Jussie Smollett’s Attempt To Have Case Tossed Rejected By Illinois Supreme Court

Jussie Smollett’s career may be over, but his legal troubles have just been renewed for another season.

On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the former “Empire” star’s request to throw out charges accusing him of staging a racist hate crime hoax in Chicago, after Cook County special prosecutor Dan Webb slapped him with a six-count indictment last month.

Smollett’s lawyers had filed an emergency petition claiming that Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and erred when appointed Webb to investigate the case, according to Fox News. The State Supreme Court did not elaborate on why they rejected Smollett’s arguments.

Smollett. 37, was initially accused by Cook County prosecutors of falsely reporting to police that the alleged phony attack was real. Sixteen counts of disorderly conduct originally filed against him were dismissed and Toomin found Smollett’s first prosecution was invalid.

After another investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb, six counts of the same charges we filed against Smollett, to which he pleaded not guilty last week.

Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019. He said they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing, and that at least one of his attackers was a white man who told him he was in “MAGA country,” a reference to President Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” –Fox News

As we noted in Feburary, Smollett – whose sisters worked for President Obama, was originally slapped with a 16-count indictment for lying to the police, however the Cook County State Attorney’s office suddenly dropped the charges after  Michelle Obama’s former Chief of Staff, Tina Tchen, pressured Chicago’s top prosecutor, Kim Foxx, to transfer the case to the FBI. When that wasn’t done, Foxx’s office decided not to pursue the case. 

Explaining their decision to drop the case, Foxx’s office said: “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollet’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition & appropriate resolution.”

And now it’s back on… Seems like things are just heating up for Jussie in ‘MAGA country.’