Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney for Cook County, Illinois, reacted to the new charges filed against former Empire actor Jussie Smollett by invoking the “era” of President Trump.
“What’s questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the justice system, something voters in the era of Donald Trump should consider offensive,” a spokesperson for Foxx said in a statement.
Smollett was hit with a fresh indictment by a special prosecutor this week on charges related to a hate crime that was allegedly staged by the actor in January 2019.
Smollett claimed he was assaulted by two men wearing Make America Great Again hats as he was walking down the street in Chicago, but questions about inconsistencies in his story quickly surfaced.
Chicago prosecutors ultimately charged Smollett with 16 felonies, which Foxx dismissed and referred to as “excessive.”
That decision prompted a stern response from the Chicago police.
“A deep mistrust now exists between your office and ours,” The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police said to Foxx in a statement following the dismissal of charges. “We no longer believe that your office will treat our members fairly either in the arrests they make or when they are victims of crimes.”
Foxx’s office claimed she recused herself from the case after text messages surfaced of an exchange between her and Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff, who is a close friend of the Smollett family. Foxx then denied legally recusing herself from the case two days after the charges were dropped.
A special prosecutor was appointed in August of 2019 to investigate the handling of the Smollett case.
Foxx is now running for reelection as state’s attorney and has been endorsed by prominent Democrats, including 2020 presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
