BREAKING: Attorneys for "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett say charges alleging he lied to police about attack have been dropped.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2019

BREAKING: Charges to be dropped and record wiped clean in the case involving embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollet, Jussie Smollett’s attorneys confirm. https://t.co/FKZXOYi35O pic.twitter.com/6iVeCkrIy8

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 26, 2019

Ooh. Who did he flip on and about what?

5 minutes ago, marceline said:

Ooh. Who did he flip on and about what?

 

Well, Chicago PD has endless amounts of corruption and malfeasance so I'd wager to guess that it probably begins there.

I hope this does not mean Jamal is returning 🙄

20 minutes ago, marceline said:

Ooh. Who did he flip on and about what?

 

Trump, and the Russians.

 

I'm kidding.

 

(But maybe not.)

 

What a mess....I guess if you've got money...it talks....

It can't all be chalked up to an expensive, superior legal defense.  I mean, no community service?  There's got to be some type of malfeasance within the Chicago PD and possibly the prosecutor's office.  Again, this is the Chicago PD we're talking about, there is bound to be tons of corruption if one does a deeper probe.  Most of the black men that CPD busts are poor with no resources, this one was clearly not one of them.

I’m so confused I don’t even know where to begin. Smollet initially said he was attacked by 2 MAGA white guys. He said he saw the skin around their eyes through their masks and knew they were white.  He refused to give up his phone. The Nigerian brothers said they were paid by Smollet and were seen on camera buying the masks and noose. The brothers were let go and were no longer persons of interests. Chicago police are spitting mad because Smollet wasted their time and deduced this was all an elaborate scheme by Smollet  for a pay raise who was about to be fired. Network says otherwise. Now all charges are dropped. No plea deal was struck and no community service was mentioned so I have even more questions now than I did before.  My threshold for Smollet and by extension Empire has reached it's limit.  Even if they don’t bring Smollet back, Empire is done.

30 minutes ago, Money said:

I’m so confused I don’t even know where to begin. Smollet initially said he was attacked by 2 MAGA white guys. He said he saw the skin around their eyes through their masks and knew they were white.  He refused to give up his phone. The Nigerian brothers said they were paid by Smollet and were seen on camera buying the masks and noose. The brothers were let go and were no longer persons of interests. Chicago police are spitting mad because Smollet wasted their time and deduced this was all an elaborate scheme by Smollet  for a pay raise who was about to be fired. Network says otherwise. Now all charges are dropped. No plea deal was struck and no community service was mentioned so I have even more questions now than I did before.  My threshold for Smollet and by extension Empire has reached it's limit.  Even if they don’t bring Smollet back, Empire is done.

 

Don't forget about those leaks by the Chicago PD.  The case was always going to be very messy.

What a mess. How does Fox handle this?

1 minute ago, Faulkner said:

What a mess. How does Fox handle this?

 

Why exactly were the charges dropped?  Was he declared innocent after all or the cops and DA blundered so badly with the leaks they dropped the charges?  

 

Does fox have to hire him back if he's not innocent?  

The state's attorney probably made some error that would have gotten their case thrown out. I cannot imagine anything other than that reason getting this case dismissed.

1 minute ago, ReddFoxx said:

The state's attorney probably made some error that would have gotten their case thrown out. I cannot imagine anything other than that reason getting this case dismissed.

 

Exactly!  I truly believe Jussie did this but Chicago botched the case and Jussie will skate.  In this case, I don't believe Empire has to hire him back.  

16 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

Why exactly were the charges dropped?  Was he declared innocent after all or the cops and DA blundered so badly with the leaks they dropped the charges? 

 

13 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

The state's attorney probably made some error that would have gotten their case thrown out. I cannot imagine anything other than that reason getting this case dismissed.

 

My theory: Jussie's attorney(s) argued at a motion meeting that a key piece of evidence against him be suppressed on one set of legal grounds or another.  The judge agreed; and either he further ruled that the charges against Jussie be dismissed (for example, that evidence, which is now inadmissible, led to the discovery of further evidence, which has to be thrown out as well), or the DA's office reasoned that, without that evidence, they could not guarantee a guilty verdict against Jussie come trial time.

 

Again, that's just my theory.

 

Keep in mind, though, that should the DA's office pursue this case any further, they can (and probably will) re-arrest and re-arraign Jussie, especially if they can prove inevitable discovery on any or all evidence that might've been suppressed.  No "double jeopardy" rules apply, since Jussie has not been officially tried for the crime.

 

By the way, I watch entirely too much "Law & Order."