Jussie Smollett's record was wiped clean and his case was sealed on Tuesday after prosecutors dropped his charges in a shock decision

The shock decision to drop all charges against Jussie Smollett has critics questioning whether the Empire actor's high-powered connections were involved as police call for a probe into the Obama links to his case.

Text messages exchanged between Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and ex-Michelle Obama aide Tina Tchen continue to face increasing scrutiny in the wake of Smollett's record being wiped clean on Tuesday.

The Chicago police union has slammed Foxx's conduct in the case as 'highly, highly suspicious' following her decision to recuse herself in the days before Smollett's arrest after intervening in the investigation at the request of Tchen.

It emerged last week that Foxx was trading texts with Tchen and one of Smollett's relatives while police were still investigating the hoax hate crime.

While the relative has not been unidentified, critics have now been dragging up the seemingly close ties Smollett's sisters have with Tchen.

Tchen and Smollett's sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell were pictured together at an event at Austin's South by Southwest and the United State of Women Summit in Los Angeles early last year.

Both of Smollett's sisters also worked for the Obama campaign in 2008 and 2012 and Smollett-Bell also reportedly visited Tchen in the White House.

Smollett himself has been pictured with the Obamas at the White House and once danced on stage with Michelle in a viral video from an event last year.

Text messages exchanged between Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and ex-Michelle Obama aide Tina Tchen continue to face increasing scrutiny in the wake of Smollett's record being wiped clean on Tuesday

Foxx was contacted by former Michelle Obama aide Tina Tchen who wanted to try and steer the investigation in the direction the Smollett family wanted. Smollett is pictured above with the Obamas in the White House

It comes as police renew calls for Foxx to face a federal investigation for trying to wrestle the Smollett case out of the Chicago Police Department's hands and have it led by the FBI instead.

The union, Fraternal Order of Police, slammed Foxx's conduct as 'highly suspicious' and have accused her of political 'interference' on behalf of the Smollett family.

Authorities are concerned about whose interests Foxx was working in when she - at the request of Tchen - tried to steer the investigation in the direction the Smollett family wanted.

According to texts obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times last week, Foxx asked Chicago Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson to let the FBI take the lead on the probe in the days after the attack.

At the time, Smollett was still being considered a victim but Tchen said his family had 'concerns' about the number of leaks coming out of Chicago PD.

Foxx agreed to try to 'convince' Johnson but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday demanded answers as to why Smollett was able to get off 'scot-free' despite the State Attorney's office still believing he was guilty of staging the hoax hate crime.

The Mayor claims Smollett was only given the treatment he received because he is famous and that anyone else would have been more harshly prosecuted.

Smollett himself has been pictured with the Obamas at the White House and once danced on stage with Michelle in a viral video from an event last year

Tchen and Smollett's sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell were pictured together at an event at Austin's South by Southwest early last year. Both Smollett's sister worked on Obama campaigns in 2008 and 2012

THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IN THE JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE Why were the charges dropped if the State's Attorney's office says he is guilty? First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats said he decided to drop the charges because Smollett is not a violent threat to the community and because his office prioritizes violent crimes. He admitted that he thinks Smollett is guilty and said the evidence stands up but claims because Smollett has no prior criminal background, justice has been served. Few are satisfied with that answer and say the real reason is more nefarious. Why was the case sealed? On Tuesday, a judge granted Smollett's attorney's motion to seal the case but there is no written record of it and now it has been wiped from the court's records. The judge did not ask a single question about why the case was suddenly dropped or how the decision had been reached. Smollett initially said he welcomed the trial and wanted cameras inside for the public to see the evidence. Now, critics are demanding to see it all and say that if he is innocent, he has nothing to hide. His lawyers have not said why they wanted the records sealed. Why did he do community service and pay $10,000 if he is innocent? Smollett's attorneys insisted the outcome was not a plea deal but legal experts have unanimously described it as unusual for a defendant to complete community service and pay the city if he is innocent. The State's Attorney's office said on Tuesday that the charges would not have been dropped if he had not completed it. When did they reach a deal and why was it done in secret? The State's Attorney's office will not give details about its interactions with Smollett in the days before the announcement. It remains unclear how long it has been discussing this outcome with his attorneys and what other options, if any, were discussed to reach this point. What really happened on the night of the attack if Smollett did not stage it? There is still no explanation for why brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo attacked Smollett, who they were friends with and trained with at the gym, if he did not ask them to. Smollett's attorneys say the pair were 'absolutely lying' by saying that he asked them to do it to boost his profile but they do not know why else they did it. Prosecutors have not given any alternative scenario and they say the evidence, that Smollett orchestrated it, stands up. The brothers' lawyer no longer represents them and they have not spoken. They previously said they felt 'betrayed' by Smollett. Advertisement

Smollett's record was wiped clean and his case sealed after secretly completing 16 hours of community service at Jesse Jackson's organization Rainbow Push where he worked in bookstores and interacted with young people. He also forfeited $10,000 in bond.

