A smirking Jussie Smollett left Chicago on Wednesday, leaving behind a city at war over the decision to drop all charges against him.

The FBI is now reviewing the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of all 16 criminal charges against the actor, with two law enforcement officials reportedly confirming the probe.

The Empire actor was seen at O'Hare International Airport on the same day that recused Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx broke her silence to defend her office's decision to drop the charges against the actor.

A spokesperson for the FBI's Chicago office declined to comment on any pending investigation, ABC7 reports.

But Foxx spoke out Wednesday amid increasing scrutiny for her handling of the Smollett case.

In a series of interviews with local news outlets in Chicago on Wednesday, Foxx stood behind her assistant Joseph Magats' decision to let Smollett go scot-free after completing community service and paying a $10,000 bond forfeiture, and said it was in keeping with the circumstances of the case.

Smollett was first charged with one count of felony disorderly conduct by prosecutors then was hit with an additional 15 charges by a grand jury.

Each carried a recommended sentence of between one and three years behind bars but Foxx said it was unlikely he would have actually been sentenced to prison time.

'Right now, there's a lot of emotion. And I wholeheartedly believe that in our work we cannot be driven by emotions. We have to be driven by facts.

'For people who are in the weeds of this, we recognize that the likelihood that someone would get a prison sentence for a Class 4 felony is slim.

'No two cases are the same...this is not what it looks like on Law & Order, right?' she told local radio station WBEZ.

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Jussie Smollett is seen at O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday leaving Chicago one day after all charges were dropped against him

Kim Foxx, the recused Cook County State's Attorney who is facing scrutiny for her handling of the Jussie Smollett case, stood by her office's decision on Wednesday and said Smollett got off because it was the lowest class of felony and he has no criminal background

This email was leaked on Wednesday which shows Foxx scrambling to find other examples to back up her office's decision on Smollett

'The fact that people pick and choose which cases are most important I think breaks my heart.

'This is not in anyway different that we've treated others,' Foxx said.

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

'It was not unusual for me to talk to a victim in a case,' she said.

The Cook County State's Attorney is now scrambling to provide other examples where felony charges were dropped in a similar manner to Jussie's case.

An email sent out to prosecutors reads: 'We are looking for examples of cases, felony preferable, where we, in exercising our discretion, have entered into verbal agreements with defense attorneys to dismiss charges against an offender if certain conditions were met, such as the payment of restitution, completion of community service, completion of class, etc.

'Nobody is in trouble, we are just looking for further examples of how we, as prosecutors, use our discretion in a way that restores the victim, but causes minimal harm to the defendant in the long term.'

On Wednesday night, the National Association of District Attorneys slammed the entire case.

'The case in Chicago illustrates a point that must be discussed in an effort to ensure fairness in our criminal justice system; the rich are treated differently, the politically connected receive favorable treatment, and Lady Justice sometimes peeks under her blindfold to see who stands before her.

'NDAA rejects these inequities as they are antithetical to our founding principles of justice: that no one is above the law,' it said in a statement.

But legal experts do not think similar cases to that of Smollett will be found.

CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller said: 'They may find some cases that are similar that may match the issues here, but the vast majority of cases would never ever be handled in this manner.'

It comes as Smollett's lawyer, Patricia Holmes, issued a blistering statement condemning those who have 'continued their campaign' against her client.

Holmes said Smollett 'is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law', adding: 'The case is closed. No public official has the right to violate Mr. Smollett's due process rights.

'We respectfully request all government agencies involved live up to the ethical tenets of their office. The case was dismissed. We should all allow Mr. Smollett to move on with his life as a free citizen.'

But law enforcement officials are now facing accusations that Smollett was given the star treatment from day one.

He is said to have never been handcuffed and was held in a private jail cell.

Official reports obtained by public-safety watchdog CWBChicago show he was 'placed into an unmarked police vehicle, with tinted windows'.

'While in route, [an officer] offered Smollett breakfast, coffee or something to drink, which Smollett declined'. the papers said.

Smollett was also said to have been kept segregated and housed alone at his request.

In an earlier interview with NBC, Foxx defended her interaction with one of his family members and boasted about recusing herself over it.

'At the time that I engaged with this family member, Mr. Smollett was considered a victim.

'What was of concern to me was that that contact could not, would not, be construed, the appearance of it, to impact how we handled this case.

'So I made the decision, in consultation with my chief ethics officer, a week before he was charged, to remove myself from the case.'

She also said that Smollett only paid $10,000 because that was the cap under the alternative prosecution scenario which played out.

'Mr Smollett was afforded the same opportunity that anyone in Cook County who had a non violent offense and the required background would be able to get,' she said.

Foxx also claimed that she had a 'good' relationship with the police bosses who eviscerated her office's decision on Tuesday.

