By Team Bongino
“Empire” star Jussie Smollett was indicted today by a
Grand Jury on 16 felony counts and faces up to 48 years in prison if convicted,
according to the
Daily Mail.
The
Mail reports, “The Empire actor was initially charged with one
Class 4 Felony charge of disorderly conduct last month but a grand jury has
applied that charge 15 times over in an 86-page indictment that was returned on
Thursday. Now, he is facing a maximum sentence of 48 years behind
bars and fines of up to $400,000.”
A copy of the indictment was obtained by the Mail which
claims the 15 new charges were split into two sets.
The first seven counts relate to comments the actor made
to Chicago police officer Muhammed Baig, who was the first to respond to
Smollett’s apartment after his friend called 9-1-1 on January 2.
The second set of counts apply to the comments he made to
Detective Kim Murray.
Smollett was arrested in February after police officially
classified him as a suspect for allegedly filing a false police report.
Smollett had claimed he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack that
occurred in January in Chicago where two men poured a chemical substance on
him, put a rope around his neck and said “This is MAGA country!”
His story began to unravel shortly after the alleged
incident. Chicago police have since announced that Smollett of paid two other
actors $3,500 to stage the so-called attack.
______________________
RELATED
ARTICLE
Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts
following Chicago attack allegations
"Empire" actor Jussie
Smollett has been indicted on 16 felony counts following his Chicago
attack allegations.
The Cook County grand jury indictment, dated Thursday and
made public on Friday, gives details of the disorderly conduct charge against
Smollett, according to The Associated Press. It elaborates on the allegation
that he falsely reported that he'd been attacked in late January.
The indictment — eight counts from what he told the
officer who responded to the report of the attack and eight for what he later
told a detective — comes a little more than two weeks after prosecutors
announced one felony count of the same charge.
Following the news, attorney Mark Geragos —
who is representing Smollett — said in a statement obtained by Fox
News on Friday that "the fact of an indictment was not unexpected."
"We knew that there is no way they would expose
their evidence to a public airing and subject their witnesses to
cross-examination," the statement continued. "What is unexpected,
however, is the prosecutorial overkill in charging 16 separate counts against
Jussie.
"This redundant and vindictive indictment is nothing
more than a desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the
internal investigation launched to investigate the outrageous leaking of false
information by the Chicago Police Department and the shameless and illegal
invasion of Jussie's privacy in tampering with his medical records.
Jussie adamantly maintains his innocence even if law enforcement has
robbed him of that presumption.”
A spokesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney did
not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Also on Friday, Anthony Guglielmi, the chief
communications officer for the Chicago Police Department (CPD), tweeted:
"As Supt Johnson stated, allegations against Mr. Smollett are shameful
& if proven, they are an affront to the people of Chicago who embraced him
as a neighbor & respected him as a role model. We stand behind the work of
detectives & refer any comment on indictment to prosecutors."
As Supt Johnson stated,
allegations against Mr. Smollett are shameful & if proven, they are an
affront to the people of Chicago who embraced him as a neighbor & respected
him as a role model. We stand behind the work of detectives & refer any
comment on indictment to prosecutors
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Chicago
Police opened an internal investigationinto Smollet's case.
In a statement to Fox News on Thursday, a spokesperson
for the force confirmed that "an internal investigation has been
opened."
"I would like to point out that a lot of the information
out there was inaccurate and there were numerous agencies involved in this
investigation," the statement continued. "As a standard procedure
when there are allegations of information being leaked, an internal
investigation has been opened and we are also looking at our
vulnerabilities."
In January, Smollett told police that he was attacked by
two masked men as he was walking home from a sandwich shop in the early morning
on Jan. 29. The actor, who is black and gay, said the masked men beat him, made
derogatory comments and yelled, "This is MAGA country" — an
apparent reference to President Trump's campaign slogan, "Make
America Great Again" — before fleeing.
But that isn't how police say it all went down.
Smollett, who is accused of filing a false police
report, was charged last month with felony disorderly conduct. After
turning himself in, a judge set Smollett's bond for $100,000 and he
was released from jail.
According to the Chicago Police Department, Smollett paid
Abimbola "Abel" and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo by check
for a "phony attack" in order to take "advantage of the
pain and anger of racism to promote his career."
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at
a press conference last month that police found the "check that
[Smollett] used to pay [two brothers]" to fake the beating, adding he paid
them $3,500 "for the two of them in total, and then $500 upon
return."
He said the attack "was staged, the brothers had on
gloves during the (air quotes) 'staged attack' where they punched him a little,
but as far as we can tell, the scratching and bruising that you saw on
[Smollett's] face was most likely self-inflicted.”
Smollett has maintained his innocence. The actor's legal
counsel told Fox News after Smollett was accused of filing the fake police
report that the nation "witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle
that has no place in the American legal system.
"The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the
search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and
notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election," his team continued.
"Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character
and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence betrayed by a
system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to
sentencing.”
Illinois attorney Rod Drobinski reviewed the indictment
and told Fox News the grand jury hit Smollett with a separate
count for every different crime he alleged had been perpetrated against
him (eight in all) — to each of the officers he spoke with (two). Thus, the 16
total counts.
Fox News' Sasha Savitsky and Julius Young
and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
