‘OPERATIONAL FAILURES’

Special Prosecutor Condemns Handling of Jussie Smollett Case

The investigator found that Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office abused their discretion in the case.

The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx abused its discretion in the case against Jussie Smollett, but the abuse did not amount to criminal action, a Chicago special prosecutor said Monday. The prosecutor, Dan Webb, criticized Foxx and her office’s handling of the Smollett case, stating that their work was riddled with misleading statements. The office was widely criticized in March 2018 after Foxx announced that they would drop charges against Smollett that had alleged the former Empire star faked a homophobic and racist attack against himself. Smollett continues to insist that the attack was real. Webb’s investigation concluded that there was not “evidence that would support any criminal charges against State’s Attorney Foxx or any individual working at (her office),” but there was “evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures” in the handling of the case.