'He recognizes that this disposition is not outside the realm of what we've seen before.

'I know that he can attest that this case was not treated any differently,' she said, adding that she 'could not speak to' how he felt about it.

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped Tuesda

Meanwhile, the FBI will also continue investigating a threatening letter (pictured) that Smollett received at the studio in Chicago where Empire is filmed on January 22, just days before he was attacked

At a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Johnson joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel in describing it as a 'whitewash of justice.'

He said justice had not been served, maintained that Smollett lied and abhorred him for not letting the evidence become public.

Foxx maintains that even though her office 'could' have found him guilty, he may have been found innocent.

She thinks that even if he had been convicted, he would not have been give jail time.

'Jussie Smollett has not been found guilty by a court of law. We believe that the facts were sufficient to charge and try Mr. Smollett for the crimes.

'He chose this alternative prosecution method. A court has not found him guilty. this office believed that they could prove him guilty.

'We have, this is consistent with what we do in alternative prosecution, I don't think people understand what that is.

'We want to get to just outcomes. It is possible that if we did not offer a diversionary outlet for Mr. Smollett that he could have been taken to trial, he could have very well been found not guilty.

'What diversion allows is even for those who are guilty, to be able to get to the same outcome, if he was found guilty on a class 4, he was going to get some restitution, community service, not prison,' she said.

In February, Foxx's office announced that she had decided to recuse herself because of the texts to Tina Tchen, a private attorney and Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, and one of Smollett's relatives.

It was days before Smollett was charged and, at the time, she said she had taken the decision 'out of an abundance of caution'.

'Out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case ,' her spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.

But on Wednesday, as she faced questions over why a special prosecutor was never put in place and why her office suddenly decided to drop the charges against Smollett, Foxx's office confused the issue by saying she never actually recused herself.

As such, she did nothing wrong by not appointing a special prosecutor, they said.

'[Foxx] did not formally recuse herself or the [State's Attorney] Office based on any actual conflict of interest.

'As a result, she did not have to seek the appointment of a special prosecutor... it was a colloquial use of the term rather than in its legal sense,' Kiera Ellis, a different spokeswoman, said.

These are the emails exchanged between Tina Tchen and Kim Foxx on February 1, days after the incident on January 29 when Smollett was still being considered the victim of a hate crime

Tchen put one of Smollett's relatives in touch with Foxx. Their texts are shown

The texts continued until mid February then Foxx recused herself

Fraternal Order of Police president Kevin Graham said: 'There's text messages going back-and-forth between Foxx and Smollett's private attorney.

'That's a real problem.

'We asked for an investigation before because something didn't smell right.

'Now, a judge sealed the court records so you can't even get a copy of the police investigation.'

The judge, Honorable Judge Stephen Gregory Watkins, did not ask Smollett's team why they wanted the case sealed on Tuesday.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has decried the outcome.

'This does not add up. They better get their story straight, this is making fools of us all,' he said.

'He abused the city of Chicago, he committed a crime here.

He lied about something,' he went on, adding that it was not just the state but also a grand jury who thought Smollett was guilty.

'He said he wanted to get his name clear. Let's get to the bottom of this, let's find out what happened,' Emanuel said.

Kim Foxx, the Cook County State's Attorney who recused herself over the Jussie Smollett probe, is pictured with Jesse Jackson on February 28. Jackson has revealed he contacted Smollett when he was 'in crisis' and offered him his 'council'. On Saturday and Monday, Smollett spent two days at Jackson's civil rights organization and it was that community service which led prosecutors to suddenly drop the charges against him

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson (left) on Tuesday at a press conference to condemn the outcome of the Smollett case. Emanuel said Wednesday that the case had made 'fools of us all' as he demanded to know why the star suddenly had all 16 charges dropped on Tuesday after making a secret deal with prosecutors

MAYOR CONSIDERS SUING SMOLLETT FOR $150,000 SPENT ON INVESTIGATION Rahm Emanuel is considering suing Smollett for $150,000 to recover the cost of the investigation into the incident, it has been reported. On Tuesday, Smollett paid $10,000 in bond forfeiture to the city and had his record expunged. Emanuel said the amount 'does not come close' to the resources that were spent looking into the January 29 incident he reported to police with his friend. CBS reports that he is considering going after Smollett for the remaining $140,000. Police spent several weeks combing through surveillance camera footage to try to hone in on Smollett's attackers. They also examined ride sharing records which led them to brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo. Advertisement

There are also abundant questions surrounding how Smollett was able to walk away from 16 felony charges with no criminal record, after paying just $10,000 and spending 16 hours performing community service at Rainbow PUSH, Jackson's civil rights organization, after months of scrutiny over the case.

