June 21: Judge Michael P. Toomin of the Circuit Court of Cook County orders that a special prosecutor be appointed to independently investigate charges that Mr. Smollett staged the attack, as well as the prosecutors’ decision to drop the felony counts against him. The judge was addressing the decision by Kim Foxx, the Cook County state’s attorney, to separate herself from the investigation and appoint her deputy as “acting state’s attorney” to oversee the case.
Aug. 23: Daniel K. Webb is appointed special prosecutor.
As the U.S. attorney in Chicago, he was chief prosecutor in Operation Greylord, the undercover investigation of corrupt judges, police officers, lawyers and other public officials in that city. Mr. Webb also prosecuted Adm. John M. Poindexter, a former national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, in the Iran-contra affair. In his current role as an executive chairman of the international law firm Winston Strawn, he is known for defending prominent white-collar clients, including George H. Ryan, the former Illinois governor.
Feb. 11, 2020: Mr. Webb announces that a grand jury has indicted Mr. Smollett on six counts of disorderly conduct, accusing him of lying to the police about the attack. The special prosecutor said Ms. Foxx’s office had not produced any evidence showing that it believed the case against Mr. Smollett had been weak.
Feb. 24: Mr. Smollett pleads not guilty and is released without bail.
Aug. 17: Mr. Webb announces his findings in the inquiry surrounding the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He says the office did not violate the law in its handling of the case but did abuse its discretion in deciding to drop charges and put out false or misleading public statements about why it did so.
Nov. 29, 2021: Mr. Smollett’s trial begins at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/jussie-smollett-timeline.html
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