Taken over by the FBI!!!
I'm coming down with a case of Comey/Clinton Déjà vu:
"No reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Smollett for 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct and lying to police about being attacked."
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Jussie Smollett pleads not guilty to lying to police and will now stand trial.
The 36-year-old actor will return to court in April and will be allowed to travel between New York City and Los Angeles to meet with lawyers.
He was accompanied by some but not all of his family and said nothing as he strode quickly into the courthouse wearing a pair of sunglasses.
He was searched by security before entering the courtroom where he is expected to enter a plea on 16 counts of disorderly conduct. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 48 years behind bars.
Smollett, who insists he is innocent, is accused of paying brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo to attack him on January 29. They told police the actor wanted a raise on Empire, the Fox show in which he is one of the central characters.
On Thursday morning, trial judge Steven Gregory Watkins was assigned to the case.
After pleading not guilty on all counts, Smollett left the court with his family without making a statement.
Jussie Smollett is pictured in court on Thursday. The actor pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about the January 29 attack authorities say was staged
Jussie Smollett arrives in court in Chicago on Thursday to enter a plea on 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct. He put his hand on his heart as he walked past protesters shouting 'Justice for Jussie!'
Jussie Smollett is cheered on as he arrives at Chicago courtroom
On Thursday, Tina Glandian, one of his attorneys said they 'welcomed' the case being open to the public and media.
'We welcome cameras in the courtroom so the public and the media can see the evidence and we believe is a lack of evidence against Mr. Smollett and we look forward to complete transparency and the truth coming out,' she said.
Members of Smollett's team told the media at the courthouse that his Empire co-star Terrence Howard had planned to attend the arraignment but that his flight was delayed arriving in Chicago.
They said he would likely attend later sessions.
Smollett's court appearance coincided with the revelation that his family contacted former Michelle Obama aide Tina Tchen to get in touch with State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx the day after the attack to tell her they had 'concerns' with how the police were handling it.
They were worried, they said, about the amount of information that was being leaked to the media from the start of the investigation.
Tchen persuaded her to try to pawn the case off to the FBI, according to text messages obtained by USA Today.
Foxx said she was 'trying' and had spoken to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnston to try to 'convince' him to let the FBI take the lead on the investigation.
She also exchanged text with one of Smollett's relatives who replied: 'Omg this would be a huge victory,' when Foxx mentioned her efforts.
Smollett's brothers Jake (far left in black sunglasses) and Jojo (front left in gray coat) joined him as did his sister-in-law Lala (front right) and other loved ones
Smollett was joined by some of his siblings but not all of them. He wore sunglasses and a suit with a coat and was flanked by a bodyguard
The actor was searched as he entered the courtroom on Thursday to enter a plea
There were lines of fans outside the court who shouted 'Justice for Jussie' as he made his way inside
Protesters outside the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Thursday to support Smollett
(Not that I can read the signs but I'm sure OJ, Trayvon, Michael Brown etc...are all fucking innocent)
Ultimately, the case did not move on to the FBI because there was not enough evidence that Smollett had been the victim of a hate crime as he claimed.
Foxx recused herself from the case after Smollett was arrested, saying at the time that her contact with a family member of his was a conflict of interest in the case.
Tchen, who worked with the Obamas when they were in the White House, has not publicly commented on the case.
Smollett did not initially want to involve the police on the night of the attack.
It was his friend, 60-year-old Frank Gatson, who insisted they call 911 after he arrived back at his apartment with a rope around his neck and bleach on his clothes, claiming to have been assaulted by two men who shouted: 'This is MAGA country!' as they beat him.
The Smollett family enlisted the help of former Obama adviser Tina Tchen (seen above with the couple in the White House) to try to get the investigation taken over by the FBI
State's Attorney Kim Foxx told the Smollett family she was 'trying' to convince the Chicago PD to let the FBI take over the case but it never happened. She recused herself later over the conflict of interest. On Thursday, trial judge Steven Gregory Watkins (right) was assigned to Smollett's case
It was 2am and he had gone out to get a salad from Subway.
In the weeks that followed, Chicago PD sources gradually leaked information about the case to local media about how Smollett was refusing to hand over his phone records.
As they combed through surveillance footage from the night of the attack, they honed in on the Osundairo brothers and tracked their rideshare and taxi movements.
They then arrested the pair on February 20 as they arrived back in Chicago from Nigeria.
In the 47th hour of their 48 hour hold, the brothers confessed to the plot.
At around the same time, Smollett went on Good Morning America to plead his innocence and condemn the growing skepticism surrounding his case.
Brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo told police Smollett paid them to not only train him athletically but to attack him in a fake hate crime
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