[ad_1]
After being approached by a politically-linked lawyer, state attorney Kimberly Foxx asked Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to investigate the alleged Jussie Smollett attack. according to information provided to the Tribune.
Foxx contacted Johnson after Tina Chen, the former chief of staff of first lady Michelle Obama, texted Foxx, claiming that the actor's family had not specified "d & rsquo; Concerns about the investigation ". in the name of the actor "Empire" and his family. A parent then exchanged texts with Foxx.
The exchanges began on February 1, three days after Smollett claimed that two men approached him near his Streeterville building, launched racist and homophobic slurs, beat him, and passed him. head in the neck. Two and a half weeks will go by before he is instructed to tell the story, but some media were already beginning to question the story of the actor, citing anonymous police sources.
"I spoke to Superintendent Johnson," he sent to Tchen on February 1 st. "I convinced him to contact the FBI to ask him to take charge of the investigation.
On the same day, Foxx sent a text message to Smollett's family member, whose name was masked on copies published by his office.
"I spoke to the director earlier, he made the request," Foxx wrote. "Try to understand the logistics. I'll let you know. "
"Omg, it would be a huge win," said the parent.
"I give no guarantee, but I try," replied Foxx.
Kiera Ellis, a spokeswoman for the state prosecutor's office, said Smollett's relative was particularly concerned about media leaks allegedly transmitted by the police department.
"At the beginning of his communications, Mr. Smollett was still considered the victim of the crime," said Ellis. "As the investigation began to change and it became possible that he was actually a suspect, it was at that point that she made the decision (getting herself challenge). "
It's not uncommon for people to contact Foxx with information or concerns about cases, and it's "pretty typical" for her to contact Johnson directly to request updates or obtain information, Ellis said. .
Chen could not be reached for comment.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi was not able to verify whether Johnson and Foxx had discussed the transmission of the file to federal officials and refused to ask the Superintendent to do so.
But Guglielmi noted that the FBI was working on the case with the Chicago police since the very beginning because it was a hate crime. In addition, a week earlier, a letter to Smollett at the studio "Empire" had made racial and homophobic threats against the actor – a federal offense.
According to Robert Loeb, a senior lawyer who also teaches at DePaul Law School, the quality of Johnson's communication with Johnson depends on his motivation.
"If she does a service to an influential person, it would not be professional and she should be criticized," he said. "If she was trying to clean up a mess that had compromised even her own office and that a proper FBI investigation would be in the interest of the truth, then what she did is commendable."
Texts published between Foxx and their relatives were arrested Feb. 13, the same day, April Perry, Foxx's Ethics Officer, sent a note informing staff that Foxx "is challenged" as a result of the Smollett investigation . He did not say why. The first assistant prosecutor, Joe Magats, the second highest office official, was charged with the investigation.
His challenge was publicly announced only on February 19, the day before the day charges were laid against Smollett, alleging that he had invented the whole story.
The Foxx office stated that she had "recused herself" out of caution because she had had conversations with one of Smollett's parents after he reported back to her. Incident, and then served as an intermediary with the Chicago police.
The Foxx office did not explain these conversations with the parent, reporting a jab of Anita Alvarez, the attorney of the former state who had been defeated by Foxx in 2016.
"I might just have had to recuse myself from the harsh cases that occurred on my desk when I was a state attorney," she wrote on Facebook. "I had the impression that when the electors elected me and that I took the oath, it meant that I had to do my job."
MORE COVERAGE:
What happened? A timeline of the Jussie Smollett case »
Jussie Smollett charged with 16 counts of false allegations of racist and homophobic attack
The incident of Jussie Smollett: minute by minute of this cold January night »
[ad_2]
Source link