Jussie Smollett's Associates Asked State Attorney Kim Foxx To Intervene In Case

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Actor Jussie Smollett arrives at Leighton Criminal Courthouse on March 14, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Smollett stands accused of arranging a homophobic, racist attack against himself in an attempt to raise his profile because he was dissatisfied with his salary on the Fox television drama 'Empire.'
Text messages and e-mails between Jussie Smollett's allies and Kim Foxx reveal concerns over police investigation.

It's been over a month and a half since Jussie Smollett first made allegations that he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago. Although he had the public's support initially, that shifted after he became the suspect on the case. However, as reports emerged earlier today that the charges against him had been dropped, it turns out that he reportedly had a connection at the Cook's County State's Attorney office keeping him in the loop about the ongoing about the investigation.

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The Chicago-Tribune reports that text messages and e-mails between the State Attorney Kim Foxx and two of Jussie Smollett's allies have been leaked online. The messages revealed that Smollett's allies got in contact with Foxx asking her to intervene in the case a few days prior to Smollett filing a police report to Chicago PD. 

The first interaction was between Michelle Obama's former chief of staff Tina Tchen who emailed Foxx on behalf of Jussie's family. Tchen said that there were "concerns" among the actor's family with the way the investigation was being dealt with. At this point, it's believed that Chicago PD already had doubts about Smollett's story and was leaking info on the case.

Tchen received a response from Foxx on Feb. 1st who said, "Spoke to Superintendent Johnson. I convinced him to Reach out to FBI to ask that they take over the investigation. He is reaching out now and will get back to me shortly."

On the same day, Smollett's unnamed relative texted Foxx who told them that the case was being sent to the FBI.

If you recall, Foxx ended up recusing herself from the case after Smollett became the suspect in the case. After the charges were dropped, the Fraternal Order of Police in Chicago asked the Dept. of Justice to investigate Kim Foxx's involvement in the case.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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