Is O.J. Lawyer a Paid Paris Shill?
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
SECRET AGENT Shapiro on Olbermann
Celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro has certainly said a lot of kind things about troubled heiress Paris Hilton lately. And while he hasn't disclosed it in his TV appearances, sources close to the case say he's getting paid for his support—a charge he doesn't deny.
On Friday, Shapiro, best known for defending O.J. Simpson, was a guest on both MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° to discuss the case.
On CNN, Shapiro said Hilton's early release from jail was "precisely the correct approach to exactly what has happened here"—even though it was quickly reversed by Judge Michael T. Sauer. Shapiro then sought to disparage Sauer's record, saying, "After 25 or 30 years of service, he's still doing arraignments in a traffic court in downtown Los Angeles."
He was even more vehement in his advocacy on MSNBC. "I've been practicing law for 37 years in Los Angeles," he told Olbermann. "I've talked to lawyers, judges, and prosecutors. No one has ever heard of anybody being treated like the way they're treating Paris Hilton."
