«Breaking News» Nigerian brothers' lawyer says Jussie Smollett took advantage of them

The lawyer representing the two Nigerian brothers at the heart of the Jussie Smollett scandal said on Monday that they had been 'taken advantage of' by the star. 

Gloria Schmidt represents brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, aged 25 and 27. They say Smollett paid them to stage a hoax attack on him on January 29 as part of an elaborate scheme to get a raise. 

In an interview on Good Morning America on Monday, Schmidt said the brothers were eager to help Smollett because they thought he could help them with their careers. 

They were officially hired to train him, she said, but that Smollett also asked them to carry out the attack as a 'favor.' 

'My clients were just taken advantage of by someone they trusted,' she said. 

Schmidt dismissed Smollett's lawyers claims that it is only the brothers' word against his and says there is 'of course' corroborating evidence that the attack was a hoax. 

'That's why they went from being persons of interests to suspects. They are free men and they are at home,' she said. 

In a later interview, she said the pair were 'tremendously regretful' for their role in the scandal.  

Scroll down for video 

A lawyer for Abel and Ola Osundairo (left) say the brothers were 'taken advantage of' by Jussie Smollett who allegedly hired them to carry out a staged hate crime on him on January 29

The brothers were questioned as suspects of a hate crime for 47 hours in February before they finally confessed to police that Smollett had asked the to attack him. 

Chicago PD bosses have said Smollett paid them $3,500 in a backdated check to carry out the attack. 

He labeled the check as payment for personal training. 

Schmidt said on Monday that while he did hire the brothers to train him, they cannot be sure if the check was for that or for the alleged hoax attack.

'They were paid for the training, they were training together, but they were also asked to do this favor for him. Unbeknownst to them, this turned out to be a big betrayal.' 

Asked if the check was explicitly for the training and not, as police say, for the attack, Schmidt replied: 'It would be such an easy narrative to see it that way but it's a very complicated relationship. 

'If you're friends and I'm saying, "Hey, I'm going to pay you for training but I'm also asking you to do me a favor" and the favor was to stage the attack,' she said.  

Schmidt would not explain exactly what the brothers' motive was for participating but said they 'trusted' Smollett and thought he could help them.

Gloria Schmidt, the brothers' lawyer, went on Good Morning America on Monday to defend them 

'I look at the dynamic between loyalty and someone who was in a position of trust with my clients who really just took advantage. They worked with Jussie on Empire, they are friends with him, they thought he could help their career. 

'Obviously he has connections, he has a good position at Fox. 

'This was someone they trusted to consider their best interests,' she said. 

She insisted the brothers were not 'looking for anything' when they made their confession but would not confirm if they had been granted immunity from any possible prosecution in exchange for it.  

The brothers were filmed buying supplies to use in the attack in a store in Chicago the day before it happened. They say they used a $100 bill Smollett gave them 

Schmidt said the pair were now putting their lives 'back together'. 

Smollett has hired celebrity-favorite Mark Geragos who previously represented Michael Jackson and Chris Brown 

'This was life-altering. I saw them go through the realization process. They know this has impacted a lot of minority populations so they're working very hard to just move this in the right direction,' she said, adding she could say 'with confidence' that they 'did not commit a hate crime.' 

In a later interview with CBS, she echoed her earlier points, saying: 'What they are really focused on right now is that they feel tremendously regretful for their involvement in the situation.

'All the other peripherals are outside of their main focus right now.

'You have someone here who is a celebrity type, someone who is in a position of trust, someone who works with these people, who is able to hep their careers if he so wants to and then he betrays them.

'This entire thing started because they trusted the wrong person.'  

Smollett is now facing 48 years behind bars as opposed to just three after being hit with an additional 15 counts of felony disorderly conduct last week.

The fresh charges were returned in a grand jury indictment on Thursday. 

Smollett's lawyers say the entire case is a witch hunt that has been driven by the media. The star will return to court on Thursday. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/11/nigerian-brothers-lawyer-says-jussie-smollett-took-advantage-of-them/
Main photo article The lawyer representing the two Nigerian brothers at the heart of the Jussie Smollett scandal said on Monday that they had been ‘taken advantage of’ by the star. 
Gloria Schmidt represents brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, aged 25 and 27. They say Smollett paid them to stage a hoax ...

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/2019/03/11/14/10838926-6795109-image-m-32_1552314685044.jpg