Posted on 03/27/2019 3:21:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
Leave it to Jussie Smollett to unite Rahm Emanuel and Rush Limbaugh.
In the space of a few hours Tuesday, the unfathomable vaporizing of the charges against the “Empire” actor had voices crying foul from the halls of Chicago politics to the studios of conservative talk radio.
Interestingly, a story that has everything to do with politics managed to cross political lines. One did not have to be a conservative pundit to recoil at the absurd disintegration of what appeared to be a solid case of hoax-mongering against Smollett. Reports surfaced immediately that Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was mortified by the decision undercutting the passionate points he made in his press conference after Smollett’s arrest.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel weighed in immediately with the imagery of unequal justice: "Where is the accountability in the system?” he lamented. “You cannot have – because of a person's position – one set of rules applies to them and another set of rules apply to everyone else. Our officers did hard work day in and day out, countless hours working to unwind what actually happened that night. The city saw its reputation dragged through the mud...It's not just the officers' work, but the work of the grand jury that made a decision based on only a sliver of the evidence [presented]. Because of the judge's decision, none of that evidence will ever be made public."
As will often happen, the first bursts of analysis were scattered. Guests desperate to make sense with zero information on cable news segments gamely called on their experience to suggest that something in the evidence must be flawed—that authorities soberly examined the testimony of the mysterious Nigerian brothers and other factors and shrugged that the bar for successful prosecution was simply not met. That led to some moments of criticism of Chicago police and prosecutors, for “getting ahead” of the facts and trying to conduct a trial in the media.
That lasted for about ten minutes.
Then came the narrative that speaks to several unpleasant truths. While Jussie Smollett and his attorneys took to microphones to vouch for his truthfulness and character, a picture emerged of a Chicago system so riddled with corruption that prosecutors dropped the charges because their target had already performed some ill-defined community service that would have been the only consequence he would have received had he been convicted.
Besides, they said, he let the government keep his bail money. Nothing like the whiff of a payoff to complete a Chicago crime story. One wonders if the feds will be so easily lured away from charges of mail fraud stemming from a self-mailed hate letter.
The only thing more frustrating than a miscarriage of justice is the beneficiary trying to have it both ways. Smollett has made clear his passions for fighting injustice, so one would think that if he really felt maligned by lies and a false arrest, he would be burying city and state officials with invective and lawsuits.
Instead, he slinked out into the chilly sun of a Chicago lunchtime, happy to hit the exit ramp of a story that cannot be allowed to fade.
Prosecutors’ reputations hang in the balance. A police superintendent who had inspired the nation with his courage and clarity stands rebuffed, and why? Does this bear the fingerprints of activist State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who was reportedly lobbied by the office of former First lady Michelle Obama? Is thoroughly worthy evidence in a clear-cut hoax case being suppressed to achieve a political result?
We have long absorbed that the wealthy, famous and powerful can enjoy a better ride through our justice system. This has nothing to do with that. As Ann Coulter observed, Donald Trump is wealthy, famous and powerful. Jussie Smollett’s escape pod is fueled by the engines of politics and race.
When authorities seeking to score points in both of those arenas contort their procedures, it erodes confidence in the portion of government where fairness is of paramount value. There is a reason why the Lady Justice statue holds her scales blindfolded; it is to ensure that the matters before our courts will be weighed without regard to who argues before them.
In the Smollett case, the statue’s blindfold has been stripped away. Chicago justice, seeing a darling of the left in the defendant’s dock, pressed a heavy stone thumb on the scale in his favor, suppressing the interests of police, investigators and citizens interested in accountability. Now the question becomes: will this stand? Is this just the way it is? For a few weeks, Americans of every race and political stripe had been allowed to see an example of a troubled city getting a high-visibility case right, promising consequences for a crime of stunning, craven opportunism.
It would be tragic if that example is lost.
...one theory is Smollett’s crime was left on the cutting room floor to keep Blacks from touching Chicago should he be convicted.....
...torching...not touching...torching
“Prosecutors’ reputations hang in the balance.”
In Chicago? Please....
L
This useful idiot was set up for this and now they have succeeded in keeping their fingerprints from being revealed in a Court of law
I think this was an Obamma effort.
Can’t let this taint the magic negro who has tried to use race as a divider of our society from his beginning.
Foxx and the prosecutors so need to be investigated and indicted for corruption, but since FOXX so wanted the FBI to take over the initial investigation, I doubt that any justice will be coming from the Feds.
His father’s white and he gay. The bros aren’t going to burn hood for this guy!
Picture this: a white guy pulls a hate crime hoax claiming a couple black guys beat him up. He does his community service by helping pass out free MAGA hats with the kids at the Covington Catholic boys school.
Jussie committed a vile crime against all white men, so why is he helping black people?
Good point....that leaves Kamala Harris and the Obama’s who might have made that call.....
Because he is himself black
But Baltimore taught us that people Need space to riot from time to time.
Some animals are more equal than others...
Somebody oughta beat the crap out of this jerk wearing an Obama mask.
I thought they said Michelle’s chief of staff called.Foxx is controlled by Soros money!
Jussie Smollett being allowed to skate on these charges isn’t really all that much of a shocker... Hey, it’s Chicago and their court system has plenty of murder cases on the docket that are much more in need of speedy justice. It’s the complete lack remorse the non-admission to guilt that is the truly disturbing part. Instead Smollett and his supporter are trumpeting his innocence... An innocence he has no right to claim.
Federal charges should be laid immediately and let the reckoning end with Smollett publicly admitting his guilt and showing remorse. Nothing else other than that condition should buy his continued freedom and his failure to do so should result in his immediate incarceration.
MANY cases are being sacrificed on the altar of politics and race.
There is no doubt at all that smollen is guilty, and deserves to be in prison. My take is that bammy intervened, and got the case dropped.
There are two sets of laws: one for Whitey, and another for non-Whitey.
This episode makes no sense.
Is there something to an elongated timeline?
Kaepernick kneels for social change and gets squished.
His lawyer, Mark Geragos, helps (??) Kaepernick get a spokesman deal at Nike. Everyone is gobsmacked, what is Nike thinking.
All of a sudden creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti and Mark Geragos get pinched on a $20 million extorting scheme against Nike.
Next day, Juicy Smollett, a Mark Geragos client, walks free.
Question, did Juicy provide evidence against Geragos, and others, or did folks feel bad that Juicy lost his Lawyer?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.