FILE – In this March 26, 2019, file photo, actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, in Chicago. On Friday, July 19, 2019, lawyers for Smollett filed motions contending the actor was the victim of an attack in an effort to convince a judge to reverse his decision to appoint a special prosecutor in the case. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)

Interesting news: According to documents acquired by CWB Chicago via the Freedom of Information Act, city prosecutor Kim Foxx perhaps believed the Jussie Smollett “hate crime” to-do was stealing attention from more important cases — such as that of hip-hop icon R. Kelly.

Hence, the line of thought goes, she and her colleagues chose to brush off the actor’s 16 counts of lying to Chicago cops.

CWB Chicago obtained “nearly 4,000 pages of messages sent to Foxx’s personal cell phone and Gmail account” which “provide a fuller picture of communications among Foxx and her top aides in the weeks before and after Smollett reported the allegedly fake hate crime to Chicago police on Jan. 29, 2019.”

Among the most revealing materials: “433 pages of messages between Foxx and senior staffers in a chat group known internally as the ‘Foxxhole.’”

Foxxhole, as per CWBC, is a place where “members routinely share top news stories related to the office’s priorities.”

And here’s the scoop:

[I]n the weeks leading up to Smollett’s hate crime case, one topic stole the show: Foxx’s efforts to build a case against R. Kelly. The Kelly story was generating national headlines for Foxx and her office in January 2019. And the Foxxhole filled with links to media coverage.

The North Side-funded public safety news outlet reports the R. Kelly case — as well as that of convicted murderer (and former CPD officer) Jason Van Dyke — got mucho mention.

Yet the Smollett case “barely made a blip in the provided communications.”

Furthermore, on Feb. 1st, Kim called the case “a distraction” which she “[didn’t] want to waste any capital on” as she pursued having it transferred to the federal system.

Foxx wrote that she was “just trying to help move this along.”

The FBI declined acceptance, though it’s still investigating whether Jussie made improper use of the U.S. Postal Service.

Notable:

The state’s attorney’s files show Smollett didn’t get serious attention from Foxx or her top aides again until Feb. 19 — the day her office announced that she had “recused” herself from the case.

Talk in the Foxxhole returned to R. Kelly until early March, when the Empire star was charged with the 16 counts.

That night, Kim referenced the importance of the R. Kelly case while dismissing Jussie as a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.”

But it was a bigger story than she seemed to realize.

Jussie’s plea deal hit the front page, and — as observed by The Daily Wire — complaints were made that Jussie was treated preferentially.

Plus:

[T]he city of Chicago announced it would seek restitution from Smollett for wasted police department man hours, and…authorities would appoint the special prosecutor, resurfacing the case and writing Foxx out of the story almost completely.

Mired in criticism over the Smollett ball-drop, Kim Foxx was set for a challenging primary Tuesday, facing three deep-pocketed opponents.

-ALEX

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