Prosecutor attempts to explain the dropping of charges against Smollett
[See ADDENDA below.]
[NOTE: This post is a companion piece to my previous one today on the subject of the dropped charges against Jussie Smollett.]
Now the prosecutor in the Smollett case has come forth and given these statements on the dropping of the charges:
[NY Times reporter] Bosman wrote on Twitter that [prosecutor Joe Magats] said “he saw no problems with the police investigation or the evidence against Smollett. The charges against Smollett were dropped in return for his agreement to do community service, he said, and for forfeiting his bond to the city of Chicago.”
By the way, earlier reports said that Smollet supposedly had already done the community service so he doesn’t have to do any more, and the bond forfeit is for $10K, which is basically chump change to Smollet.
More:
“Here’s the thing — we work to prioritize violent crime and the drivers of violent crime,” Magats told the Times. “Public safety is our number one priority. I don’t see Jussie Smollett as a threat to public safety.”
“We stand behind the investigation, we stand behind the decision to charge him and we stand behind the charges in the case. The mere fact that it was disposed of in an alternative manner does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities in the case or the evidence,” he added.
He’s trying to head off the idea that anything untoward, some sort of shady backroom deal, went on. He’s also trying to shut up Chicago Mayor Emanuel and Police Superintendent Johnson, who both have been very vocal and unequivocal in their condemnation of this prosecutorial decision (see my earlier post). And of course Magats is trying to stop Smollett from continuing to proclaim his great innocence and truthfulness.
I don’t think Magats’ efforts to paint this as an ordinary practical run-of-the-mill dropping of charges will work. The picture right now is of a famous person getting off for no valid reason, when everyone—the mayor, the police chief, and now apparently the prosecutor who dropped the charges—believes he’s guilty.
I think Magats’ stated reason for doing this—that Smollett isn’t a “threat to public safety” because he didn’t commit violence—is absurd on its face. Not only is the offense with which Smollett was charged a very serious one for several reasons, such as wasting police resources and the possibility of the arrest of an innocent person, but this particular story could easily have sparked violence because of its inflammatory nature and its explicit political overtones. If Smollett is guilty of this offense—and all signs point to that conclusion—his crime is not the exact equivalent of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, but it’s not all that far behind.
I also think—although it remains to be seen—that even a lot of the people who originally believed Smollett and then felt deceived and changed their minds are not suddenly going to flip right back into believing him now. They’ve been jerked around too much already, and now that the prosecutor is making it clear that there is no paucity of evidence nor were there any “infirmities” in the case, this entire episode will just serve to increase cynicism about the entire system of justice.
[ADDENDUM: More here.]
[ADDENDUM II: The Chicago police union wants an investigation:
The Fraternal Order of Police [FOP] on Tuesday unleashed its anger at Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx after charges were dropped against Jussie Smollett and renewed its call for a federal investigation into Foxx’s “interference” in the case.
“The conduct of her office from the very beginning of this cases was highly, highly suspicious,” Martin Preib, the FOP’s second vice president, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The entire country is outraged by it. The evidence is overwhelming that he was legitimately charged in this case. This decision [to drop the charges] appears to be utterly arbitrary, capricious and suspicious.”…
In renewing the call for a federal investigation into what he called Foxx’s political “interference” on behalf of the Smollett family, Preib argued that the state’s attorney’s office’s decision to drop the charges “only gives more foundation to our claims.”
Foxx’s initial request that Johnson transfer the case to the FBI came after an influential supporter of the “Empire” actor reached out to Foxx personally: Tina Tchen, a Chicago attorney and former chief of staff for former first lady Michelle Obama, according to emails and text messages provided by Foxx to the Sun-Times in response to a public records request.
Foxx recused herself from the investigation after facilitating conversations between Smollett’s family and the Chicago Police Department.
“The entire country is getting a window into the absurdity of the Chicago political and legal system,” Preib said…
The FOP was a strong supporter of former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who was ousted by Foxx in the unrelenting furor over the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.
The FOP has long accused Foxx and her political patron, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, of being soft on crime.
Preib said it was too soon to say whether the FOP would recruit and back a challenger to defeat Foxx in 2020.
