This Jussie Smollett Situation is REALLY Bizarre...

[trynafeelmink]

I never said what you said was wrong or false.

But you’re saying it is clown **** he’s doing and which might be true to us, but he has a team behind him that pushes his agenda and their is a method to his madness... and it’s working clown or not.

This is a fact, Trump just continuing on the same path of clown **** that most presidents have been on to ensure their base is cool.

 

[SC kid]

 

[Magic33]

Salute to Chris

Did Jessie show up?

I hope that clown was there to feel uncomfortable

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Think Jussie gon lay low for a minute then get back on Empire like nothing ever happened.

 

[paulwest1985]

Think Jussie gon lay low for a minute then get back on Empire like nothing ever happened.

Nah bro, that show getting cancelled

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Kamala made the call

 

[hand2handking]

Kim Foxx: I Welcome an Outside Review of How We Handled the Jussie Smollett Case

Let’s talk about the Jussie Smollett case. Let’s talk about his alleged actions, the decision about how best to prosecute and resolve the case, and the implications for our Chicagoland community.

There was considerable evidence, uncovered in large part due to the investigative work of the Chicago Police Department, suggesting that portions of Smollett’s claims may have been untrue and that he had direct contact with his so-called attackers. Claims by Smollett or others that the outcome of this case has “exonerated” him or that he has been found innocent are simply wrong. He has not been exonerated; he has not been found innocent.

Falsely reporting any crime is itself a crime; falsely reporting a hate crime is so much worse, and I condemn in the strongest possible way anyone who does that. Falsely reporting a hate crime causes immeasurable harm to the victims of actual crimes, whether because they are less likely to be believed or, worse, because they are afraid to report their crimes in the first place for fear of not being believed.

So, why isn’t Smollett in prison or at least on trial? There are two different answers to this, both equally important.

First, the law. There were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain. In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction. For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.

In the interest of full transparency, I would prefer these records be made public. However, in this case, Illinois law allows defendants in certain circumstances to request that public records remain sealed. Smollett chose to pursue that avenue, and so my office is barred from releasing those records without his approval.

Another key factor is that the crime here was a Class 4 felony, the least serious category, which also covers things like falsely pulling a fire alarm in school and “draft card mutilation.” These felonies are routinely resolved, particularly in cases involving suspects with no prior criminal record, long before a case ever nears a courtroom and often without either jail time or monetary penalties. Any prosecutor, law-enforcement leader or elected official not grandstanding or clouded by political expediency understands the purpose of sentencing guidelines.

But more important than the dispassionate legal justification, there was another reason that I believe our decision not to prosecute the case was the right one.

Yes, falsely reporting a hate crime makes me angry, and anyone who does that deserves the community’s outrage. But, as I’ve said since before I was elected, we must separate the people at whom we are angry from the people of whom we are afraid. I am angry at anyone who falsely reports a crime. I am afraid when I see a little girl shot dead while sitting on her mother’s lap. I am afraid when I see a CPD commander slain by a four-time felon who was walking the streets. I am also afraid when I see CPD resources used to initially cover up the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

I was elected on a promise to rethink the justice system, to keep people out of prison who do not pose a danger to the community. I promised to spend my office’s finite resources on the most serious crimes in order to create communities that are both safer and fairer.

Our community is safer in every sense of the word when murderers and rapists are locked away. But we can’t allow fearmongers to devalue the tremendous progress we’ve made in the last year. Since taking office, I’ve sought to employ alternative prosecutions, diversions, alternate outcomes and other forms of smart justice, and it has been working — violent crime in Chicago is down overall. In addition to the benefits of smart justice on recidivism and keeping families together, it also creates bandwidth for my office to dedicate more resources to combating not only truly violent crimes but also the opioid crisis, holding big banks accountable for their actions, protecting consumers from data breaches and other critical work.

Since it seems politically expedient right now to question my motives and actions, and those of my office, let me state publicly and clearly that I welcome an outside, nonpolitical review of how we handled this matter. I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our community’s trust is paramount.

As a public figure, Smollett’s alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could. None of that, though, should detract from two facts that must be able to coexist: First, falsely reporting a hate crime is a dangerous and unlawful act, and Smollett was not exonerated of that in this case. Second, our criminal justice system is at its best when jails are used to protect us from the people we rightly fear, while alternative outcomes are reserved for the people who make us angry but need to learn the error of their ways without seeing their lives irrevocably destroyed.

Kim Foxx is the Cook County state’s attorney.

