THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Judge Ito Accepts a Birthday Cake From NBC

Judge Lance A. Ito’s acceptance of a $75 birthday cake Wednesday from NBC “Today Show” host Katie Couric has generated a bit of controversy.

The cake arrived at the same time Ito was considering whether to make KNBC reporter Tracie Savage reveal confidential sources in her coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder case.

KNBC is owned and operated by NBC, but KNBC executives said they knew nothing about the cake. NBC said the cake had nothing to do with the pending decision, but acknowledged that the timing of the gesture was poor. Couric has apparently met Ito and wanted to extend a friendly, innocent gesture, network officials said.

“It was just something that Katie and ‘The Today Show’ wanted to do,” said NBC spokeswoman Beth Comstock. “There’s no correlation between the cake and the KNBC case.”

The Simpson defense team Monday tried to get Savage to reveal her sources on her story about bloodstained socks recovered from the bedroom of Simpson’s Rockingham Avenue estate. Savage declined to answer, citing protection given to reporters under the California shield law. Ito is considering whether to force Savage to reveal her sources.

Simpson attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. expressed surprise that Ito had accepted the cake, but Superior Court spokeswoman Jerrianne Hayslett denied any conflict of interest. “He just had a birthday,” Hayslett said. “I don’t know what the big deal is.”