Jussie Smollett wasn’t the only one found guilty

Flopping Aces ^ | 12-10-21 | DrJohn

[Starman417]

Yesterday Jussie Smollett was found guilty of faking a hate crime and lying to police but he was not alone in his guilt. Far from it. Although hardly the only one, I had this figured out quickly and posted it nearly three years ago.

What were the odds of two MAGA hat wearing Trump supporters would be outside a Chicago restaurant at 2 am with a wind chill of -40 waiting for Smollett? Despite my cynicism, I said nothing. I wanted to wait for the facts to get sorted out. Liberals, however, had no interest in the truth.

Last night I set about collecting the ridiculous things said about Smollett but soon realized that I had already posted most of them back then. Nonetheless, it's worth revisiting. Let's start from the top down

Biden

What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country. We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie. https://t.co/o8ilPu68CM
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 30, 2019

Harris

.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019

Maxine Waters

Jussie is my friend - a very talented & beautiful human being. It is so hurtful that homophobic haters would dare hurt someone so loving and giving. I'm dedicated to finding the culprits and bringing them to justice. Jussie did not deserve to be harmed by anyone!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) January 30, 2019

Nice collection here- mostly pols

Incredible stuff pic.twitter.com/IczNfxlU46
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) December 10, 2021

Yamiche Alcindor, the activist masquerading as a "reporter" who recetly left NPR for NBC

Perhaps no tweet exemplifies media re: Smollett more than this from @Yamiche of PBS. She attributes the report to TMZ, but adds “We have to do better as a country. This is disgusting.” The media must take this misstep seriously and not dismiss it. Be humble, and get better. 8/ pic.twitter.com/oBasCwptfS
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019

Disgusting? Yes, but not for reason she originally had

Good old CNN

And of course, little editorializing that is now the norm within many journalistic outlets looks awful in retrospect. Here, @BrookeBCNN closes an objective segment by noting “This is America in 2019.” 7/ https://t.co/f4OpYR3l9Q
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019

The Washington Post

Another media error was in the instant analysis. Here, @washingtonpost tweets that Smollett “was assaulted.” But also, follows up with an opinion piece (but tweeted from their main account): “The Jussie Smollett attack highlights the hate black gay Americans face”. 5/ pic.twitter.com/xx4RgmMfeb
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019

CNN, NBC

The headlines and chyrons of CNN, NBC News and CBS News from day 1 all clearly take, as fact, that an attack happened . The question raised was only if it was a hate crime. 2/ pic.twitter.com/qkOWBL57jb
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) February 18, 2019

See it all here

There is another epic thread here. Some of the guilty have deleted their tweets. This one was deleted but the archive remembers all and Rosie Memos saved it.

Don Lemon acted as defense counsel for Smollett

Jussie Smollett, on trial for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself, testified Monday that he had correspondence with CNN's Don Lemon during the early parts of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) investigation into the incident.

Smollett, 39, testified that he received a text from Lemon, supposedly relaying information that the CPD didn’t believe Smollett's account of what happened, Fox News’ Matt Finn reported from the Windy City courthouse.

Good Morning America's Robin Roberts gave Smollett a tongue bath.

https://youtu.be/HjRQRXQkIhs

There was also much humor

[Liz]

[Sans-Culotte]

I never heard of Jussie until he concocted his incredibly stupid hoax. May he return to the anonymity of a has-been as he so richly deserves.

[Qiviut]

If there was “justice” for Jussie regarding the crimes he committed, he’d be required to repay every penny the Chicago police et al spent investigating his false claims AND he’d do some jail time.

Jussie *could* get 3 years per guilty count (per Andy McCarthy) for a total of 15, but he’ll likely get probation/community service .... except Andy noted the judge seemed particularly annoyed with him when Jussie got all snarky/mouthy when being questioned by the prosecutor. The judge admonished him more than once. Jussie also testified in his own defense ... I didn’t pay attention to the reasoning, but McCarthy/Turley thought this was a mistake and didn’t think this was in his bests interests when it came to sentencing.

[Pontiac]

I never heard of Jussie until he concocted his incredibly stupid hoax.

Same here.

May he return to the anonymity of a has-been as he so richly deserves.

I hope so as well, but most Americans have short memories. He probably be resurrected from obscurity by the Hollyweird Leftist. They try very hard to take their faithful followers.

