Jennifer Smith, Daily Mail, May 30, 2019

‘It can’t be them, they’re black as sin’: What Jussie Smollett told cops once Nigerian brothers were in custody as newly released police files reveal how he changed his story and asked them about ‘good pills and molly’ months before staged attack

When Jussie Smollett was told his Nigerian trainer and his brother had been arrested for the ‘homophobic, racist’ attack he said he was the victim of, he reacted with: ‘It can’t be them, they’e black as sin.’

His reaction was revealed for the first time on Thursday, buried in 470 pages of previously sealed Chicago PD files that have finally been made public.

The files, which DailyMail.com has reviewed in full, also reveal how Smollett changed his story throughout the police investigation, first telling police one of his attackers was white, then ‘pale’ and admitting that he had ‘presumed’ they were white because of what he claimed they said to him – ‘This MAGA country’.

He said that his attacker had ‘pale’ skin that was visible behind the mask he was wearing, around his eyes.

Much of the detail in the files was already known to the public including Smollett’s initial police report of the attack and how police used Uber receipts to find the brothers.

There were multiple line-ups put together but Smollett’s lawyer did not let him do any.

It is not explicitly stated in the files if Smollett ever viewed a line up that had the brothers in it because they are largely redacted.

Some files still remain secret, including exactly what the brothers said in their interviews, which the police department expects to release next week.

Two taxi drivers and an Uber driver who drove the brothers on the night of the attack identified them as black, the records show.

None of the drivers however picked out the pair in line-ups once they were in custody.

Smollett, 36, also changed his phone number immediately after the attack but used it to speak with Abel and Ola Osundairo, the Nigerian brothers, in the hours and days after the January 29 incident.

In early interviews, he told police he had spoken only to his creative director and to his manager on the night of the attack after landing back in Chicago from New York.

He then added into his story that he had spoken to his ‘trainer’, Abel, about a diet and nutrition plan.

Harvested text messages between him and the brothers also show how they discussed drugs, calling cocaine ‘Whitney’.

He asked them for good ‘pills’, said: ‘N***a you still got a Molly connect? Imma need a good fo pills hahahaha (sic)’ on September 27, 2018.

Smollett also sent them money on Venmo.

When police told him that the brothers, whose mugshots were also released for the first time on Thursday, had been arrested, Smollett allegedly feigned surprise.

‘We don’t have any problems.

‘They are straight so we don’t have any problems with women or men.

‘They did not owe me any money, I don’t owe them any money. We have a good relationship,’ he said.

Earlier, when shown a video of them walking in the street, before police said they knew who they were, he said: ‘Those are the guys that attacked me!’

Smollett, once aware that the brothers were in custody but unaware they had told police that the plot was his idea, then signed documents to have police press charges but his attorney stopped him.

In the September texts about ‘molly’ and ‘whitney, Smollett asked Abel where he was and asks if the wanted to come over.

‘You wanna come through? If not I can get it tomorrow,’ he writes.

‘I’m falling asleep,’he responded. ‘You can get it tomorrow.’

‘No doubt,’ Smollett wrote back.

Documents state that Smollett and one of the Nigerian brothers began texting on February 24, 2018.

After their exchange about ‘molly’ and ‘whitney’, Smollett sent Abel $200 on Venmo.

On January 27, Smollett picked the brothers up from their home in his Mercedes, drove them to the spot where the attack would take place and walked them through it, they said.

The brothers say he was insistent that one of them was to do the hitting because he did not trust the other to ‘pull his punches’.

‘Smollett was clear that it was [one of the brother] was to do the hitting because he did not trust he other to pull his punches.

During the planning session, it was discussed that they would go separate ways after the staged incident and use public transport or get a taxi.’

New details about Abel told them about his training fees, saying he typically charges $50 an hour. He said he had two clients, including Smollett.

When police raided the home where the brothers lived, they found a black safe in a bedroom that was filled a pistol and multiple rounds of ammunition.

It was also revealed that the day before his arrest, Smollett and his attorney asked for a meeting with prosecutors.

They delayed the brothers’ grand jury testimony because of it.

Also contained in the documents was the fact prosecutors told Chicago police detectives that a possible deal with Smollett was in the works a month before charges against him were dropped.

Detectives met with a prosecutor at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office on February 28 to turn over their materials related to the investigation.

Assistant State’s Attorney Risa Lanier informed detectives ‘that she felt the case would be settled with Smollett paying the city of Chicago $10,000 in restitution and doing community service’.

Prosecutors dropped charges on March 26 without Smollett admitting guilt, saying that Smollett had agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bond.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson then expressed outrage over the prosecutors’ decision.

At the time, Johnson said he learned of the deal prosecutors made with Smollett when the deal was announced by lawyers, adding he didn’t think justice was being served.

But the documents indicate that his detectives had been told by the prosecutors a few weeks prior.

The detectives had not passed the information to superiors.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Thursday: ‘They didn’t pass it on because they didn’t know it (the case) was going to be handled the way it was’.