A shining example of how the only real “privilege” in America is celebrity privilege.
Now that he has been let off the hook for his staged hate crime hoax by a corrupt Democrat machine, actor Jussie Smollett is rubbing salt into the wounds of the city of Chicago with another outrageous move.
The star of Fox’s television show Empire is now apparently refusing to pay back the city for the resources that were expended as police investigated his bogus account that he was jumped by two Trump supporters in red MAGA hats on a bitterly cold January evening.
According to Smollett, his alleged attackers roughed him up, berated him with racial and homophobic slurs, poured bleach on him and left a rope around his neck.
Numerous inconsistencies in Smollett’s story along with good police work cracked the case when the two Nigerian brothers who the actor paid to perpetuate his heinous and cynical hoax fessed up to their role in the scam – surveillance video also captured the duo purchasing the supplies for the operation.
Justice was well on the way to being served after Smollett was hit with sixteen felony charges and was scheduled for his day in court until crooked Cook County prosecutor Kim Fox shockingly dropped the charges after lobbying by politically connected figures who were sympathetic to the actor.
Infuriated and left with no recourse, outgoing Mayor Rahm Emmanuel called for Smollett to pay back the $130,000 that the investigation cost but it now appears that the smug Smollett is going to stiff the city with the bill leading to reports that Chicago will sue the actor.
#BREAKING: Chicago says city will file civil lawsuit against actor @JussieSmollett after he refuses to pay for police investigation costs. https://t.co/OEPaTTxrw3
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) April 4, 2019
Via Windy City Fox affiliate FOX 32 News, “Chicago to sue Jussie Smollett after his refusal to pay for police investigation costs”:
Jussie Smollett has refused to pay more than $130,000 to reimburse Chicago investigative costs and the city said Thursday it will sue the “Empire” actor for money spent investigating what officials say was a phony racist, anti-gay attack that Smollett staged.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s law chief sent Smollett a March 28 letter demanding he pay $130,106 – plus 15 cents – for overtime worked by detectives and officers in looking into his claims. It set Thursday as the deadline to pay.
The City Law Department said in a Thursday evening statement that it was already drafting a lawsuit in response and would file it “in the near future.”
Smollett, who is black and gay, maintains he told the truth in reporting that two masked men assaulted him in downtown Chicago on Jan. 29, shouting slurs and wrapping a rope around his neck. He said his attackers also yelled, “This is MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The lawsuit could lead to a civil trial, where jurors would have to answer the question of whether Smollett orchestrated the attack.
There will be no criminal trial on that question after Cook County prosecutors last week dropped all 16 felony counts against Smollett, saying they believed they could prove the charges but that it wasn’t worth the time and expense. The surprise decision angered Emanuel, who called it a “whitewash” and said the city’s reputation “was dragged through the mud” by Smollett.
“As part of this legal action, the Law Department will pursue the full measure of damages allowed under the ordinance,” the statement from Chicago said. It didn’t specify what those damages could be.
The municipal code stipulates that the city can triple the amount originally demanded if someone fails to pay an initial amount. That means the city could demand more than $390,000 from Smollett.
Whether any such lawsuit is successful remains to be seen.
Smollett has multiple advantages including a potential jury pool plucked from a city torn by racial strife that may stick it to the man with a defiant verdict along the lines of the infamous O.J. Simpson murder trial and he does possess that celebrity privilege.
The actor also benefits from having an angel of woke looking over his shoulder with the newly elected replacement for Emmanuel being a black lesbian who when she assumes office, could drop the lawsuit which many would feel is the most likely outcome.