“We’ve still got a lot of time. . . . The media in Chicago has pretty much treated her with kid gloves from the get-go. She vacated two convictions of a Spanish Cobra gang member in February and the media didn’t write one story about it,” he said.
“They have not looked into so much of what we’ve criticized about her administration. We hope the national media will do that now.”
This time, what happens in Chicago may not stay in Chicago. This may be business as usual there, but other people have certainly taken notice at this point.
No wonder Chicago police are angry. This isn’t the first time they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them in a case on which they’ve worked hard. With Smollett, it just has gotten more national attention. But the police worked their butts off to investigate the original claims thoroughly, and then to investigate the hoax and get good evidence, and now—without their having even been given a heads-up in advance—the charges are dropped in a very high-profile case. This time, the essence of the case is that the public and the police themselves were lied to and toyed with. The dropping of the charges is a big FU to the police, among other things.]
Forget it,Jake. It’s Chicago.
Smollet’s hoax incited racial hatred and fear, and I believe that was his intention (apparently in addition to thinking it would somehow help him get a raise). I don’t see how anybody could say this doesn’t threaten public safety.
Even Rahm Emanuel realizes what a Chicago-style SNAFU this is.
The connections that atty Kim Foxx has with Soros and Tina Tchen, a former chief of staff for former First Lady Michelle Obama are worthy of investigation. Go to Breitbart for several illuminating articles.
The only hope now is that the Feds will step in (i.e., FBI investigation of the threatening letter Smollett sent to himself; and possibly opening a civil rights/hate crime case).
As for the “Chicago Way” justice — a complete (no pun intended) WhiteWash. Are we surprised?
Here’s a hypothesis: it’s the view of the Cook County State’s Attorney (https://www.cookcountystatesattorney.org/) that Jussie Smollet, being a black celebrity, is not subject to standards administered by men with names like ‘Magat’.
From the evidence in the public domain, this is about as open and shut a case of guilt as there is, and now ol’ Jussie is off the hook.
To quote another beneficiary of Chicago-style justice, Bill Ayres–“Guilty as sin free as a bird.”
This development should disgust each and everyone of us here in the U.S., but I suspect that, for a lot of people, this will be seen as a “Victory.”
The thing is, viewing the mushroom like corruption that is emerging–here and there– all over the U.S. today, I am now reaching such levels of disgust that I don’t really know how much more my disgust-o-meter can take.
He should be doing time.
If not, it’s NOT justice.
Because for the rich, laws are for the little people.
They kept adding a bit of ‘straw’ each day to the ‘camel’s back’, never dreaming that there was a limit to what can be endured…
Every day they get closer to “cutting down all the laws planted thick across this land”, some imagining that they can withstand the winds that will blow… while others are completely oblivious to actions having consequences.
These fools just keep making the case for Trump in spite of themselves.
Only the delusional and the stupid think that they are working for the people.
Smollett’s case is, indeed, Chicago-style politics: corrupt and pathetic.
“no criminal laws had ever been known to prevail against cheek and plausibility such as yours, combined with the power of a long purse.” (Wind in the Willows)
As a conservative, rule of the written law, person I’m digusted with our dual Rich and Poor legal systems, though I accept it as a reality that may never be corrected.
A couple of things to watch here … First, any impact or influence on federal prosecution for mail fraud. Would charges from the Feds be “media-ed” to appear as piling on or prosecution of an already resolved case? WIll Jussie’s friends re-play the victim card ? We have to expect this as a likely response, especially in Chicago itself. Jussie isn’t unpopular, yet. Second, consider the impact on April’s mayoral race. Preckwinkle is trailing by some 30+ points over her opponent, Lightfoot. Preckwinkle has been painting LIghtfoot as pro Chicago Police — not true — a prosecutor who is no “friend of the community.” Someone in the media will call out to Lightfoot for a response soon. I expect the smarter response would be to point to an on-going Fed investigation and say very little. Any more than that could lead to interesting Chicago fireworks.
Another question is whether a Chicago jury could be chosen who would convict a black celebrity, I kind of doubt it.
I would like to see the feds step in, but the FBI has been too busy trying to commit a coup against the elected government or, a little like Smollett, creating crimes it can solve with much publicity. Apparently nobody like Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. who played an honest, honorable and competent agent in a television show titled “F.B.I.” actually works for that corrupt and degraded institution. They are too much like Smollett to actually want to do anything about him.