 

[hand2handking]

 

[hand2handking]

 

[hand2handking]

Jussie Smollett Loses NAACP Award, Skips Out On Awards Dinner

This photo provided by Fox shows, Taraji P. Henson, left, as Cookie Lyon and Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon in the "My Bad Parts" episode of the television series, "Empire." (Chuck Hodes/Fox via AP)

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jussie-smollett-loses-naacp-award-skips-out-on-awards-dinner

CHICAGO -- "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who sparked rumors he would be attending this year's NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, is a loser.

The embattled television star was nominated for best supporting actor in a television drama for his role as Jamal Lyon on the Fox series but was edged out by "Grey's Anatomy" star Jesse Williams, ABC reported.

Smollett has been nominated for the award four years in a row and won in 2017.

The award was handed out during the untelevised portion of the show Friday night.

The televised portion will air Saturday night.

Leading up to the event, NAACP Image Awards host and actor Anthony Anderson said in light of the charges against Smollett being dropped, he hopes the "Empire" actor will win for his work on the show.

“I hope he wins," Anderson told Variety magazine on Wednesday. "I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color.”

Smollett has been in the middle of a firestorm for weeks in Chicago.

He is accused of staging an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in January in order to promote his career. He has denied the charges from the start and says two men approached him, beat him, threw bleach on him and tied a rope around his neck before shouting, "This is MAGA country," in reference to President Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."

"I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’m accused of," Smollett said.

Smollett's co-star Taraji P. Henson, who plays his mother on "Empire", told USA Today that she's "happy that the truth has finally been set free, because I knew it all along."

The surprise decision to drop charges on Tuesday, followed by Smollett's claims of innocence, has nonetheless prompted an immediate rebuke from Chicago's mayor and police superintendent.

The decision also put pressure on the state's attorney's office.

On Friday night, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she is open to an outside investigation into her office’s dramatic decision to dismiss all charges.

 

[hand2handking]

City of Chicago Sues Jussie Smollett Over Police Investigation Costs
The “Empire” actor’s felony charges were dropped, but a new lawsuit claims he’s on the hook for over $130,000

Nuccio DiNuzzo

https://pitchfork.com/news/city-of-chicago-sues-jussie-smollett-over-police-investigation-costs/

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been sued by the City of Chicago over the cost of the criminal investigation spurred by his allegedly false police report, The Chicago Tribune reports. City officials confirmed plans to file the lawsuit last week. The lawsuit, viewed by Pitchfork, argues that because Smollett staged an attack and filed a false police report, he must reimburse the cost of the police investigation—calculated at $130,106—plus more in penalty fees. Pitchfork has reached out to Smollett’s legal representation.

In February, Smollett was charged with 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report about an incident initially treated a hate crime. Last month, the charges were dropped, the judge sealed the case, and Smollet’s record was expunged. Outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel reacted to the news by calling it a “whitewash of justice.”

On January 29, it was reported that Smollett was attacked in Chicago by two men that he claimed called him homophobic and racist slurs. He also claimed they put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him, and yelled “this is MAGA country.” Brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were arrested and questioned by police in connection with the alleged attack; two days later, the Osundairos were released without criminal charges and Smollet became a suspect in the case.

Smollett pled not guilty after turning himself in on February 21. Following his arrest, “Empire” producers announced that Smollett would be cut from the rest of the show’s current season.

 

[Magic33]

With all his lawyer fees, it's amazing how terrible his plan failed. I wonder how much planning he put in to it. That must have been some potent weed.

 

[Raji Lowenthal]

He was buying yayo from the African dude and code word was Whitney I hope Bobby busts his **** one day

 

[tay1]

Do you wanna take it off or anything?

 

[sooperhooper]

Omg

 

[Nouss]

Shameful

That's some real clown ****.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Do you wanna take it off or anything?

Makajussie just wanted 12 to know the hell he been through, haters need to fall back.

But seriously doe....

Da ****.

 

[doublemesh96]

This is the wildest dude ever

 

[RustyShackleford]

The rope though.

They really used the first thing they got their hands on.

Jussie looking like he just shot a fair one with Spiderman.

When the cop asked him if he wanted to take it off

 

[God]

That rope was pristine.

 

[robtoofresco]

Boy made sure he picked a rope that matched his cardigan.

 

[sooperhooper]

Probably got the receipt for that mf sitting on the table

 

[AZwildcats]

Well damn

 

[VARNELL HILL]

Jussie looking like he just shot a fair one with Spiderman.

 

[boxybrown]