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Get caught up on the Jussie Smollett saga2:47
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Jussie Smollett charges droppedBy Meg Wagner, Brian Ries and Veronica Rocha, CNN
Updated 42 min ago12:46 p.m. ET, March 27, 2019
What we're covering here
The latest: Two Chicago Police supplemental reports on the Jussie Smollett case have been released. We're going through them now, and will post highlights here.Charges dismissed: All charges against Smollett — who had been accused of staging a hate crime and filing a false police report — have been dropped, his attorneys say.The charges: The "Empire" actor was indicted earlier this monthon 16 felony counts by a Cook County grand jury.
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42 min agoJussie Smollett wasn't handcuffed or put in a jail cell, officer says
The reporting officer in one of the police reports said that Jussie Smollett was never handcuffed, placed in a cell, or "subjected to the media" while in an officer's presence.
45 min agoOne of the brothers who attacked Smollett said he poured bleach on the actor, police say
A major twist in the Jussie Smollett case came when police alleged that the actor hired two brothers and paid them $3,500 to stage the attack.
Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were arrested last month after police tracked the cabs and rideshare cars they used before the attack. The men eventually confessed to the alleged plot and appeared before a grand jury but they were released without charges.
According to the just-released police reports, one of the Osundairo brothers told police after testifying to the grand jury that it felt good to tell the truth — but still felt that police may want to charge him.
One of the Osundairo brothers told the police he put bleach into an El Yucateco hot sauce bottle and poured it on Smollett, according to the reports.
1 hr agoChicago Police reports on Jussie Smollett's case were just released
Two Chicago Police supplemental reports on the Jussie Smollett case have been released as a result of FOIA requests from the media.
Some context: These reports are all supplemental police documentation that classifies Smollett as an "offender," according to Chicago Police Sgt. Peter Edwards. The police documents that classify Smollett as a "victim" — which was prior to when charges were filed — have not been made public.
CNN affiliate WLS obtained copies of the reports. You can read them here and here.
23 hr 7 min agoThe county's top prosecutor recused herself from the investigation last month
Today's announcement that charges against actor Jussie Smollett were dropped comes more than a month after the county's top prosecutor recused herself from the investigation.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself "out of an abundance of caution," according to a spokeswoman from her office.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case," spokesperson Tandra Simonton said at the time.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office didn't immediately explain why the 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct were dropped against Smollett today, except to say it came after reviewing the case's facts, and in view of Smollett's agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bond. Parts of the case will be sealed, one of Smollett's attorneys said.
23 hr 26 min agoChicago mayor: "Mr. Smollett is still saying he is innocent. How dare him?"
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel took issue with Jussie Smollett telling reporters earlier that he was innocent, while "still running down the Chicago Police Department."
"How dare him? How dare him?" Rahm said.
"This is a person now who has been let off scot-free with no sense of accountability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions," Emanuel said.
He admonished Smollett for "using hate crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities from violence" only to "turn around and use those laws to advance your career and financial reward."
"Is there no decency in this man?" the mayor said.
What Smollett said: Speaking to reporters earlier today, Smollett described his actions as "truthful."
"I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one," he said. "I would not be my mother's son if I was capable of one drop of what I've been accused of."
Watch the moment:
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23 hr 34 min agoPolice superintendent says he learned about the dropped charges at the same time the public did
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said his department learned about the dropped charges when the news was made public.
"We found out when you all did," he said.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel cast doubt on the state's actions, saying it was "not on the level."
"From top to bottom, this is not on the level ... It's not on the level, but I also want to say I want to emphasize what the superintendent just said. At the end of the day, it's Mr. Smollett that committed this false claim upon two individuals and who also testified, but also on the city. One action, yes, we're looking at the state's attorney. It's not on the level from beginning to end and there needs to be a level of accountability throughout the system, and this sends an ambiguous message that there is no accountability and that is wrong," he said.
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23 hr 32 min agoChicago mayor: "This is a whitewash of justice"
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Jussie Smollett used the law for his own benefit, and it hurts future victims of hate crimes.
"He used the laws of the hate crime association that all of us through the years have put on the books to stand up to be the values that embody what we believe in," Emanuel said. "This is a whitewash of justice. A grand jury could not have been clearer."
He also compared the case to the recent college admissions scam, in which the Department of Justice accused wealthy families of bribing college coaches and admissions officials to get their children into schools.
"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," Mayor Emmanuel said. "In another way, you're seeing this play out in universities where people pay extra to get their kids a special position in universities. Now you have a person, because of their position and background who is getting treated in a way that nobody else would ever..."
23 hr 43 min agoChicago police superintendent: "Do I think justice was served? No."
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed his disappointment over today's dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case.
"Do I think justice was served? No. What do I think justice is? I think this city is still owed an apology," he said.
Johnson, who's been an officer for 31 years, suggested Smollett's attorneys brokered a deal.
"I've heard that they wanted their day in court with TV cameras so America could know the truth and know they tried to hide behind secrecy to broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system," he said.
Johnson said he stands behind his department's investigation.
23 hr 50 min agoFox "gratified" charges against Smollett were dismissed
From CNN’s Sandra Gonzalez
Fox and 20th Century Fox Television are "gratified" that the case against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was dropped, a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed,” spokesperson Chris Alexander said in the statement.
The studio and network produce the series “Empire,” the television drama on which Smollett has appeared since 2015.
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