A 59-page report from special prosecutor Dan Webb concluded that Cook County prosecutors, including State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, repeatedly went out of bounds in their handling of the Jussie Smollett case—and then repeatedly misled the public in bungled attempts to save face after the matter blew up into controversy, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The report, which was concluded last year, also found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or improper influence by activists or celebrities.
The handling “represented a major failure of operations,” the report states. And Foxx herself stated under oath she was surprised at how the case was resolved, according to the report. Foxx told special prosecutors, under oath, she was “surprised” at the lenient deal her office struck with Smollett and that she got the impression it was handled that way because “they wanted this guy out of town.”
Foxx told NBC Chicago there were no major failures made, adding, “When I read this report—that was taken out of context and did not afford myself or others who made statements to be able to reconcile what he heard—it’s rather disappointing, particularly given Mr. Webb’s stature.” Foxx also said she did not intend to mislead the public about the case.
The report also found no major wrongdoing by Chicago police, NBC Chicago noted.
Smollett was convicted earlier this month on felony charges of lying to police about orchestrating a fake hate crime on himself to draw attention to issues with his TV show Empire, which has since been canceled.