Jussie Smollett (Pays $10,000 to Have All) Charges Dropped

Everyone thought Jussie Smollett was needlessly overcharged when prosecutors slapped him with 16 felonies, but I kept saying: Don’t forget about celebrity justice. 

Kim Foxx, the Cook County state's attorney, said in a statement:

“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollet’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his [$10,000] bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case."

I must say, the U.S. justice is system is really on a roll this week, although this deal makes a lot more sense than Robert Mueller deferring to Bill Barr on something he was supposed to decide. (Foxx reportedly said even if convicted, Smollett would likely get a similar fine and be ordered to do community service, which she claims he already has.) TMZ is reporting that the Chicago Police Department is furious with Foxx, but my guess is taking the money and dropping the case was the easiest way to make this go away without putting their star witness on the stand who was previously arrested for attempted murder. 

I'm seeing a lot of people saying, "Well, he must be innocent or they wouldn't have dropped the charges," yet the comments are coming from the same people who think Brett Kavanaugh was guilty even though he wasn't charged and Trump's still guilty no matter what Mueller found. Come on, guys. Since when did the left become as intellectually inconsistent as the right?

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the dropping of charges and sealing of the case a "whitewash of justice" in a press conference Tuesday.

The mayor accused Smollett of abusing hate crime laws to advance his career. Smollett's actions, the mayor said, will hurt true victims of hate crimes.

“Now this casts a shadow of whether they are telling the truth,” he said. “is there no decency in this man?”

Emanuel said that Smollett’s celebrity had played a role. “Where is the accountability in the system?” the mayor. “You cannot have, because of a person’s position, one set of rules apply to them and one set of rules apply to everybody else.”

“Our officers did hard work, day in and day out, countless hours, working to unwind what actually happened that night,” he added. “The city saw its reputation dragged through the mud.”

“At the end of the day, it’s Mr. Smollett committed this hoax," said CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson. "If he wanted to clear his name the way to do that was in court.”