Mike K:
If YouTube is any indication, a lot of black people are very very angry at Jussie Smollet, for obvious reasons. First of all, many of them defended him initially, and they don’t like having been tricked. Secondly, his fake hate crime really does make it hard for many people to believe real victims. A while back I noticed many many YouTube videos on these two themes, and the makers of these videos were all black people.
I added this as an addendum to the post.
The Chicago police union wants an investigation:
This time, what happens in Chicago may not stay in Chicago. This may be business as usual there, but other people have certainly taken notice at this point.
It’s getting to the point that you feel like a chump for obeying the law.
Jussy Smollett comes from a black radical family. His mother was quite active in the Black Power movement of her era and she was, in fact, good friends with Angela Davis. Davis even spent a Mother’s Day with Mom and Jussy.
Angela Davis was a top-tier sixties/seventies radical up there with Bill Ayers. Among other radical actions, she helped smuggle in weapons to a Marin courthouse to free the three black Soledad Brothers. Four people were killed, including the judge, and two wounded. Nonetheless, Davis managed to skate, the Rolling Stones wrote a lovely, syncopated blues ballad for her (“Sweet Black Angel”), and she is now a Professor Emeritus from UC Santa Cruz. Not too shabby!
The current line from the Chicago Police, liberals and even conservatives is Jussy did it for his career and the money — how selfish, how sad! I suppose that may have been part of his motivation — Davis’s radicalism turned out to be a great career move — but I don’t believe that’s the explanation. I think Jussy is a sincere radical following in his mother’s and Angela’s footsteps and pushing the radical agenda “by any means necessary.” He was willing to take his chances to do that duty, which must have looked far less risky than an armed attempt to spring comrades from a courthouse.
Furthermore, I suspect he was also trying to help Kamala Harris and Cory Booker pass their “Anti-Lynching” bill in the House, after it passed the Senate last December. Note the lynching motif in Smollett’s attack and in the hate letter he received.
The smart money says he sent the letter to himself, which legally may turn out to be his biggest problem — that’s a Federal terrorism charge. My favorite absurdity in the attack story is that Jussy’s “noose” was tied in a Windsor knot, as opposed to a real noose knot.
Take the Mediaite post that quotes the DA; change the names from Smollett to Clinton, and Magats to Comey, and make a few shifts in the details.
I guess Jussie didn’t have any INTENT to break the law when he, you know, broke the law; and he’s gone through enough already, we don’t need to send him to jail.
https://www.mediaite.com/online/prosecutor-who-dropped-charges-against-jussie-smollett-explains-decision-we-didnt-exonerate-him/
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/380490.php
Once again, I note that the reason the Left won’t except that Mueller’s report exonerated President Trump is because they KNOW that they themselves routinely exonerate (or at least fail to pursue charges) against people they KNOW are guilty.
Matthew M on March 26, 2019 at 8:00 pm at 8:00 pm said:
It’s getting to the point that you feel like a chump for obeying the law.
* * *
As more than one OT prophet, and a certain NT Messiah observed, doing right is its own reward, because the world certainly won’t applaud you.
If you are into role-playing games, you know that the “good guys” take a negative hit on things like powers and strength in return for their virtuous character.
An incitement to rabid diversity for democratic leverage. Hate crimes, too, are politically congruent, and decided on their return to special and peculiar interests.
It’s getting to the point where I’m starting to figure this site is not doing my blood pressure any good. Maybe , Neo, you could sprinkle in a few ballet videos among the infuriating stupidity. Perhaps re-posting that Georgian ballet video where the the men are all throwing knives.
Knife throwing is good for the soul.
So is axe throwing but I don’t know how you’d work that into a ballet.
It would be like chain saw juggling to classical music.
Steve57:
Didn’t you like the Trump dance video in the post above this one?
I agree with you Neo, this case could have caused some very serious damage to innocent people. What if the police decided to believe him, no matter what the evidence shows? Would they have been pressured to “find the guy” even if it was someone who was innocent? After all, it isn’t like such things haven’t happened before.
