Livid Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Insists Jussie Smollett Is Guilty: “Is There No Decency In This Man?”

A visibly angry Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson dismissed Jussie Smollett’s latest insistence on his innocence and decried the prosecutors’ dismissal of criminal charges against the Empire actor as, in Emanuel’s words, “a whitewash.”

Johnson said, as bluntly as he has before, that Smollett conducted a “hoax” to further his own financial gain.

Emanuel lambasted Smollett as selfishly exploiting hate crime laws for his own personal gain. “He took those laws and turned them inside out and upside down,” Emanuel said, repeatedly reminding reporters that a grand jury heard the case and brought the charges against Smollett.

“Do I think justice was served?,” asked Johnson. “No. And I think this city is still owed an apology.”

Anthony Guglielmi, chief communications office for the Chicago Police Department, tweeted this today:

In a remarkably scathing assessment of both Smollett and the Illinois state attorney’s office that today dismissed all criminal charges against the actor stemming from the alleged hate crime that Emanuel and Johnson continue to insist was a hoax, the two men agreed that justice has not been served. Johnson said that Smollett and his lawyers have chosen to “hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system.”

In addition to the dropping of charges, Smollett’s record was expunged and the case sealed.

The Emanuel-Johnson press conference followed by an hour a press conference by Smollett and his lawyer (read about that here). Both the police superintendent and, especially, the mayor appeared furious over the prosecution deal.

“He did this all in the name of self-promotion,” Emanuel said of Smollett. “This is a white wash of justice. A grand jury could not have been clearer. Where is the accountability in the system?”

The mayor repeatedly suggested that Smollett benefitted from his “position and background,” apparently referring to his celebrity and wealth, at one point even comparing the situation to the recent Varsity Blues university scandal involving Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin.

Regarding Smollett’s forfeiture of a $10,000 bond, Emanuel said the amount “doesn’t even come close to what the city spent in resources” investigating the case.

Emanuel said the “ethical cost” was even greater than the financial cost. “To use the very laws and principles and values behind the Matthew Shepherd [hate crime laws] to self-promote your career is a cost that comes to all the individuals, gay men and women, who will now be doubted” when reporting hate crimes, Emanuel said.

“Our city’s reputation was dragged through the mud,” the mayor said.

Smollett was indicted March 8 with 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly hiring Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, two Nigerian brothers and acquaintances of Smollett, to stage a racist and homophobic hate crime attack outside a Subway restaurant. Smollett, who is black and gay, was accused by police of devising the hoax to gain attention and a salary raise for his role on Fox’s Empire.

Last month, Smollett pleaded not guilty to the charges, and today a Cook County Circuit judge ordered the case sealed following a five-minute hearing in which all criminal charges were dropped. Smollett’s attorneys told reporters that the dismissal was not the result of any sort of plea deal.

Speaking to reporters with Emanuel, Johnson said, “If you want to say that you’re innocent of a situation, then you take your day in court,” adding “If someone falsely accused me, I would never hide behind a brokered deal and secrecy.”

Taking his turn at the mics, the mayor said, “This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice, and sends a clear message that if you are in a position of influence and power, you’ll get treated one way and other people will be treated another way. There is no accountability in the system. It is wrong, full stop.”

Repeatedly accusing Smollett of misusing hate crime legislation, Emanuel said at one point, “Is there no decency in this man?”

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