Independent counsel faults Chicago prosecutor's dismissal of Jussie Smollett case

Jussie Smollett at the 2017 BET Awards. (Photo/Courtesy)

A court-appointed independent counsel on Monday found Chicago prosecutors abused their discretion and may have violated legal ethics by dropping charges that former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett falsely reported he was attacked. The allegations are the latest twist in a dizzying swirl of claims and counter-claims in the case that began in January 2019 when Smollett, who is black and openly gay, told police he was accosted on a darkened street in a hate crime by two masked strangers.

Smollett was initially charged in a 16-count indictment with falsifying the incident. But the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed the case three weeks later on March 26, 2019, drawing an outcry from police and city officials. In his report, the counsel, former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb, cleared the State’s Attorney’s Office of any criminal activity or claims that it responded to improper outside influence when it dropped the hoax charges against Smollett.