Former U.S. senator and current “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson is getting back into politics, accepting a position as an adviser to President Bush’s future Supreme Court nominee.
Thompson, a Tennessee Republican who served in the senate, will serve as an adviser during confirmation hearings in the Senate. The White House says he accepted the job after speaking with the president on Monday, according to the AP.
The vacancy on the high court was created by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s impending retirement. Her decision surprised most who follow the Supreme Court closely; most expected Chief Justice William Rehnquist to resign as he is fighting thyroid cancer.
Thompson was a congressional lawyer during the Watergate hearings in the 1970s and later entered the world of acting, appearing in such films as “Die Hard 2,” “The Hunt for Red October” and “Barbarians at the Gate.” He won a 1994 election in Tennessee to fill the seat vacated by then-Vice President Al Gore and was re-elected in 1996. During his tenure, he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
What remains uncleas is whether Thompson’s role in the process will affect his work on “Law & Order,” where he plays District Attorney Arthur Branch. He usually appears in just a few scenes per episode, so the show’s writers could potentially write around his potentially busy schedule.
Credit: Zap2It.com
