Jussie Smollett case: What we learned from prosecutors' texts

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The Foxx office in Chicago on Tuesday released thousands of emails and texting related to the Smollett case, including texts between prosecutors and e-mails between the office and the media.

The "Empire" actor, who is black and gay, claimed that two men had attacked him near a Chicago hotel around 2 am on Jan. 29.

The police finally claimed that he had organized the attack to advance his acting career. A grand jury charged him with 16 counts in March, accusing him of lying to the police. But a few weeks later, the prosecutors dropped the charges.

Here are some items revealed by recently published posts, obtained by CNN through an open registration request:

Foxx has criticized the charges – after being removed from the record

The day a Cook County grand jury charged Smollett with felony, Foxx hinted that the actor had been accused of excessive charges.

"Sooo …… I'm challenged, but when people accuse us of overworking … 16 accounts for a class 4 (crime) becomes part A," she writes.

Chicago Attorney Kim Foxx says calls for resignation are personal
It was March 8, more than two weeks after the Foxx office announced its withdrawal. She linked her self-withdrawal to her interaction with a Smollett parent or a friend of her family.
Previously published texts and emails show that Tina Tchen, a friend of the Smollett family, told Foxx in early February that the actor's family was preoccupied with the investigation and that Foxx had communicated with a person distinct – identified by the Foxx office as being another friend of the Smollett family – about the case.
On March 26, less than three weeks after the indictment, his office dropped the lawsuits against Smollett. The actor agreed to lose $ 10,000 in bail and to do community service.

Foxx said in a statement released Tuesday that she had contacted Joseph Magats, the first assistant's lawyer, after Smollett's indictment "to discuss the review of his office's policies to ensure consistency of our charges and our use of appropriate charging powers ".

"I have been elected to bring about criminal justice reform, which includes intentionality, consistency and discretion, and I will continue to uphold these guiding principles," Foxx said.

His office said that Foxx had not formally withdrawn from the case, but rather was informally separated from making decisions about it. Since there was no formal challenge, she did not have to ask for a special prosecutor, said her office.

The decision to drop the charges sparked the indignation of the mayor of Chicago – who called it "money laundering" – and the police. The Chicago police union called Foxx to resign, arguing that she had not acted on charges for which significant police resources had been used.
At Foxx's invitation, Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard will investigate how his office handled the case.

She called Smollett "a washed celebrity who lied to the cops".

In the text exchange where she suggested that the charges were too heavy, Foxx then compared the case of Smollett to another.

The Chicago Attorney asks for a independent review & # 39; in dealing with the Jussie Smollett case

"Pedophile with 4 victims, 10 counts of indictment – a stunned celebrity who lied to the cops, 16. On a case that may be subject to delayed prosecution, I think that indicates something we should consider in a general way.This is not because we can accuse. "

"This is not what we want to be."

Two things to unwrap there. First, Foxx says she believes Smollett has lied to the police.

This corresponds to what Magats and she publicly stated about the case after the charges were withdrawn. She told CNN affiliate WLS that her office thought he could have proven Smollett's guilt. Magats told WLS that "we think he did what he was accused of".

Second, consider Foxx's comparison of Smollett's charges to another case. The texts do not say exactly what case she was referring to when she spoke of "pedophile with 4 victims out of 10 counts".

But there is a well-publicized trial in Chicago that goes in the direction of the numbers. R & B singer R. Kelly was charged in February with 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault involving four alleged victims, including three who, according to prosecutors, were underage girls.

Kelly pleaded not guilty and denied accusations of violence against women or sexual relations with underage girls.

The Foxx office did not immediately answer a CNN question about the reference.

His office was not prepared for the media following the decision

The new materials shed light on the frustrations and pressures that the Foxx office was facing in dealing with the Smollett case.

After the announcement of the end of the lawsuits, Foxx staff went out of their way to handle media requests and was criticized by the Chicago police.

"I would have liked to be able to anticipate the magnitude of this response and plan a little better," wrote Cook County General Counsel Risa Lanier in a text message.

Nicole Chavez from CNN contributed to this report.

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