Ahh yes, I’m not sure why we thought we were done with this whole case but it looks like it’s far from over.
Actor Jussie Smollett is now facing yet a new set of criminal charges nearly a year after Cook County prosecutors dropped disorderly conduct counts against him for allegedly orchestrating a racist, homophobic attack on himself early 2019.
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb announced the charges in a press release Tuesday, saying that “further prosecution of Jussie Smollett is ‘in the interest of justice’.
Smollett is expected back in Cook County court Feb. 24th. At that juncture, the actor must start the process all over again with a new judge, a new arraignment and his attorneys will gear up to fight the same charges he faced a year ago–but with a different set of prosecutors.
Jussie’s team released this statement:
This indictment raises serious questions about the integrity of the investigation that led to the renewed charges against Mr. Smollett, not the least of which is the use of the same CPD detectives who were part of the original investigation into the attack on Mr. Smollett to conduct the current investigation, despite Mr. Smollett’s pending civil claims against the City of Chicago and CPD officers for malicious prosecution. And one of the two witnesses who testified before the grand jury is the very same detective Mr. Smollett is currently suing for his role in the initial prosecution of him.
After more than five months of investigation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor has not found any evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever related to the dismissal of the charges against Mr. Smollett. Rather, the charges were appropriately dismissed the first time because they were not supported by the evidence. The attempt to re-prosecute Mr. Smollett one year later on the eve of the Cook County State’s Attorney election is clearly all about politics not justice.