Jussie Smollett is determined to clear his name in the alleged botched robbery/assault scheme that halted his career and tarnished his reputation.
Though he took part in the new Netflix documentary, The Truth About Jussie Smollett, he is now claiming that key evidence was left out of the final cut of the project. Evidence that he says would further turn the lens on the Chicago Police Department’s cover-up of his attack. According to his reps, there were more than 10 crucial points completely ignored by the latest look inside the 2019 case, including witness tampering, a failure to run DNA found on the evidence, and the CPD’s history of scandal.
“The FBI tested the rope. The Osundairo brothers’ DNA is not on it. Jussie’s DNA is on the rope, as well as an unknown man’s DNA. No one ever tested the DNA of the unknown man to find out who he is,” a statement from Smollett’s reps reads. “The FBI DNA results came in March 2019, before the charges against Jussie were dropped the first time. Jussie’s lawyers did not show the DNA evidence to the jury. Jussie was never told about it and found out aboutit two years after trial.”
The former Empire actor’s reps says though he participated in the documentary, he refused payment while others were compensated and had no editorial input on a final cut before it aired. Because of this, many of the questions that have followed the case remain unanswered. Smollett’s trial was a captivating part of the documentary and the case itself; however, his reps claim that major evidence never made it into the courtroom.
“The Osundairo brothers continue to deny that they made a deal with Chicago police but that’s been completely undermined and contradicted by former Chicago Police Chief Spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, who publicly said the Osundairos brokered a deal with CPD,” the statement reads. “Guglielmi said CPD used Jussie’s Good Morning America interview to trick the brothers into thinking Jussie ID’d them. On GMA, Jussie simply said the men in the photo were Jussie’s attackers, but never said he knew who those men were or that they were the brothers.
The actor’s reps also allege that the CPD pressured one of the witnesses in the case, Anthony Moore, to change his story in an effort to paint Smollett as a liar.
“Anthony Moore was repeatedly pressured to change his story. He told CPD the man he saw was White, yet was taken to a lineup of all Black men,” the statement reads. “Moore also testified that Sean Wieber, of Dan Webb’s special prosecutor team, repeatedly pressured him to change his testimony and say the suspect was Black. Moore refused, spoke about the pressure by Sean Wieber at trial, and pointed out Sean Wieber in open court.”
Smollett and his team also allege that the CPD altered surveillance video, assigned detectives with extensive misconduct allegations to the case and allowed an officer, Richard Hagan—who’d been sued for tampering with evidence in the controversial Laquan McDonald murder trial resulting in a $5 million payout from the city—to laud over the footage that could have potentially cleared the actor’s name.
Hoping to put this firmly behind him, Smollett is moving full steam ahead with music released under Dallas Austin’s new and improved Rowdy Records imprint and will be joining the new season of Fox’s Special Forces.
One thing’s for sure, his story hasn’t changed since the beginning.
