The police chief in charge of the investigation into Jussie Smollett's alleged hoax attack said on Monday that there was more evidence which incriminates him on top of the mountain of proof that has already been made public.
Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson appeared on Good Morning America on Monday to defend the Chicago Police Department's investigation into the attack and double down on his condemnation of Smollett.
He batted away the Empire actor's claim that a check for the brothers he allegedly paid to attack him was for personal training and said there was surveillance footage. physical evidence and testimony that proves it was a hoax which is yet to be presented.
'He still has the presumption of evidence and he'll get his opportunity in court if he chooses to go that route,' Johnson said, rejecting Smollett's lawyers claim that he has been unfairly vilified by the police department and prosecutor's office.
'I can tell you this, there's a lot more evidence that has not been presented yet that does not support his version of the incident.
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This is the check Jussie Smollett paid Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo to allegedly beat him on January 29.He backdated it to January 23, according to police. Smollett labeled it '5 week nutrition/workout program' but the brothers say it was for the attack
On Monday, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson appeared on Good Morning America to say he had more proof the actor lied
'There is still a lot of physical evidence, video evidence and testimony that simply does not support his version.
'It's not the Chicago PD saying he did something. It's the evidence, the facts and the witnesses saying this,' he added.
Johnson, who eviscerated the Empire star during a press conference last week after he was arrested, said he was careful throughout the investigation not to jump to the conclusion that Smollett was involved despite growing suspicion among detectives.
Jussie Smollett is shown in his mugshot on February 21. He maintains he is innocent
'I refused to let Chicago Police Department categorize him as a suspect until we had solid evidence,' he said.
Johnson also said he was 'acutely aware' of the police department's reputation for being racist, which Smollett supporters have invoked in their defense of him, but that it played no role in this investigation.
'Something like this can be really damaging. We have made a lot of progress in the last three years in terms of race relations.
'We're heading in the right direction in terms but are we where we want to be? Of course not,' he said.
Johnson added that he did not want Smollett's case to act as a deterrent to true victims of hate crimes, saying: 'This is just one incident...there are real victims of crimes of that nature, hate crimes, and I just hope people don't treat them with skepticism.
'This is one particular incident and it has to stand on its own merits,' he said.
'The City of Chicago has its issues. The CPD has its issues with racism and excessive force and all of that and I am acutely aware of it.
'[But] we didn't earn this incident and i refuse to let us have to take that shot if I have evidence to the contrary.
'It's my responsibility to make sure the record gets set straight.'
After his arrest last week, the Cook County State's Attorney's office revealed some of the evidence it had against Smollett at an extraordinary press conference in court.
Abel and Ola Osundairo told police Smollett paid them to attack him and that he was also behind the letter he received on January 22
It included phone records which show Smollett called Abel Osundairo, one of the brothers involved, an hour before the attack, an hour afterwards and while they were in Nigeria days later.
They say they also have surveillance footage of Smollett with the brothers in the days before the attack, while they were allegedly piecing it together.
On February 13, Roberts sat down with Smollett to discuss the incident.
At the time, he was still being treated as a victim by police but there was growing suspicion within the police department over his alleged involvement in the attack.
He angrily denied making up any part of his story and cried to Roberts that he was being attacked, both on the night of the attack and afterwards, because he hates President Trump.
Smollett arrived two-and-a-half hours late to that interview and offered no explanation for it, DailyMail.com revealed last week.
This is the bond proffer that was made public last week which lays out the proof police say they have. According to Superintendent Johnson, there is more that they have not yet presented
The actor is due back in court on March 14 to face a felony charge of filing a false police report.
He is accused of paying brothers Abel and his brother Ola $3,500 to attack him at 2am on January 29.
Police say Smollett orchestrated the attack because he thought it would boost his celebrity profile, which it did, and earn him a raise.
The 36-year-old star's attorneys insist he is innocent.
Part of his defense is that the check was for personal training. It was backdated to January 23 and on it, Smollett wrote that it was for program to help him lose weight ahead of a music video appearance, writing in the memo box '5 week nutrition workout plan.'
Smollett's cast mates are split in their opinion of what happened.
Some, including his on-screen father Terrence Howard, believe he is innocent whereas Gabby Sidibe, Smollett's one-time room mate, deleted a supportive Instagram post in which she said she believed him after his arrest.
Surveillance footage emerged on Wednesday showing Ola and Abel Osundairo buying ski masks the day before the attack. Smollett gave them a $100 bill to pay for the bleach, ski masks, red hat and gloves that they used, according to prosecutors
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/25/police-say-they-have-more-evidence-jussie-smollett-staged-attack-that-has-not-been-made-public/
Main photo article The police chief in charge of the investigation into Jussie Smollett’s alleged hoax attack said on Monday that there was more evidence which incriminates him on top of the mountain of proof that has already been made public.
Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson appeared on Good Morning America ...
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/2019/02/25/13/10258006-6742651-image-m-3_1551100069903.jpg
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