Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson reaffirmed their positions that Jussie Smollett had generated a fake hate crime attack in order to advance his own personal brand after all charges against the “Empire” actor were dropped Tuesday.
“This is, without a doubt, a whitewash of justice and sends a clear message that, if you are in a position of influence and power, you will get treated one way and other people will be treated another way,” Emanuel said at a joint press conference in Chicago alongside Johnson. “There is no accountability, then, in the system. It is wrong, full stop.”
.@ChicagosMayor on Jussie Smollett:
“This is a person who has been let off scot-free. You have a person using hate crime laws to advance your career. Is there no decency in this man?” pic.twitter.com/MLXAYxcrE0
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 26, 2019
The 16 felony charges brought against Smollett in February were dropped Tuesday by the state prosecutor after an unannounced emergency hearing was held with a judge. The ruling was that Smollett was voluntarily surrendering his $10,000 bond to the city, and the charges dropped were in consideration for his work in the community.
Johnson said he believed Smollett still owed an apology to Chicago, arguing that the actor wouldn’t broker a deal behind closed doors if he was falsely accused.
“Do I think justice was served? No. What do I think justice is? I think this city is still owed an apology,” Johnson said. “When I came on this job, I came on with my honor, my integrity, and my reputation. If someone accused me of doing anything that would circumvent that, I would want my day in court. Period. To clear my name. I have heard that they wanted their day in court with TV cameras, so America could know the truth, but no, they chose to hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system.”
In January, Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white men who targeted him for his sexual orientation and race and said they put a noose around his neck and told him he was in “MAGA Country.”
In February, Chicago police announced they had found two Nigerian-American brothers that had been the ones who accosted Smollett and the attack was organized between them and Smollett himself. Police presented a portion of evidence to a grand jury who then decided to bring forth the charges against Smollett.
Both Emanuel and Johnson said they were not included in the decision to drop the charges, adding they found out when the media found out. Emanuel said that behavior by the state attorney’s office was “not on the level.” Emanuel and Johnson also insisted that, despite the decision to drop the charges, the blame should remain with Smollett for the hoax.
“I want to say one other thing. Mr. Smollett is still saying he is innocent, still running down the Chicago Police Department. How dare him? How dare him?” Emanuel said. “This is not the superintendent and the detective department’s word against his and, even after this whitewash, still no sense of ownership of what he’s done. He says that, in fact, he is the wronged in this case. This is an unbelievable, not just whitewash of justice, this is a person now who has been let off scot-free with no sense of accountability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions. You have a person using hate crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities from violence to then turn around and use those laws to advance your career and your financial reward. Is there no decency in this man?”
Emanuel said he couldn’t say whether or not the decision was politically motivated, insisting he could only guess at it.
