX network’s much-ballyhooed dramatization of the sensational O.J. Simpson double murder case, which was tried … Continue reading
Looking back at a watershed year: 1995 in blog posts
The year 1995 was a watershed in digital media, domestic terrorism, political scandal, crime and justice, and international diplomacy. Over the past 12 months, The 1995 Blog revisited the watershed … Continue reading