A judge reportedly denied a request to release the entire report into prosecutor Kim Foxx’s handling of the Jussie Smollett alleged hate crime case.
Judge Michal Toomin denied special prosecutor Dan Webb’s request to release his entire report, according to an article published Friday by the Chicago Tribune. Webb had to make the request because the report includes grand jury testimony, the outlet reported.
Jussie Smollett special prosecutor is ready to release his full report —but Kim Foxx is fighting to review it and comment first. Judge may decide Fri. pic.twitter.com/Dqba2Xts8p
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) August 27, 2020
Webb, who has released a summary of his findings, reportedly argued the full report should be released to the public in order to remain transparent. The special prosecutor claimed he could not fully restore public faith without releasing the full report, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Toomin claimed the public had access to material similar to what was in Webb’s report. (RELATED: Special Prosecutor In Jussie Smollett Case Finds ‘Abuses Of Discretion’ By Kim Foxx’s Office)
“The special prosecutor has had considerable access to other material available from sources other than the grand jury,” Toomin said in court Friday, the outlet reported. “Additionally, published news reports and nationwide broadcasts covering the entire run of the special prosecutor’s engagement afforded access to material that the court finds is similar to that appearing in the special prosecutor’s 59-page report.”
Webb’s summary said that Smollett’s sister had texted with Foxx after she had been made aware the actor was under investigation. Webb also claimed the two prosecutors who took over for Foxx had “significantly and meaningfully divergent” reasons for why the charges were dropped.
The former “Empire” actor was hit with fresh felony disorderly conduct charges in February after a special prosecutor was called in to examine former State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision to drop the original charges against Smollett. The actor was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct after being previously charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct.
Smollett has been accused of staging a hate crime against himself back in January of 2019.