Assistant State's Attorney Joe Magats - who was handed the case after Foxx recused herself - said that even though he does not believe the star is innocent, his office decided not to pursue charges because Smollett has a 'lack of criminal background' and was not a threat to the community.

Magats said that he thought Smollett was guilty but that 'based on the facts and circumstances' of the case and his 'lack of criminal background', the decision was made not to pursue the 16 felony disorderly conduct charges that a grand jury returned.

No other explanation for the sudden about-turn has been given and critics, including the 'furious' police chief, are enraged over the decision to expunge his record and seal the case.

It led to the police union on Tuesday renewing its request demanding an investigation into Foxx's ties to the case give she recused herself but her office was ultimately still responsible for the charges being dropped.

'Recusing herself, but not her administration, is a distinction without a difference,' Fraternal Order of Police Second Vice President Martin Preib told The New York Post. 'What underling is going to go against their boss's wishes?'

Legal experts have since described the decision as 'outrageous' and critics continue to voice concerns about the text messages exchanged between Foxx and those with links to the Obamas.

Foxx was contacted by Michelle Obama's former chief of staff on February 1 on behalf of the Smollett family.

Tchen, who has deep ties to Chicago politics and is friends with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's wife, wanted her to convince Chicago PD to hand the investigation over to the FBI and Foxx agreed to try.

They were 'concerned' about details of the incident and Smollett's reports to investigators being leaked and said that they wanted the FBI to handle the case.

'I wanted to give you a call on behalf of Jussie Smollett and family who I know. They have concerns about the investigation,' she said in her first text.

Hours later, Foxx received a text from one of Smollett's relatives. Over the course of the next two weeks, Foxx tried to have the case handed over to the FBI.

'Spoke to the superintendent earlier. He is going to make the ask. Trying to figure out logistics. I'll keep you posted,' Foxx said in a February 13 text.

By then, there had been questions surrounding Smollett's cooperation with the investigation but the actor was, officially, still being treated as a victim.

The relative responded: 'OMG this would be a huge victory.'

Foxx replied: 'I make no guarantees but I'm trying.'

Later that day, she emailed Tchen saying: 'Spoke to the Superintendent Johnson. I convinced him to reach out to FBI to ask that they take over the investigation. He is reaching out now and will get to me shortly.'

The police department claims that Smollett only became a suspect after Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osudairo were pinned down at the airport on February 20.

Foxx has also been accused of trying to get the FBI to take over the case at the request of Smollett family friend Tina Tchen (pictured with the former president and first lady), who is Michelle Obama's former chief of staff

Smollett read from a small piece of paper which had handwritten notes on it during a press conference on Tuesday after his charges were dropped

However, Foxx recused herself from the probe a week earlier, after her text conversation with his relative and with Tchen.

In an email to top staff, her chief ethics officer informed them of her recusal but it was not announced until February 19.

On February 20, Foxx's office told DailyMail.com that she had stepped down because of her interaction with Smollett's relatives, but they would not give further information.

Smollett was arrested on February 21. The investigation was then turned over to First Assistant Joe Magats and his staff after Foxx stepped aside.

The union which represents the police in Chicago sent a letter to the Attorney General last week demanding Foxx's handling of the case be looked into.

In its letter, union president Kevin Graham questioned who Foxx was working for and why it would have been a 'victory' in relation to the text exchange.

'Victory of what? For whom? Why?' the letter read. 'In order for Ms Foxx to properly charge and try this case, her entire office should have recused itself and a special prosecutor been appointed.'

In a letter dated March 15 he added: 'Such conduct merits a review by your office. Private attorneys are not allowed to interfere with ongoing police investigations, particularly at the request of private individuals associated with subjects being investigated by the police, in this case, a subject later determined to be the offender, not the victim.