Just when former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett, he of the recent famed Chicagoland anti-Trump hate crime hoax, thought he was going to get away Scot-free thanks to a politicized Cook County prosecutor, the fickle finger of fate reached out and touched him.
You may recall that, for the better part of February, the country was taken in by Smollett’s claims that two white guys in iconic red Make America Great Again hats assaulted him early one frosty morning in Chicago, using racial epithets and homophobic slurs during the alleged attack.
As it turned out, Smollett was lying about the attack: Two black men arrested in the case told Chicago Police that Smollett paid them to rough him up and help him stage the attack for the purpose of a) inciting more racial hatred against President Donald Trump; and b) to help him land a role in a future production involving a persecuted gay man.
Breitbart News reported:
Earlier Saturday, Fox 32 Chicago’s Rafer Weigel, citing several police sources, reported Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo — the two Nigerian brothers arrested and later questioned by police about the alleged incident — purchased the rope found around the actor’s neck the night of the alleged attack at an ACE hardware store.
Further, the brothers were paid $3,500 before traveling to Nigeria and promised an extra $500 upon their return, according to De Mar.
Eventually, despite these facts, Cook County prosecutor Kimm Fox would opt not to prosecute Smollett over several allegations of felony false reporting and other crimes, though police had him dead to rights on 16 counts. The decision infuriated law enforcement and justice officials throughout the Chicago region.
In May, a Cook County judge stepped aside and said he would allow another judge to decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate why the charges were dropped.
On Friday, that judge, Michael Toomin, made the decision to appoint a special prosecutor.
“Jussie Smollett's case is truly unique among the countless prosecutions heard in this building. A case that purported to have been brought and supervised by a prosecutor serving in the stead of our duly elected State's attorney, who in fact was appointed to a fictitious office having no legal existence,” he wrote, as reported by Zero Hedge.
Are there federal crimes too?
“It is also a case that deviated from the statutory mandate requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases where the State's Attorney is recused. And finally, it is a case where based upon similar factual scenarios, resulting dispositions and judgments have been deemed void and held for naught.” (Related: Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax: He did not act alone… event was staged at the highest levels of the deep state, say sources.)
Toobin used a nautical reference in his ruling: “Here, the ship of the State ventured from its protected harbor without the guiding hand of its captain. There was no master on the bridge to guide the ship as it floundered through uncharted waters. And it ultimately lost its bearings.”
As The National Sentinel reported, federal investigators were continuing to probe the Smollett hoax for alleged violations of law that may include mail fraud; there is a belief that Smollett sent a letter related to the hoax to himself through the mail, which could constitute a federal crime.
In addition to the FBI, agents from the U.S. Postal Service are also investigating.
As for the Chicago PD, spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Friday the department stands “firmly behind the work of detectives in investigating the fabricated incident reported by Jussie Smollett.” He noted further that the department would “fully cooperate with the appointed special prosecutor.”
Also of note: In March, texts and emails released by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office revealed that Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff, tried to get the case transferred to the FBI and out of the hands of Chicago PD.
Read more about racial hoaxes perpetrated to smear President Trump at Hoax.news and Trump.news.
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