And, it IS Smollet’s lack of remorse and smugness that irritate the most; and no doubt the police chief and the mayor are peeved that they were not given a heads up. Giving a heads up in such a high profile case would have been the polite, professional, courteous thing to do. It would also have been the smart thing to do – let the police know ahead of time so they can be prepared for whatever may happen (Although, I doubt a lot of people would have rioted over this; but, who knows?). So, yup, it is a big fat FU to the mayor and the police.
As a prosecutor, I can attest that a first-time offender such as Smollet would very likely be considered for a no-jail-time plea deal. Importantly, though, this is NOT accomplished by just dropping the charges. Typically, the offender would enter a plea of guilty, or of no contest, and a conviction is entered into the record. The lightest possible consequence would be if Smollet was approved for a pre-trial diversionary program. In that case, after his plea of guilt/no contest, he would undergo a period of probation and comply with conditions such as community service, drug treatment, payment of fines and costs. If he completed his probation successfully, he could have his record expunged. That’s what kid-glove treatment would look like for the average case—you are on record as admitting your guilt, and the charges aren’t simply withdrawn!
I’m not especially surprised Chicago is letting Smollett off. Chicago is as Chicago does.
However, I believe the real sword hanging over Smollett’s head is the hate mail. If that’s part of Smollett’s hoax, that’s a federal charge and that’s serious.
Chicago fixers won’t fix that — short of Obama calling some behind-the-scenes shots anyway.
Judging by Smollett’s incompetently faked Subway Sandwich attack, I doubt he would be capable of fooling a serious forensics team with fake hate mail.
OJ to Juicy. First as tragedy, then as farce.
Drop the case because there was no violence? General Flynn and Paul Manafort, among many, would like to have a word with that Prosecutor.
Feeds the notion that our Justice system is now totally corrupt.
What do you expect from the most corrupt city in the most corrupt state?
Look up how many Illinois Governors went to prison.
Steve57
Neo’s gotten me addicted to Georgian dance! The video of the men dancing with clashing swords and sparks flying cheers me up every time! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dH9176AdLFk
I guess this is “Don’t Charge but Don’t Exonerate Racist Con-men Week”.
Speaking of balletic swordplay …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDnJ8JlPieU
Michelle Obama intervened and Magats folded. It’s no more complicated than that…the Chicago way.
No one wanted to look into the eye of lord Sauron Michelle, and have minions derail their lives…
As a Chicagoland native I find only one positive aspect to this whole debacle.
“Privilege” is now not just something for well-connected white people. POC can play the game too.
The Chicago police commissioner and mayor Rahm Emmanuel destroyed this case with their public statements when Smollett was indicted.
They acted as judge, jury and executioner in their press conferences and continue to do so now. They so completely biased the potential jury pool that they made it impossible for Smollett to receive a fair trial in Chicago.
A first year law student could have seen that coming, and being that this is Chicago, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that Emmanuel and the top cop did it on purpose.
Just was informed 20 Chicago Police Officers left the Chicago Police Department and went to the Chicago Fire Department. Smart move and God Bless them for their service while on the job. Not 1 Chicago Fireman has left the Chicago Fire Department to go to the Chicago Police Department in the last 30 years.
Comment at Second City Cop blog. Chicago will go the way of Baltimore. It’s hard to believe that crime could get worse but the CPD is ready to quit.
Looks like the Obamas have a Chicago fixer at work for Smollett: Tina Tchen, “the attorney and former chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama…”
https://www.foxnews.com/us/who-is-tina-tchen-the-attorney-linked-jussie-smollett-messages
Tchen is linked to Kim Foxx, the state attorney for Chicago County, who recused herself from the case, apparently because she acted as a go-between with the Smollett family.
Tchen is also, speak of the devil, now working with the Southern Poverty Law Center:
Recently, the Southern Poverty Law Center selected Tchen to lead an investigation into workplace harassment and “advise us on workplace culture issues.”
Well, if Tchen is behind Smollett’s getting off with 18 hours community service (for a Jesse Jackson PUSH office!) and $10,000 bond forfeiture, SPLC has hired a superb fixer.
“his crime is not the exact equivalent of yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, but it’s not all that far behind.”
It’s more like yelling “wolf” in a crowded theater.
neo on March 26, 2019 at 8:55 pm at 8:55 pm said:
“Steve57:
Didn’t you like the Trump dance video in the post above this one?”
