Michelle Obama's former chief of staff has been forced to defend her decision to contact the State Attorney about Jussie Smollett prior to his 16 charges being suddenly dropped.
Tina Tchen issued a statement saying she knew the Empire actor's family and was simply putting 'the chief prosecutor in the case in touch with an alleged victim's family' when she contacted Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
The attorney has come under renewed scrutiny for her involvement in the case after she messaged Foxx with 'concerns' about the investigation days after Smollett claimed he'd been victimized in a hate crime.
In a statement, Tchen said: 'I know members of the Smollett family based on prior work together. Shortly after Mr. Smollett reported he was attacked, as a family friend, I contacted Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who I also know from prior work together.
'My sole activity was to put the chief prosecutor in the case in touch with an alleged victim's family who had concerns about how the investigation was being characterized in public.'
It comes amid reports the FBI is now reviewing the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of all 16 criminal charges against Smollett.
Tina Tchen, left, has been forced to defend her decision to contact the State Attorney about Jussie Smollett, right, prior to his 16 charges being suddenly dropped
Attorney Tchen served as chief of staff to Michelle Obama, pictured here with Smollett
Tchen, 63, wrote in an email to Foxx on February 1, three days after the purported attack: 'I wanted to give you a call on behalf of Jussie Smollett and the family who I know. They have concerns about the investigation,' the Chicago Tribune reported.
She became involved in the Smollett case when she contacted Foxx on February 1, three days after the Empire actor claimed that two white men had assaulted him in the street shouting racist and anti-gay slurs, as well as slogans of President Donald Trump.
It is understood Tchen has close ties with Smollett's sisters.
She wanted Foxx to convince Chicago police to hand the investigation over to the FBI, and Foxx agreed to try.
Several hours later, Foxx received a text message from one of Smollett's relatives.
Foxx indicated that she was trying to get the investigation turned over to the FBI.
'Spoke to the [police] superintendent earlier, he made the ask. Trying to figure out logistics. I'll keep you posted,' Foxx wrote.
'Omg this would be a huge victory,' Smollett's relative replied to the prosecutor.
Foxx replied: 'I make no guarantees but I'm trying.'
Attorney for Jussie Smollett, Patricia Brown Holmes answers reporter's questions after her client's court appearance at Leighton Courthouse on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois
Holmes later told CNN 'there was no political influence in this case' and went so far as to blame Chicago's police chief and mayor 'for not having any communication with the State's Attorney for the reason they are 'upset'
Smollett attorney Patricia Brown Holmes had earlier told CNN 'there was no political influence in this case'.
She even went so far as to blame Chicago's police chief and mayor 'for not having any communication with the State's Attorney for the reason they are 'upset'.
Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel said on Wednesday that prosecutors' decision to drop all the charges against Jussie Smollett made 'fools of all of us' as he demanded answers as to why the Empire star was able to escape 'scot-free' despite the State's Attorney's office still believing he is guilty of staging a hoax hate crime.
Assistant State's Attorney Joe Magats said that even though he does not believe the star is innocent, his office had suddenly decided not to pursue charges because Smollett has a 'lack of criminal background' and was not a threat to the community.
No other explanation for the sudden about-turn has been given and critics, including the 'furious' police chief who led the investigation into the attack, are enraged that not only has Smollett's record been expunged, but a judge has sealed the case meaning none of the evidence will become public.
But Holmes said: 'There were a team of lawyers, I was one of the members of that team. I did my job, on my end of this matter. They did their jobs. We all collectively worked on this case and researched every single detail and every single fact.
'We communicated with the State's Attorneys and we convinced them that the right thing to do in this case was to dismiss the charges.
'No one political called that I know of, I don't think any one political reached out to anyone, I don't think they would have allowed anyone political to reach out to them.
'I think this is a situation where the mayor and the police chief are upset because they didn't communicate or have communication with the state's attorney. That's not our issue.'
There is no doubt that brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo attacked him but so far, no other motive other than that Smollett asked them to and paid them to do it has emerged
In a series of interviews with local news outlets in Chicago on Wednesday, Foxx stood behind her assistant Joseph Magats' decision to let Smollett go scot-free after completing community service and paying a $10,000 bond forfeiture, and said it was in keeping with the circumstances of the case.
'Right now, there's a lot of emotion. And I wholeheartedly believe that in our work we cannot be driven by emotions. We have to be driven by facts.
'For people who are in the weeds of this, we recognize that the likelihood that someone would get a prison sentence for a Class 4 felony is slim.
'No two cases are the same...this is not what it looks like on Law & Order, right?' she told local radio station WBEZ.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Johnson joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel in describing it as a 'whitewash of justice.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/28/michelle-obamas-former-aide-defends-contacting-state-attorney-about-jussie-smollett/
Main photo article Michelle Obama‘s former chief of staff has been forced to defend her decision to contact the State Attorney about Jussie Smollett prior to his 16 charges being suddenly dropped.
Tina Tchen issued a statement saying she knew the Empire actor’s family and was simply putting &...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/27/22/11540174-6857887-image-a-16_1553727029407.jpg
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