‘OUTRAGEOUS’

Trump: FBI, DOJ to review Smollett case

Associated Press

CHICAGO

President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that the FBI and Department of Justice will review the “outrageous” case of Jussie Smollett in Chicago, calling it an “embarrassment” to the country.

Prosecutors infuriated the police chief and mayor this week when they abruptly dropped 16 felony counts that accused the “Empire” actor of making a false police report about being the target of a racist, anti-gay attack in January.

The prosecution offered little explanation for the move and sealed the case, but authorities still insist the actor concocted the assault. Prosecutors offered no additional information Thursday during a court hearing where media attorneys argued that the public has a right to know what happened.

Trump tweeted: “FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!”

City officials on Thursday ordered Smollett to pay $130,000 to cover the cost of the investigation into his report of a street attack that police say was staged to promote his career.

Investigators believe Smollett, who is black and gay, hired two brothers to stage the Jan. 29 attack in downtown Chicago and that Smollett hoped the attention would help advance his career. Police also allege that before the attack, Smollett sent a letter threatening himself to the Chicago television studio where “Empire” is shot.

The FBI, which is investigating that letter, has declined to comment.

The Justice Department sometimes brings federal cases after state prosecutors have declined to bring charges, including after police shootings that the federal government believes might constitute civil-rights violations. But department policy generally restricts prosecutors from bringing federal charges after state charges have been resolved, unless they can establish that the potential crime at issue is a federal one and involves “a substantial federal interest.”

Smollett attorney Tina Glandian said the two brothers are lying. She said Smollett had hired one brother as a personal trainer but had no idea who attacked him along a Chicago street until the brothers were later identified by police.

Smollett has repeatedly insisted the attack was real, saying two masked men shouted racial and homophobic slurs, wrapped a rope around his neck and poured a substance on him. He also told detectives that the attackers yelled that he was in “MAGA country,” an apparent reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, police said.

Prosecutors initially charged Smollett with one felony count in February. A grand jury indicted him on 15 more counts earlier this month. But in a stunning reversal Tuesday, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges just five weeks after the allegations were filed.