Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx slammed Chicago’s ongoing investigation into former Empire actor Jussie Smollett, dismissing the case as “b-s.”
“That we are continuing to talk about this in a city that continues to deal with gun violence, in a city that is continuing to reckon with police accountability. That somehow this case has been elevated to one of the greatest criminal injustices in our time feels disingenuous,” Foxx told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I talk to too many family members of [victims of] violence who are frustrated that we spend more time talking about this case than the unsolved homicide rate. I talk to people who are worried about their young people who say, ‘Why do we keep talking about Jussie?’ It’s not me. It’s what I hear from the community:`We can’t believe we’re still talking about this.'”
Foxx has been under heavily criticized over her handling of the Smollett case. After abruptly dropping the charges, Foxx then recused herself from the case. Still, evidence would later be provided, which proved that she stayed involved and was possibly influenced by the Chicago attorney and former chief of staff for former first lady Michelle Obama.
In one text message, she accused her office of “overcharging” Smollett.
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb was brought in to review the case to ensure that Foxx had acted impartially.
Foxx is unimpressed with the U.S. Attorney’s involvement.
“Asking a U.S. attorney and asking the FBI to investigate is probably the last thing someone would want if they were trying to get away with something,” Foxx said.
“The reputation of the city of Chicago wasn’t marred by Jussie Smollett. This is a city that was named the false confession capital of the United States on ’60 Minutes.’ This is a city that has paid almost $1 billion in police misconduct. This is a city that, when I came into office, had 760 people murdered and 4,000 people shot,” she continued.
“I get that what this person did was obnoxious and stupid . . . [But] we have people every day who have agreements with our court to resolve their cases without public apologies. We did not want to treat him differently than we would treat any other defendant.”
Foxx is currently campaigning for re-election.
