Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few days, I am certain that you’re familiar with an actor named Jussie Smollett.
Smollett famously accused some racists of beating him, bleaching him and calling out racial slurs on a Chicago street. As the investigation into the alleged crime continued, police began to suspect that what they first thought was a ‘hate crime’ was, in reality, a hoax. They claimed that Smollett conjured up the crime to call attention to racism and his own brand. They arrested the ‘Empire’ actor, arraigned him and were ready to put him on trial. The press ate the story up.
Shortly after his arrest and arraignment, the State’s Prosecutor decided to dismiss the charges. How could that be? Hasn’t he been charged, tried and convicted in the press and by the police? If that isn’t bad enough, Smollett has now been convicted by Tweet, from the President of the United States. Yes, folks, it’s true. Here’s Trump’s tweet:
FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!
When I told one of my staff members that I was going to write an article condemning the actions of the press, the police, and the president, she protested, saying that Smollett’s getting off was bull&$#&. She argued that it was going to the feds because it is obvious that something is going on rather than justice. She advised me to ‘stay away from this one.’
She misses the point and makes mine. The reason she feels this way, as many do, is because Jussie Smollett’s has been tried and convicted by the three P’s: The press, the police, and, this morning, the president. This is a bi-partisan effort—the Chicago Police Department’s number one cheerleader on this issue is Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, an Obama Democrat. Emmanuel and his police cronies have been cheerleading the outrageous press coverage for a while. The president is a newcomer to the lynching party.
Using the president’s ‘outrageous’ standard, should we be outraged that he and his family have escaped being marked as criminals for collusion and obstruction? Should we be outraged that those who have been found guilty will serve minimal sentences? Should we be outraged that the president has not criticized a single one of these confessed criminals? Should we be outraged that our president spent two years condemning the prosecutor who declined to charge him with a crime? Should we be outraged that he pardoned a convicted sheriff in Arizona? Apparently, if you’re a friend or relative of Trump, criminal behavior is not ‘outrageous.’
The president has been the commander and chief apologist for all of these people. He has not expressed one word of outrage that a foreign government interfered with our election and that his own family and circle of business associates and friends have admitted their involvement in the scheme. Isn’t this a classic double standard?
I don’t know Jussie Smollett. I don’t know why the State’s attorney decided to drop all charges. I don’t know whether Smollet is guilty or innocent. I am certainly not a spokesperson for his innocence. If he did what the Chicago Police say he did, he should be punished for his crime. But a citizen is innocent in this country until proven guilty in a court of law. Whether Jussie Smollet is innocent or guilty, what the Three Pees have done to this man is criminal.