A special prosecutor’s investigation into the Jussie Smollett case released Monday found Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx badly botched the investigations Mr. Smollett, but that the mishandling of the sensation case did not rise to the level of criminal wrongdoing.
Cook County special prosecutor Dan K. Webb released a summary of his findings after a one-year probe into Ms. Foxx’s stunning decision to drop all charges against Mr. Smollett related to his alleged January 2019 staging and false allegation of a hate crime in Chicago.
“As a result of this investigation, the OSP [Office of Special Prosecutor] has concluded that it did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against State’s Attorney Foxx or any individual working” in her office, said the report. “However, as a result of this investigation, the OSP did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures” by Ms. Foxx and her team in dealing with the Smollett case.
Mr. Smollett, a Black, openly gay actor, has continued to stand by his claim that two men attacked him early on Jan. 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago, shouting slurs and looping a rope around his neck, despite numerous inconsistencies in his account. He says the attack was real and wasn’t a publicity stunt.
Ms. Foxx’s office stunned local officials and police when they abruptly announced the case was being dropped even as the doubts about the story were escalating.
The report found Ms. Foxx and assistant state’s attorney Joseph Magats — who took over the case after she recused herself — between them made at least a half-dozen false statements to the public about the case, Ms. Foxx’s recusal, and her contact with Mr. Smollett’s sister, Jurnee Smollett.
For example, Ms. Foxx said she ceased all contact with Ms. Smollett after learning her brother was a suspect, but the report found that she made at least three phone calls and sent five texts over the next five days.
At the same time, the report found no evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.
The special prosecutor’s office said it “did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges based on bribery, failure to report a bribe, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, perjury, or any other criminal statute.”
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) released a statement afterward denying the findings of abuse of prosecutorial discretion and false statements.
“The CCSAO categorically rejects the OSP’s characterizations of its exercises of prosecutorial discretion and private or public statements as ’abuses of discretion’ or false statements to the public,” said the office’s statement. “While the release does not say so, any implication that statements made by the CCSAO were deliberately inaccurate is untrue.”
Ms. Foxx’s office argued that the report “puts to rest any implications of outside influence or criminal activity on the part of the CCSAO and the Chicago Police Department.”
Nevertheless, former Cook County Judge Pat O’Brien, who is seeking to unseat Ms. Foxx in November’s election, called on her to resign from office in the wake of the report’s release.
“This report makes it crystal clear that Kim Foxx engaged in a substantial abuse of discretion by making false statements to the public about this case, breaching the State’s Attorney’s ethical obligations of honesty and transparency,” said Mr. O’Brien in a statement on ABC7. “In light of this report and so many other ethical lapses, Kim Foxx should resign from office.”
“So much for her promises of transparency. Today’s Special Prosecutor report proves that Kim Foxx engaged in an ’abuse of discretion and breached her ethical obligations of honesty and transparency’ in the Smollett case,” Judge O’Brien wrote.
In February, six months after the special prosecutor’s investigation began, Mr. Smollett was indicted on six counts related to making four false police reports, which he has challenged.
Mr. Smollett told police he was attacked by White men who beat him and put a noose around his neck in a racist and anti-gay attack.
Chicago police later said that he staged the assault because he wanted a higher salary for his role as a co-star on the Fox series “Empire,” and that he hired two brothers to assist him. He has pleaded not guilty.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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