Celebrity status is not a license to exploit justice

When a deal is cooked up in secret in the criminal- justice system, there’s every reason to suspect that something fishy has occurred. It’s especially true when the main character is a famous television actor.

The atrocious handling of the Jussie Smollett case by the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office has highlighted the fact that justice isn’t blind nor is it equal under the law.

Let there be no mistake: Had John Q. Public reported to police that he had been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack and then had been charged criminally with filing a false report, the full weight of the criminal-justice system would have come down on him.

Not so Smollett, a leading character in the hit television series “Empire”, who was given an unexpected pass by the county prosecutor’s office.

The decision has created a firestorm in Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Chief Eddie Johnson and others in law enforcement have publicly denounced prosecutors for not consulting with them before Smollett was gifted with a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Here’s the bottom line: community service and confiscation of the $10,000 bond that he put up is not punishment. At most, it’s an inconvenience for someone rich and famous.

Mayor Emanuel, who called the dismissal of the 16 criminal counts a “whitewash,” is demanding that Smollett pay $130,106.15 for the cost of the investigation. More than a dozen detectives and police officers and hundreds of hours were dedicated to chasing down his claim that he was attacked early one morning in January in downtown Chicago. He reported he was assaulted on his way home from a sandwich shop. Smollett said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and looped a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” – a reference to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. He also asserted he tell one of the men was white because he could see the skin around his eyes.

However, as the investigation unfolded, police concluded that Smollett had hired two men, both of whom are black, to attack him. He allegedly paid the men $3,500.

It is noteworthy that prosecutors and police said the evidence was clear that the actor concocted the story as a publicity stunt. They said he was trying to get more money from the TV show.

TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

That’s why letting him off the hook is a travesty of justice that must not be allowed to stand.

President Trump is right in instructing the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI to review the case given the hate-crime aspect of Smollett’s claims.

Hate crimes in America are on the rise, and more often than not victims are viewed with suspicion by law enforcement and the public.

Every time a false report is filed, the cause of justice suffers.

Smollett grabbed national headlines with his claims of his attack not only because he’s black and gay, but because he raised the specter of the incendiary politics that have gripped the nation.

The fact that a grand jury indicted him on 16 counts was a clear indication that the actor’s story was full of holes.

Indeed, even after dropping all the charges against him, Cook County prosecutors insisted he was not innocent. They explained that it’s standard operating procedure to let someone facing low-level counts walk.

But the fact that the police department and the mayor’s office were not consulted and that the case file is now under seal raise a huge red flag. What’s to hide if, as Smollett claims, he is innocent?

Indeed, the actor’s lawyer says her client’s slate has been wiped clean.

The suggestion is that Smollett was victimized twice, first by his alleged attackers and then by the criminal- justice system.

In fact, it was the city of Chicago that was ultimately the victim in this case because its reputation has been damaged.

Chicago’s high crime rate is no secret, and city government has launched an aggressive campaign to take back the streets.

The many hours spent looking into Smollett’s allegations could have been better used investigating more serious crimes.

Mayor Emanuel and the law department should not give up on their push to exact payment from the actor. Indeed, his lawyers have said he does not intend to shell out the $130,000-plus, which would prompt the city to file a civil lawsuit against him.

A trial will bring out all the facts that are now hidden from public view. It is to be hoped that Smollett remains intransigent.