Smollett Just Blew a Hole in His Own Testimony & Is Refusing To Turn Over Evidence: Report
The Jussie Smollett investigation hasn’t necessarily produced a whole lot of results thus far. There isn’t video of the alleged incident, where two white individuals allegedly assaulted the gay, black “Empire” actor, putting a rope around his neck and telling him, “This is MAGA country.” Chicago Police are still looking for two persons of interest, neither of whom has been located.
As of Thursday afternoon, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said there were no scheduled briefings in the case, which is odd considering it’s one of the highest-profile hate crimes in recent history. Part of that, one could speculate, has to do with the problems in Smollett’s story — in particular, the actor’s refusal to turn over a key piece of evidence.
Several sources confirmed that Smollett and his manager have refused to turn over their phones or phone records to Chicago Police; both would be considered key pieces of evidence because the actor says he was on the phone with the manager, Brandon Z. Moore, when the attack occurred.
Moore has said he heard the homophobic slurs and MAGA-related epithets hurled at Smollett. However, neither one has provided the department with access to evidence proving that the call even happened.
Confirmed with two Chicago PD sources that Jussie Smollett and his manager refused a request to turn over phone records to show Smollett’s manager was on the phone with Jussie when the attack took place. Its not clear if Chicago PD will move to obtain records independently
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 31, 2019
However, detectives are unable to “independently verify” the call occurred because Smollett refused to turn over his phone.
— Rob Elgas (@RobElgasABC7) January 31, 2019
In a statement Thursday, Chicago Police confirmed they didn’t have the records and that Smollett and Moore were stonewalling them on that account.
“Both the victim and the manager made independent statements to detectives that they were on the phone with one another during the alleged attack,” the statement said, according to The Wrap.
“CPD has no reason to doubt these claims. Detectives however were not able to independently verify the statements as cell phone records were not provided to investigators when asked. Therefore we are not able to confirm this.”
And again, it’s not like this was an airtight story before. Controversy regarding Smollett’s version of the events began when news came out that he hadn’t mentioned the “MAGA country” part during his initial interview with police.
Guglielmi confirmed that while Smollett hadn’t provided that information at first, he relayed it “to detectives during their initial follow-up investigation. They were not made initially to responding officers but detectives completed a supplemental report with the updated information.”
CNN also reported that a letter containing a white, powdery substance was sent to the “Empire” set in Chicago a week before the alleged Jan. 29 attack; the substance was determined to be aspirin, although the HAZMAT unit was called out to the scene.
According to TMZ, the letter was directed to Smollett, reading “You will die, black f—.” It also included “MAGA” as the return address. In the aftermath of the incident, however, Smollett declined extra security.
What can glean about the case from what we know? Smollett was threatened via a hoax anthrax letter just seven days before he claims to have been assaulted, a letter which brought out the HAZMAT team. In wake of this, not only did he refuse additional security, he decided to go out to get a sandwich at 2 a.m. and talk on the phone with his manager — at which point, he says, he was attacked.
Smollett claims he was assaulted in one of the most heavily surveilled parts of Chicago, yet no camera seems to have caught the incident as it happened. During his first interview with cops, he declined or forgot to give the Chicago Police a key piece of evidence — namely, the part about “MAGA country.” The fact that Smollett neglected to mention that his attackers were self-identified Trump supporters seems odd, given that it would have tied the assault back to the threatening letter he received just seven days prior.
Now, both he and his manager refuse to turn over their phones or records that would prove they were on the phone with each other, another key piece of evidence given Smollett’s statement to police.
Yet, it seems as if half of the Democrat field for 2020, however, have cosigned this putrefying story as if it were fact, as has every liberal for whom the phrase “MAGA country” is irresistible bait to them. The lesson from Covington Catholic, one can extrapolate from this, remains unlearned: If an incident backs up your preconceived notions about an issue almost too conveniently — as if the cultural issues it presented were custom-designed for your personal use — it may help to wait to see just how true it is.
As for Smollett, the fact that he refuses to turn over his phone or the records to Chicago Police isn’t exactly a wonderful portent for the veracity of his claims. There’s nothing in Smollett’s phone records that should justify not turning them over to police, particularly when they would prove his story; the refusal is basically blowing a hole in everything he’s said.
And, as for those who view Smollett’s claims uncritically, if you can still believe this narrative without reservations, I admire your effort but question your motives.
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