DROP IT

Jussie Smollett’s Lawyers Say He’s a ‘Victim’ in a ‘Travesty of Justice’

The former “Empire” star’s attorneys say the appointment of a special prosecutor should be dropped or changed to narrow the investigation’s scope.

Actor Jussie Smollett’s attorneys have filed motions arguing that the decision to appoint a special prosecutor to probe the former Empire star’s case should be reversed because the actor was a victim of a hate crime attack earlier this year. According to The Associated Press, Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin said he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into why State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office dropped all the charges against Smollett—who allegedly filed false police reports about a racist, homophobic attack he was later accused of staging. In court documents filed Friday, the attorneys called the decision “a travesty of justice,” and said it needed to be dropped or altered to narrow the investigation’s scope. They also called for Toomin to be removed from the case because of his alleged bias. “Not only have the media and the public failed to critically look at the evidence (and lack thereof) against Mr. Smollett, but now, (Toomin) has accepted false media reports to presume Mr. Smollett guilty of charges which he pled not guilty to and which were dismissed against him,” the lawyers wrote. The special prosecutor position has not yet been filled, and Toomin has not set a date for the next hearing in the case.