So many questions. pic.twitter.com/66KaR52Kk8— James Comey (@Comey) March 24, 2019
Of course this was in reference to the Mueller report indicating that neither President Donald Trump nor anyone associated with his presidential campaign colluded with Russia to affect the 2016 election.
Frankly, Mr. Comey's statement is much more relevant to Tuesday's bombshell out of Chicago.
Less than two weeks after “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about a hate crime, prosecutors have dropped charges in the case.
So the first question would be "Why?" Why were charges dropped? It appeared as though Chicago PD investigators had all their ducks in a row, thus were ready to testify that Smollett perpetrated a hoax. Nevertheless, prosecutors punted.
Smollett’s attorney, Patricia Brown Holmes, said there was no agreement with prosecutors, insisting the state’s attorney’s office dropped the charges on their own.Smollett’s attorney, Patricia Brown Holmes, said there was no agreement with prosecutors, insisting the state’s attorney’s office dropped the charges on their own.
“We believe that it was the correct result in this case. We’re very happy for this result, and we are very anxious for Jussie to get on with his career and his life, and to move forward,” Holmes said. “There is no deal. The state dismissed the charges.”
Holmes said Smollett volunteered to forfeit his $10,000 bail in the case.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office issued a statement after the hearing:
“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office stated in an email.
“We believe that it was the correct result in this case. We’re very happy for this result, and we are very anxious for Jussie to get on with his career and his life, and to move forward,” Holmes said. “There is no deal. The state dismissed the charges.”
Holmes said Smollett volunteered to forfeit his $10,000 bail in the case.
Another question I have is why would Smollett agree to forfeit the bail money if he's innocent? Why not stand trial and prove you did nothing wrong? Isn't your good name worth that, Jussie? Ah, but since his record is expunged in addition to a judge granting a motion to seal the case, Smollett pretty much has carte blanche to convey whatever tale he so desires.
In the end, I never thought I would be in situation where I agree with Obama-ites Rahm Emanuel & David Axelrod on the same day.
Video: Wolf Blitzer tries to push back on Rahm Emanuel on the Jussie Smollett case, wondering if something did change or that the evidence wasn't good enough and Rahm absolutely buries Wolf pic.twitter.com/Lh0mSHCAL5— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 26, 2019
Unless some better explanation surfaces, here’s the lesson of this weird turn in the Smollett case:— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) March 26, 2019
You can contrive a hate crime, make it a national news, get caught and-if you are a well-connected celebrity-get off for $10K and have your record expunged and files sealed.
Hate crimes are loathsome. Faking them is insidious and shouldn’t be excused. Despite Smollett’s denials, nothing the prosecutor said in dismissing the case supports that. If prosecutors have evidence that contradicts the indictment THEY brought, they should share it today.— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) March 26, 2019
Remember, folks. This is Chicago we're talking about. It's not far-fetched if one speculates that those who chose to drop the case had some incentive to do so. We may not have heard the last of this.
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