Chicago officials are demanding that Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor pay them back for the time they spent investigating his staged hate crime. Earlier this week, it was announced that the State’s Attorney’s office had dropped all 16 felony charges against the actor, who lied about two white MAGA hat wearing males physically attacking him, shouting racial and homophobic slurs, while placing a rope around his neck and dumping bleach on him. Smollett also claimed the attackers (who turned out to be two Nigerian friends) shouted: “This is MAGA country!” as they walked away.
Fox News reports that Chicago officials are now asking to be reimbursed in the amount of $130,000.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who stood by Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and his investigators appeared to be furious over the decision to drop all charges and seal the case by Prosecutor Kim Foxx’s office.
Emanuel talked tough about Smollett until it was discovered that Prosecutor Foxx had been communicating behind the scenes with Michelle Obama’s former Chief of Staff Tina Tchen, who was allegedly attempting to help Smollett with his case.
Rahm Emanuel: "Mr. Smollett is still saying that he is innocent, still running down the Chicago Police Dept. How dare him?"
"You have a person using hate crime laws…to advance your career and your financial reward. Is there no decency in this man?" https://t.co/B2ahaJSxt3 pic.twitter.com/5OJEd8KtmW
— ABC News (@ABC) March 26, 2019
Yesterday, on Twitter, President Trump announced that the FBI and DOJ would be reviewing the “outrageous Jussie Smollett case” calling it an “embarrassment to our Nation!”
FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1111214993293357056
Suddenly, Barack Obama’s former Chief of Staff, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, has shifted gears. The close friend of Barack Obama’s is now blaming President Trump for Jussie Smollett’s fake hate crime by imaginary white, male, Trump supporters.
According to Fox News – Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday emphatically urged President Trump to butt out of the ongoing drama over embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett as he blamed him for creating a “toxic environment” where someone would allegedly fabricate such an attack.
“My recommendation is the president go to Opening Day baseball, sit on the sidelines and stay out of this,” Emanuel told a group of reporters.
The mayor called Chicago a “Trump-free zone” and blamed the president for creating a “toxic” and “hate-filled” environment that allowed Smollett to think he could get away with faking a hate crime.
“Let me be clear about something. The only reason Jussie Smollett thought he could take advantage of a hoax about a hate crime is because of the environment, the toxic environment that Donald Trump created,” Emanuel said.
“This is a president who drew a moral equivalency between people who are trying to perpetuate bigotry and those who are trying to fight bigotry.