The classic definition of the word “chutzpah” is: “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.” It means looking the judge right in the eye and declaring yourself the innocent victim of your own crime. He knows you’re guilty. You know you’re guilty. Everybody knows you’re guilty. But hey, it’s worth a try, right? What have you got to lose?

Well, now there’s a new definition of “chutzpah.” It’s a lot easier to remember because it’s just two words: Jussie Smollett.

Michael Sneed, Chicago Sun-Times:

Sneed learned exclusively that late Tuesday night, [Smollett’s] attorneys filed a motion responding to the city’s claim that he should pay the city more than $130,000 to cover police overtime and other costs…

“My client from the beginning has maintained his innocence and disputed the city’s allegations,” said William J. Quinlan, of The Quinlan Law Firm, who filed the motion…

But the latest court filing contends even if Smollett did make a false report, there is no way the city can assert he would have known the city would investigate — and investigate it to the extent cops did.

“We contend the city is wrong,” Quinlan said of the city’s assertion that Smollett should have known the city would spend nearly 2,000 hours investigating. “ … The mere fact somebody filed a police report doesn’t presume the investigation will be done and certainly not to the extent of what the city is claiming.”

A TV actor made national news by claiming he was attacked, and now he’s blaming the cops who investigated it. How is it his fault that they wasted so much time and money looking into the false claim he made to draw attention to himself? How was he to know they’d take him seriously?

Chutzpah.

I’ll leave you with this clip from Dave Chappelle’s much-discussed Netflix special, analyzing the public reaction to Jussie’s outrageous claim. Chappelle says most of the same stuff we’ve been saying all year, except funnier and therefore more effective. Which is why libs now hate him.

WARNING: Strong language, including that one word Chappelle gets to say and I don’t, which is fine, I’m not complaining

(Hat tip: Twitchy)