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'Woke' Chicago DA Kim Foxx repeatedly 'deliberately' misled the public about her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case and quickly dismissed charges because she didn't want 'throngs of people at court', new report finds

  Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx repeatedly misled the public about her office's handling of the   Jussie Smollett   case and...

 Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx repeatedly misled the public about her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case and was responsible for 'a major failure of operations' in dismissing charges against the Empire actor, a special prosecutor's damning report states.

The 68-page confidential report detailing missteps and multiple instances of false statements made by Foxx and her prosecutors in the initial investigation of Smollett was released after a judge ruled on Monday that it should be made public. 

Some of the office’s actions may be violations of legal ethics, special prosecutor Dan Webb concluded. He said Foxx and others in her office did nothing criminal.

Smollett, 39, was convicted earlier this month of lying to police in January 2019 about what he said was a racist, homophobic attack in downtown Chicago. 

Prosecutors said Smollett, who is black and gay, staged a fake attack involving a noose to get publicity. He is expected to be sentenced next year.

The report includes findings by Webb, who took over the case after Foxx dropped charges against Smollett in March 2019. 

Kim Foxx
Jussie Smollett

A newly release report by a special prosecutor has found that Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx (left) and her office were responsible for 'a major failure of operations' in dismissing charges against Jussie Smollett (right)

In June 2019, Chicago police released bodycam footage of the Empire actor wearing a noose he claimed his assailants allegedly put on him during the January 2019 attack

In June 2019, Chicago police released bodycam footage of the Empire actor wearing a noose he claimed his assailants allegedly put on him during the January 2019 attack

Webb was tasked with investigating Foxx's handling of the case and whether Smollett should face charges.

The report says that Webb's investigation 'did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against State's Attorney Foxx or any individual working at the CCSAO (Cook County State's Attorney's Office).' 

But according to the report, the special prosecutor 'did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuse of discretion and operational failures by the CCASO in prosecuting and resolving the Initial Smollett Case.'

Webb alleged that Foxx and her office made 'false and/or misleading statements to the public regarding the nature and reasons for the dismissal' of the initial case, and in doing so breached their 'obligations of honesty and transparency.'

Nigerian brothers Olanbinjio Osundairo, left, and Abimbola Osundairo, admitted they were paid $3,500 to stage an attack on Smollett, who first met Abimbola on the set of Fox's Empire

Nigerian brothers Olanbinjio Osundairo, left, and Abimbola Osundairo, admitted they were paid $3,500 to stage an attack on Smollett, who first met Abimbola on the set of Fox's Empire

Jussie Smollett leaves court on December 9 after being found guilty of five of six counts of disorderly conduct

Jussie Smollett leaves court on December 9 after being found guilty of five of six counts of disorderly conduct


Webb released a portion of the report including its major conclusions, in 2020. The full report released Monday documents interviews with Foxx, dozens of employees of her office, Chicago police officers and friends and family members of Smollett.

It says Foxx — who recused herself from the Smollett case before it was dropped — told the special prosecutor’s office that she was 'surprised' when all 16 counts against Smollett were dropped, and that she believed he should have been required to admit some wrongdoing, which he was not. Instead, he got off with a restitution of under $10,000 and minimal community service. 

She also said she believed prosecutors in her office 'wanted to get this guy out of town' because of the media attention that accompanied the case and the 'throngs of people' it had brought to the courthouse.  

Foxx acknowledged during her interview that getting rid of the case 'shortchanged, I think, the accountability that the city deserved,' reported Chicago Tribune.  

Foxx later said in a media statement that the case was dropped just like thousands of other similar cases, which Webb concluded was not true.

Special prosecutor Dan Webb
Foxx has been accused of misleading the public about the Smollett case

Special prosecutor Dan Webb has concluded that Foxx and others in her office made false and misleading statements about their handling of the Smollett case 

Foxx was quoted as saying that prosecutors wanted to get rid of the case because of the 'throngs of people' it had brought to the courthouse. Pictured: supporters of Foxx clash with protesters during a demonstration in April 2019

Foxx was quoted as saying that prosecutors wanted to get rid of the case because of the 'throngs of people' it had brought to the courthouse. Pictured: supporters of Foxx clash with protesters during a demonstration in April 2019 

'The fact that such a significant mischaracterization could be asserted without sufficient vetting, repeated by figureheads of the (Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office) and then never corrected or clarified — particularly in a case the (office) knows has captured the public attention — is unacceptable for an office that must be transparent and maintain public confidence,' Webb’s report states.

Webb also found that Foxx improperly changed her public position about the strength of the evidence against Smollett. 

After calling the case against him 'strong,' she wrote in a Chicago Tribune editorial shortly after the charges were dropped that securing a conviction was 'uncertain.' That pivot was 'false and misleading,' Webb concluded.

Foxx’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. When the initial findings were released last year, the state’s attorney’s office said it welcomed Webb’s findings that no one on the staff committed a crime and that no undue outside influences affected prosecutors’ decisions, but rejected any characterization of abuses of discretion or false public statements.

Webb also pursued the investigation against Smollett, and a grand jury in 2020 indicted him on new charges of lying to police. A jury convicted the 39-year-old earlier this month on five of six counts of disorderly conduct, a low-level felony.

Smollett has maintained his innocence, and his attorney says they will appeal the conviction. 

Cook County Judge Michael Toobin, who appointed Webb as special prosecutor to look into the case, ruled Monday that his full report should be made public now that Smollett's trial is complete. 

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