[gloryblaze]

A very nice collection of their uniform analysis right quick when the story broke. I especially like his term for the Robin Roberts interview: “tongue bath.”

[Ken H]

[Sans-Culotte]

Jussie *could* get 3 years per guilty count (per Andy McCarthy) for a total of 15, but he’ll likely get probation/community service

I do not know how the sentencing is done, whether by judge or jury. If I had anything to say, I would throw the book at him. IMO, the only way I would even entertain probation/community service would be if Jussie had fessed up and expressed remorse and contrition and thrown himself on the mercy of the court. The fact that he fought so defiantly to maintain such a ridiculous fiction shows me that he needs punishment.

[Qiviut]

Agreed.

I think the issue with “ if Jussie had fessed up and expressed remorse and contrition” is that by testifying to the opposite when he was on the stand, he blew what could have been his “I’m so sorry” argument at sentencing ... i.e. the judge won’t believe he’s suddenly and sincerely ‘contrite’. He was arrogant/snarky with the prosecutor when he was on the stand, too - judge admonished him more than once to answer the question yes/no, not opine.

Federal court so it looks like the judge does the sentencing:

Sentencing

A few months after the defendant is found guilty, they return to court to be sentenced.

The judge receives guidance and assistance from several sources in order to sentence a defendant. Congress has established minimum and maximum punishments for many crimes which the judge uses to craft a sentence. The United States Sentencing Commissions has produced a set of sentencing guidelines that recommend certain punishments for certain crimes while considering various factors. Further, the judge will look at a presentence report and consider statements from the victims as well as the defendant and lawyers.

The judge may consider a variety of aggravating or mitigating factors. These include whether the defendant has committed the same crime before, whether the defendant has expressed regret for the crime, and the nature of the crime itself.

https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/sentencing

[Liz]

Heh........

[Liz]

Heh........

[ThunderSleeps]

Will America get an apology from all the people who immediately jumped on the bandwagon and insulted us? All? Many? Any? ... Even just one?

Doubtful.

[Liz]

ABCs Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts (said to be the highest paid woman on TV) gave Smollett a tongue bath......as GMA viewers across America watched.

ABC used it’s viewership to aid and abet a crime in progress.

Smolletts continual lying and even embellishing the lie boosted by a sympathetic journo .....violated every broadcast standard.

CONTACT THE FCC:
Federal Communications Commission
45 L Street NE
Washington, DC 20554

Phone: 1-888-225-5322
Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
Fax: 1-866-418-0232

[Liz]

ABCs Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts (said to be the highest paid woman on TV) gave Smollett a tongue bath.

As GMA viewers across America watched, ABC blithely used it’s viewership to aid and abet a crime in progress.

Smolletts continual lying and even embellishing the lie boosted by a sympathetic journo .....violated every broadcast standard.

CONTACT THE FCC:
Federal Communications Commission
45 L Street NE
Washington, DC 20554

Phone: 1-888-225-5322
Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
Fax: 1-866-418-0232

[Mr. K]

"...the only way I would even entertain probation/community service would be if Jussie had fessed up and expressed remorse and contrition and thrown himself on the mercy of the court

That's exactly right. He got out of court having been found guilty and he still insists he was attacked? No remorse? I hope the judge considers perjury charges.

[Blurb2350]

"The judge may consider a variety of aggravating or mitigating factors. These include whether the defendant has committed the same crime before, whether the defendant has expressed regret for the crime, and the nature of the crime itself."

If the judge follows these guidelines, it could go badly for Smollett. He did commit the same crime before (sent phony threatening letters to himself), never expressed regret (in fact he lied brazenly while under oath), and "the crime itself" and its very public aftermath caused untold damage to race relations. Still, it's a long shot that he'll ever pay for his crimes, even with the city of Chicago's civil suit.

[Vaduz]

Thanks

[gloryblaze]

... He did commit the same crime before (sent phony threatening letters to himself),...

That case is still "under investigation."

[Real Cynic No More]

Uh, he was convicted of state, not federal, crimes.

[Qiviut]

Thanks for the correction,

My bad .... special prosecutor was a ‘former’ federal prosecutor (I evidently selectively heard the federal part) ... McCarthy/Turley were talking about sentencing guidelines & that sounded federal.

One more thing - cameras not allowed in fed courtrooms & not allowed here; however, after nosing around, ‘no cameras’ was because the courtroom was small & couldn’t accomodate cameras.