Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson slammed the dismissal of charges against Empire actor Jussie Smollett.
Said Johnson: “I think this city is still owed an apology. … I've heard that they wanted their day in court with TV cameras so American could know the truth but now they chose to hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system.”
EARLIER: Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against ‘Empire' Actor Jussie Smollett
Said Emanuel: “I'd like to remind everybody a grand jury indicted this individual based on only a piece of the evidence that the piece had collected. A grand jury actually brought the charges.”
“On financial costs the $10,000 doesn't even come close” to what the city spent on this case.
Emanuel then spoke on the “ethical costs” as a congressman who was in office when the Matthew Shepard hate crimes law was passed.
“To use those laws and the prinicples and values behind [them] to self promote your career is a cost that comes to all the individuals – gay men and women who someday will come forward and say they were the victim of a hate crime and will now be doubted … and he did this all in the name of self promotion.”
Said Emanuel: “This is a whitewash of justice. A grand jury could not have been clearer. … Where is the accountability in the system? You cannot have because of a person's position, one set of rules apply to them and another set of rules apply to everybody else.”
“Because of the judge's decision none of the evidence will ever be made public – this is without doubt a whitewash of justice. … It is wrong. Full stop.”
“At the end of the day it's Mr. Smollett who committed this false claim on two individuals and on the city,” added Emanuel.
“At the end of the day it's Mr. Smollett who committed this hoax,” added Johnson.
“Mr. Smollett is still saying he is innocent,” Emanuel added. “Still running down the Chicago police department. How dare him! How dare him! … Still no sense of ownership of what he's done. … This is a person now that has been let off scot-free with no sense of culpability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions.”
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