Smollett indictment has Dems suddenly supporting 'presumption of innocence'

Wednesday was a bad day for Jussie Smollett. A grand jury handed down an indictment, and he is now charged two felonies — filing a false police report and disorderly conduct — and facing one to three years in prison. Not to the surprise of anyone with a pulse, the hate crime he reported on Jan. 29 was orchestrated by the actor himself. No official word yet whether the FBI is planning to levy its own federal charges for lying to the FBI about hate mail it seems he also paid the Nigerian brothers to send him. After the magazine cut-out letter, which included "MAGA" written as the return address, didn't incite the national outrage or coverage the Empire actor was hoping for, he went forth with the dramatic hoax to seem like the victim of an assault at the hands of two Trump supporters.

According to TMZ, Smollett's lawyers tried a "Hail Mary" move on Tuesday to prevent the Nigerian brothers from testifying in front of the grand jury by offering to have Jussie Smollett be interviewed by police. Police had been asking for Smollett to come in for questioning after the investigation turned toward him being the perpetrator of his own attack, but his legal team adamantly refused the request. Their attempt at postponing the grand jury worked, but not for long, and by Wednesday evening, the jury handed down the indictment for two felonies. Smollett's lawyers issued this statement in response yesterday: Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense. Well, that's rich. I would expect that if I'm paying a thousand bucks an hour for a team of attorneys, they would issue a similar statement on my behalf as the world around me burns. But I do find it ironic, considering that Smollett blasted Justice Kavanaugh on Twitter and didn't offer him the same presumption of innocence, even after Kavanaugh's accusers' stories were found not credible. One of his tweets from September of 2018 reads: Dear Survivors... I believe you. I support you. I love you. I am one of you. #ListenWhenSurvivorsSpeak #IBelieveDrChristineBlaseyFord #IStillBelieveAnitaHill #F---RapistsSexualPredatorsAndThePeopleWhoProtectThem I will agree that in the U.S. court of law, Jussie Smollett should be awarded due process and the presumption of innocence, regardless of whether he does not want it to apply to others whom he disagrees politically with. That doesn't stop me from believing he's a dangerous hypocrite, though. More questions about his case are raised just as quickly as others are answered. Is someone or somebodies helping him? His lawyers, P.R. representation, and crisis management team are extremely expensive. Yet his net worth is less than 500K. Could that be why the police are now requesting his financial records? Or there could be something even more sinister afoot. The Nigerian brothers have around-the-clock police security as they're being stashed away in a Chicago hotel, suggesting that bigger names than Smollett's could be involved. Monica Showalter offers an interesting take that suggests a connection between Democratic presidential runner Kamala Harris and the hate crime hoaxer. Harris had quickly run with Jussie Smollett's claims to bolster her anti-lynching legislation, arguably the only notable work she's ever done in Congress. Just what kind of help would she accept to help her bill, which was dying on the Hill? Connect with Taylor on Facebook and Twitter!