The Cook County state attorney, whose office just announced it was dropping the case against Jussie Smollett for perpetrating a hate crime against himself, recused herself from the case in February. The recusal came after State Attorney Kim Foxx acknowledged being friendly with Smollett and one of the celebrity’s attorneys donating to her campaign. Foxx says she was not involved in the decision with her office’s decision to drop the case against Smollett.
“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,” an adviser to Foxx, Robert Foley, told reporters in February.
“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,” Foley added.
Cook County said charges are being dropped in light of Smollett performing community service before he staged a hate crime. It was not announced what this community service was. A reporter for Chicago’s Fox 32, Rafer Weigel, said the community service Smollett performed “was done prior for something not related to this case.”
The development came as news to the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department:
In February, the Chicago Sun Times reported that “Records show that Vic Henderson, one of Smollett’s attorneys, gave $250 to Foxx’s campaign in 2016.”
While Cook County is dropping its case against the left-wing activist and entertainer, Smollett is still facing federal charges related to his allegedly mailing himself a death threat.
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated.