A judge on Friday denied a request to publish a report on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her office’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case.
WTTW reports:
Judge Michael Toomin on Friday denied a motion from Special Prosecutor Dan Webb seeking to release that full report, citing the need to maintain the secrecy of grand jury evidence contained within it.
During an in-person hearing inside Cook County Juvenile Court Building, the judge ruled the release of those grand jury minutes is not necessary because the case has been breathlessly covered in the media since the initial charges were filed against Smollett in spring 2019. […]
Toomin said news reports covering the case affords the public “material similar to that” appearing in the report.
The judged added in his ruling: “In the absence of any showing of a particularized need for disclosure, the policies supporting the secrecy of grand jury proceedings weighs against the public release of the grand jury material sought by the special prosecutor.”
Webb was selected last year to probe into whether those involved in Smollett’s case had engage in wrongdoing. Webb released a 12-page report in which Foxx and her officials were found to have made “substantial abuses of discretion” and “operational failures,” though no criminal offenses were committed.
In January 2019, Smollett — then a star of the Fox Entertainment show Empire — alleged he was attacked by MAGA hat wearing individuals, who assaulted him and subsequently dosed him with bleach. An investigation by the Chicago Police Department found Smollett fabricated the incident, and was later arrested. However, Foxx then dismissed the case against Smollett by dropping the charges.
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