This Thursday, a judge in Illinois unsealed “empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s criminal case file. This sets up the release of a ton of information regarding the very high-profile and controversial case.
You probably remember that, just a few months back, Jussie Smollett made false statements in painting himself as the victim of an attack by “white men in MAGA hats.”
It turned out that he had allegedly paid two Nigerian men, who were extras on the “Empire” show, to stage the attack.
JUST IN: A judge in Chicago has ordered the file in the Jussie Smollett criminal case unsealed, saying he forfeited his rights to keep the case sealed to protect his privacy by talking to the media before and after charges were dismissed. https://t.co/R9ya0wNItM
— ABC News (@ABC) May 23, 2019
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Well, now, Cook County judge Steven G Watkins has made the decision to make the case information public. This decision came as the conclusion to a cascade of bizarre events: After Smollett publicly alleged that he had been on the receiving end of a hate crime, an extensive investigation ensued, which uncovered that that Jussie may have faked the attack. Chicago cops arrested him on this suspicion, but the Cook County prosecutors went on to drop the charges and dismiss the case altogether.
Judge rules Jussie Smollett case file can be unsealed; says that there was not good cause to keep the records sealed on common law grounds.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 23, 2019
My how things have changed, and changed quickly.
According to Fox News:
When the state attorney asked whether the office could have more time to redact personal information from the files, Watkins advised prosecutors to “act as if the documents were never sealed in the first place.”
In January, Smollett made national headlines when he filed a police report alleging two masked men attacked him, put a rope around his neck and poured bleach on him as he was walking home from a fast food eatery. Smollett, who is black and openly gay, said the masked men beat him, made racist and homophobic comments and yelled, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — before fleeing the scene.
But as cops investigated the case further, they began taking a closer look at Smollett.
Surveillance video reportedly revealed brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who lived in Smollett’s apartment building, purchasing rope similar to the kind used during the alleged attack. Eventually, the brothers reportedly told cops Smollett paid them to help him fake the attack.
Smollett was arrested for allegedly filing a false police report and faced 16 counts of disorderly conduct stemming from the incident. But during a short and stunning hearing, the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx dropped the charges against Smollett, though his bail was forfeited.
Smollett has maintained his innocence and insisted the hate attack was real. But the city of Chicago is suing the actor in an effort to recoup resources spent investigating the alleged hoax.
Meanwhile, the brothers implicated in the incident are suing Smollett’s attorneys for defamation of character.
According to Hannity:
A judge in Cook County, Illinois ordered “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s criminal files be unsealed; clearing the path towards the release of all materials related to the case before charges were abruptly dropped months ago.
“Cook County judge Steven G. Watkins’ decision came months after a dizzying set of events: First, Smollett alleged he’d been the victim of a hate crime; after an extensive investigation, Chicago cops arrested Smollett and accused him of faking the supposed attack; and then, Cook County prosecutors suddenly dropped the charges against Smollett and his case was sealed,” reports Fox News.
“In January, Smollett made national headlines when he filed a police report alleging two masked men attacked him, put a rope around his neck and poured bleach on him as he was walking home from a fast food eatery. Smollett, who is black and openly gay, said the masked men beat him, made racist and homophobic comments and yelled, ‘This is MAGA country’ — a reference to President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan — before fleeing the scene,” adds the article.
Now we can possibly get to the truth and have some justice served. No more games.
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