Probe Into Empire Actor Jussie Smollett’s Hoax Attack Finds Chicago Prosecutor Kim Foxx Abused Office to Dismiss Charges

Special prosecutor Dan Webb ruled that Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office substantially abused their discretion when dismissing charges against actor Jussie Smollett for allegedly faking an attack on himself to gain publicity.

Webb criticized Foxx’s office for the way they handled the case, which he said was marked by disarray and misleading statements, but concluded that none of their actions were criminal. 

Last March, Chicago residents and officials were shocked and angered when Foxx’s office dropped charges against Smollett, after overwhelming evidence pointed towards the homophobic, racist attack he reported being a hoax he staged for public attention.  

Webb’s investigation found that Foxx communicated with Birds of Prey actress Jurnee Smollett in a series of phone calls and texts about her brother’s case, and spoke to a former Michelle Obama aide about the actor, then outright lied to the press about it afterwards.

He also found that despite strong proof in the case against Smollett, charges were dropped without the addition of any supporting evidence, and the decision makers had “significantly and meaningfully divergent explanations for why all charges were dismissed.

Webb pointed to further discretional abuse, when Foxx’s office did not require Smollett to plead guilty to any charges, and his only form of punishment was a light sentence of 15 community service hours.   

The only fiscal fine Smollett received was the forfeiture of his $10,000 bail, which Foxx claimed was the max penalty allowed, but Webb said there is no such cap and accused Foxx of making false statements.  

Left-wing billionaire George Soros had previously contributed two million dollars to a political action committee which backed Foxx’s candidacy.

 Jussie’s Tweet

Two days prior to his “attack,” Jussie tweeted, “Frauds are everywhere.”

Frauds are everywhere y’all. Protect the mind, heart and spirit of you and your people at all costs. Just remember… Salt, cocaine and anthrax can all appear to be sugar…(the “refined” kind of course) just be careful out here fam. Happy Sunday. Love you. Real talk. Love on.

— Jussie Smollett (@JussieSmollett) January 27, 2019

Jussie’s Album Release

His debut album released suspiciously close to the attack.

March 2, 2018…Debut album… #SumOfMyMusic pic.twitter.com/chnmPrQSYw

— Jussie Smollett (@JussieSmollett) February 21, 2018

Kim Foxx op-ed

The Cook County State’s Attorney wrote an article for the Chicago Tribune defending her office for dropping the charges against Smollett.

In an op-ed, Kim Foxx, the prosecutor who dropped the charges against Jussie Smollett, defended the decision, saying her office was uncertain it had enough evidence to gain a conviction and wanted to focus on bigger crime in Chicago https://t.co/xwsxaKJSbK

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 30, 2019

Foxx re-tweets Webb’s report

Kim Foxx focused on the fact that Webb said her office did not commit criminal activity, rather than the rest of the report’s findings about her staff’s failures.  

This report lays out what we have known since 2019 – there was no outside influence on the outcome of the Smollett case nor was there any criminal activity on the part of the State’s Attorney’s Office, as many have unjustly speculated. https://t.co/GsqOss9vlk

— Kim Foxx (@KimFoxx) August 17, 2020

Sister Jurnee defends Jussie

“I love my brother and I believe my brother,” she told an interviewer.  

Consider yourself warned. You’re not ready for tonight’s premiere of @LovecraftHBO.

Also- For the next ten Sundays we calling this #LovecraftCountry Sunday. pic.twitter.com/aiXVTWMHse

— jurnee smollett (@jurneesmollett) August 16, 2020

Marie Finn