{"id":644524,"date":"2019-06-01T13:18:05","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T13:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"
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\"FILE<\/div>\n

New documents on the Jussie Smollett case released Thursday show that prosecutors told Chicago police detectives that a possible deal with the \u201cEmpire\u201d actor was in the works a month before charges against him were dropped.<\/p>\n

The approximately 460-pages of new documents show detectives investigating Smollett\u2019s claim he was the victim of a hate crime were told by Cook County prosecutors a deal with Smollett could include a $10,000 fine and community service. The detectives did not pass the information to superiors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t pass it on because they didn\u2019t know it (the case) was going to be handled the way it was,\u201d said Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.<\/p>\n

Smollett was charged with 16 counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he\u2019d been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January. Police contend the black and openly gay actor staged the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted publicity. Prosecutors dropped charges on March 26 without Smollett admitting guilt.<\/p>\n

Then Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed outrage over the prosecutors\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n

In the documents released Thursday, detectives note the Chicago Police Department was informed by the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney\u2019s office on Feb. 28 that they could no longer investigate the crime. Smollett was indicted on March 7. The lead investigators in the case met with Assistant State\u2019s Attorney Risa Lanier, who informed detectives \u201cthat she felt the case would be settled with Smollett paying the city of Chicago $10,000 in restitution and doing community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The detectives closed the case at that point because an arrest was made and the alleged offender was being prosecuted, according to Guglielmi.<\/p>\n

Telephone calls to the Cook County state\u2019s attorney\u2019s office weren\u2019t immediately returned Thursday.<\/p>\n

It was the attorneys for Smollett who announced charges alleging he lied to police about attack had been dropped. At the time, Johnson said he learned of the deal prosecutors made with Smollett when the deal was announced by lawyers, adding he didn\u2019t think justice was being served. However, he didn\u2019t directly criticize prosecutors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job as a police officer is to investigate an incident, gather evidence, gather the facts and present them to the state\u2019s attorney,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we did. I stand behind the detectives\u2019 investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said the dismissal of the charges was \u201can affront to prosecutors across the state\u201d as well as police, victims of hate crimes and the county as a whole.<\/p>\n

The city of Chicago is seeking $130,000 from Smollett to cover the costs of the investigation into his reported beating. The city claims about two dozen detectives and officers investigated the entertainer\u2019s report that he was attacked, resulting in a \u201csubstantial number of overtime hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

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