Prosecutor who recused herself from Smollett’s case is a sexual assault victim

Top Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx, who recused herself from the Jussie Smollett probe, disclosed during a pre-Oscars brunch in Beverly Hills this week that she is a survivor of sexual assault.

Foxx appeared along with actresses Olivia Munn, Ambler Tamblyn and Melissa Fumero on Tuesday at the event, where moderator Lisa Ling asked them their thoughts on women in Hollywood and politics.

Foxx said her empathy as a sexual-assault survivor is an asset, not a liability, in her role as the Cook County state’s attorney, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“I was told that you have to be careful when charging someone with sexual assault. The accusation is heavy. You accuse a guy of rape, he’ll never be the same,” Foxx said at the event organized by Emily’s List, the political action committee dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women.

“We do more interrogation of the person who brings the allegation than the accused. Who are the people who make that call? I bring all of my experiences to my policy agenda, and I’m unapologetic about that.”

She added: “People want to pretend that policies are blind, but bad policy comes from people who are not directly impacted by them. I was broken, and it makes me better at my job — a more thoughtful, empathetic and compassionate prosecutor. I own that I have been hurt and have been healed.”

Ling, who hosts a show on CNN, said: “The silver lining in the last couple of years is that women are galvanized and mobilized and ready to enact real change.

“So much progress has already been made, but today is about how we can keep that momentum going,” she added.

Foxx said that given the “historical deficiency” of equality and rights for women, there is a need for proactive action.

“There has been deliberate and intentional exclusion, so we have to work with the same level of intentionality to break that down,” she said. “To overcompensate for that, you have to have radical ideas and radical diversity.”

Foxx’s spokeswoman, Tandra Simonton, said on the same day that “out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself [from the Smollett case] was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case.”

Robert Foley, a senior adviser to Foxx, also issued a statement Wednesday about her recusal.

“Shortly after the incident occurred in late January, State’s Attorney Foxx had conversations with a family member of Jussie Smollett about the incident and their concerns, and facilitated a connection to the Chicago Police Department who were investigating the incident,” he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Based on those prior conversations and out of an abundance of caution, last week State’s Attorney Foxx decided to remove herself from the decision making in this matter and delegated it to her First Assistant Joseph Magats, a 28-year veteran prosecutor,” he added.

Foxx’s predecessor blasted her this week over the recusal.

“It’s about doing your job,” Anita Alvarez told CBS Chicago. “It’s about doing the job that the citizens of Cook County elected you to do. And I don’t believe she’s doing her job.”

Alvarez, who lost the Democratic nomination for state’s attorney to Foxx in 2016, said her comments are “absolutely not” sour grapes.

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