Behind The Scenes At The O.J. Simpson Trial

Cheryl Brown

12/04/1996

New York Beacon, The

Page 32

Behind The Scenes At The O.J. Simpson Trial.

By Cheryl Brown

O.J. Simpson said an 18-year-old blonde woman who claimed he sexually

abused her is a "liar" and that a reporter for the USA Today newspaper set him

up in the alleged incident.

In an exclusive interview with the National Newspaper Publishers Association

about the alleged interaction between OJ and Amber McGrath, Simpson said,

"All of you see me all the time. Have you seen me harass anyone?

According to Simpson, who is currently the subject of a civil trial in the death of

his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, "the

reporter (Jonathan R. Lovitt ) always comes up to me when she goes by and

says, `man how about that? Isn't she a looker?' I told him he wasn't going to get

me to comment on anything like that. She always smiles at me. I talk to

everyone, I just limit my people," he said.

"Last week when I walked out she was sitting in my chair. She was smiling and

told me she was leaving her job to go to acting school. All of the guys who work

here smile and talk to her and have heard her say she is leaving." Simpson said

of the incident which allegedly took place just before Halloween. The chair to

which Simpson referred is at the end of a hall and is isolated to allow the former

football star to distance himself from the media during breaks.

Two guards questioned agreed with Simpson's assessment. One, who did not

want to be identified, confirmed that, "I've never seen anything."

Simpson denies motioning to McGrath to lift up her skirt. He further denies

asking her for a date. "Why would I ask her for a date on Halloween when I had

a date, and the only ones at my house were my housekeeper and my sister? My

date had been planned weeks ago. Anyway, how could I do anything with all of

the press following me everywhere?"

As for USA Today 's report that bailiff Vickie McKnown, shook her finger at

Simpson warning him to stop, Simpson said, "She (McKnown) is a friendly

person, we play around. She is always shaking her finger at me in a playful

mood." McKnown declined to speak with the NNPA about the incident. But said

only that her comments had been "blown out of proportion."

Meanwhile McGrath and her boss, court administrator Jerrianne Hayslett, aren't

talking to the media after being called into Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki's chambers.