Very much. But I also like chain saw juggling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti3MkTt5qv4
This hasn’t stopped people who wanted to believe him and push the victimhood narrative all along from thinking that the police must have fabricated evidence against him.
El Polacko:
Well, they can say whatever they want to now, because there isn’t going to be any Chicago jury.
What’s more, funny thing how the prosecutors didn’t cite “we can’t get a jury because of the previous statements of Emanuel and Johnson” as the reason they were letting Smollett off, expunging his indictments from his record, and sealing the case. Not only that, but it’s not for the prosecutors to decide about the jury pool until they try the case and the judge decides. In fact, a tainted jury pool would actually work in the prosecutors’ favor, in tactical terms. Somehow, in other high-profile highly-publicized cases in which many public figures had commented (I can think of a few, such as the Zimmerman trial), they managed to find a jury that was considered untainted enough to have a trial.
Thank you, RigelDog at 10:09 p.m. A guilty plea and a reduced sentence could be appropriate for a first-time offender (in the jurisdiction). Dropping the charges just sends a couple of messages. First, that Chicago doesn’t take false police reports seriously, and second, that people can get away with fake “hate crimes” aimed at disfavored groups in Chicago. Oh, and another: Connections to Democrat elites will get you out of trouble, no matter how stupid you’ve been.
I’ve been looking to see what folks on the left have to say about this. So far I’ve found only these tweets by former Obama advisor David Axelrod (https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod):
–This is a total head-scratcher. After all that has transpired interesting to hear the prosecutor’s rationale for kicking a case that seemed very clear.
–Will they now bring assault charges against the two brothers who admitted to staging the attack for money at Smollett’s behest. Or charges for lying to the police? Someone wasn’t being truthful here and the City of Chicago paid the price.
–State’s Atty statement: “After reviewing all of the facts & circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community & agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition & appropriate resolution.” Huh?
–Unless some better explanation surfaces, here’s the lesson of this weird turn in the Smollett case: You can contrive a hate crime, make it a national news, get caught and-if you are a well-connected celebrity-get off for $10K and have your record expunged and files sealed.
–No. Sorry, folks. The brief statement offered by the prosecutor didn’t dispute the basic facts in the original charge. That’s why he was compelled to sacrifice his bond. They simply said that in light of his voluntary work in the community, this was a just resolution.
–Hate crimes are loathsome. Faking them is insidious and shouldn’t be excused. Despite Smollett’s denials, nothing the prosecutor said in dismissing the case supports that. If prosecutors have evidence that contradicts the indictment THEY brought, they should share it today
–“The fact that (Smollett) feels that we have exonerated him, we have not. I can’t make it any clearer than that.” So says the lead prosecutor in Smollett case. So why allow Smollett to get off for $10K and have his records expunged and case files sealed?
–Smollett repaid the city $10k, ostensibly as an offset for the investigation his phony charges ignited that cost the City of Chicago in the millions. It really is outrageous.
Tchen connects the Obamas, the $PLC, and this travesty. Another busy beaver in the Deep State. (And an indicator that the worst elements in the social nexus around the Democratic Party and people at the apex and center of the Democratic Party are not antagonists).
This American justice system and the SPLC isn’t exactly as good as people endlessly kept lecturing me about.
Hey, I was wondering how Manju was holding up! He must have finally received his memo from the home office regarding Post Mueller Report Trolling Material.
How nice that Mr. Axelrod expresses disgust at Smollett’s being left off the hook.
The other several of his “tweets” are fairly nausea-inducing (read them via Ann’s link above — and thank you, Ann.)
I am aghast that the U. of Chicago would hire this guy in any position whatsoever. Even though I know that UC has been a major player in Chicago politics since I were a pup, and probably before.
Axelrod. Obama. Sunstein. “Community of Scholars” — a mockery. Such a community would be chiefly interested in establishing facts as well as possible, deducing from them such truth as can be found, and the attainment from the body of truth of such wisdom as its members can manage.
The difference between the above-named miscreants and David Horowitz and his like is that the latter take observable facts seriously, and work hard to get at the truth that they imply.
Or so it seems to me.