Trump says FBI and Justice Department will review the Jussie Smollett case

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped. Photo / AP

President Donald Trump suggested early Thursday that two federal agencies will look into Cook County, Illinois, prosecutors' decision to dismiss the false-reporting case against Empire actor Jussie Smollett.

"FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago," the president tweeted. "It is an embarrassment to our Nation!"

FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2019

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec and FBI spokeswoman Carol Cratty each declined to comment.

The 16-count indictment stemmed from a January report about an attack on Smollett, a gay black man. Smollett was later charged with lying to police about the assault. He claimed two men yelled homophobic and racist slurs and, Smollett said, shouted "this is MAGA country."

The State's Attorney's Office dismissed the case against the Fox actor Tuesday, sparking widespread confusion and anger.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, D, called the dismissal "a whitewash of justice," and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who has publicly spoken out against Smollett, said that a deal was "brokered" to "circumvent the judicial system."

In a statement Monday, Cook County State Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx had announced that dropping the charges against the actor was "a just disposition and appropriate resolution." Foxx recused herself from the case before charges were filed because she had spoken with a possible witness.

From the beginning, Chicago police confirmed that the FBI would be assisting in the investigation. Smollett said he had received a threatening letter at the Empire studio in Chicago. Federal law enforcement has jurisdiction over offenses committed by mail or through the U.S. Postal Service.

However, Trump's tweet appears to involve an unrelated review of prosecutorial discretion.

ABC7 Chicago also reported Wednesday, well before Trump's morning missive, that the FBI was looking into "the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of criminal charges."

But legal experts are perplexed about the breadth of a federal investigation.

"There doesn't appear to be much, if anything, for the FBI to investigate here," said Duncan Levin, a former federal and state prosecutor. This appears to be an "example of the administration politicizing" the FBI's work. Politics, he said, "should have no role in prosecutorial decision making or whether to open an investigation."

Courtroom dramatics continued Thursday morning, ABC7 reporter Ross Weidner reported, with a coalition of news outlets attempting to limit Smollett's ability to expunge his record.

The presiding judge gave the media's attorney a tongue-lashing, saying "there's no nefariousness, nothing lurking in the shadows," noting that expungement hearings are open to the public. "In Cook County we don't destroy records!"

According to Weidner, the State's Attorney's Office agreed to inform the media if Smollett files a motion to unseal and expunge the record.

Smollett attorney Tina Glandian told NBC News on Thursday they "have nothing to be concerned about" because "nothing improper was done."