He was seen with Foxx, who gave him an award at the C.F. Stradford Awards, weeks ago.

It was a week after Smollett's arrested for allegedly staging a hoax hate crime and lying about it and Foxx had already recused herself from the case for exchanging text messages with a member of the star's family which police unions are now calling 'highly suspicious' in light of her office's about-turn on the charges.

There were several award recipients that night who Foxx congratulated on Twitter.

In her tribute to Reverend Jackson, she acknowledged his organization.

'The Rev Jackson needs no introduction. As founder & president of the RP Coalition, he has worked tirelessly to expand educational, business & employment opportunities for disadvantaged and people of color in Chicago.

'I'm so happy to honor him with this award tonight,' she wrote in a tweet along with a photograph of the pair.

POLICE EVIDENCE IN SMOLLETT CASE -Two letters with homophobic and racist slurs inside envelopes containing white powder addressed to Smollett and sent to the set of Empire on January 22 . A month later, police state that Smollett wrote these letters, but the FBI refuses to confirm. -Surveillance footage taken throughout the city during the early hours of January 29, which shows Nigerian brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundair arriving to the area near Smollett's apartment around the time of the attack and then leaving, getting in a car and being dropped of near their apartment in Chicago. -Smollett's subsequent interview with a detective on January 29 after his first statement to police early that morning after the attack. The actor said that he could not determine the race of his attackers when he first spoke to police, but then hours later stated that the men were white per court documents. -Two plane tickets to Nigeria for the brothers, who left the country the day of the incident. -The brothers are taken into custody on February 13, and over the next two days allege that Smollett paid them to stage an attack and sent the letters to himself on the set of Empire. They claim the attacks was an attempt by Smollett to get more money from Empire execs. -Surveillance footage is released to the public on February 20 that shows the two brothers purchasing the rope and gloves police believe were used in the allegedly staged attack at a store ear their apartment on January 28. -A check for $3,5000 from Smollett to one of the brothers that police claim was for staging the attack but Smollett says was money for personal training. Advertisement

Smollett said in his statement that he would 'not be his mother's son' if he was capable of 'even a drop' of what he had been accused of.

He promised to continue to 'fight for the marginalized' in society and said he had been truthful 'on every single level since day one'.

His lawyers refused to answer reporters' questions about whether Smollett would sue the city and admitted that Smollett had agreed to forfeit his bond in order to 'move on'.

His lawyer, Patricia Brown Holmes, said that brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo were the ones who attacked Smollett but gave no explanation as to why they did it.

The Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 8,000 cops, has already called for the Attorney General to investigate Foxx for her handling of the case because she tried to have it turned over to the FBI at the request of Smollett's family in the days after the attack.

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

Tchen wanted her to convince Chicago PD to hand the investigation over to the FBI and Foxx agreed to try to.

The case never went to the FBI and Chicago PD came down heavily on Smollett once he was arrested.

Smollett was initially indicted by prosecutors with just one charge but a grand jury added another 15 on to it for every time he allegedly lied.

The actor was accused of paying Abel and Ola to attack him on January 29 outside his apartment at around 2am as he walked home from a Subway.

He claimed that he did not recognize the attackers but said they called him a 'f****t', n****r' and shouted: 'This is MAGA country!'

There is no doubt that brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo attacked him but so far, no other motive other than that Smollett asked them to and paid them to do it has emerged

EX-OBAMA ADVISER SLAMS DECISION A former adviser to Barack Obama has slammed the 'weird turn' in the Jussie Smollett case, calling it a 'total head-scratcher' after all charges were dropped against the actor. David Axelrod, 64, said 'someone wasn’t being truthful' and Chicago had paid the price in a series of tweets condemning the decision Tuesday. The former president's campaign mastermind labelled the decision 'outrageous' as he asked why the Empire actor, 36, was allowed 'to get off for $10K and have his records expunged and case files sealed'. Axelrod tweeted: 'Unless some better explanation surfaces, here’s the lesson of this weird turn in the Smollett case: 'You can contrive a hate crime, make it a national news, get caught and-if you are a well-connected celebrity-get off for $10K and have your record expunged and files sealed.' Advertisement

For weeks, police insisted Smollett was still the victim but gradually, suspicion grew as details of the probe were leaked, including the fact that he had not agreed to hand over his phone for police to search.

Eventually, on February 21, Smollett was arrested.

In a blistering press conference, he was eviscerated by Chicago Police Superintendent Johnson who accused him of lying about the attack to leverage it to get a raise on Empire.

They even claimed he gave himself facial injuries to try to make the attack more believable. Smollett denied it angrily and posted bail but prosecutors were confident.

They took the unusual step of publishing his full bond proffer which detailed all the evidence they said they had against him, including phone calls between him and the brothers before and after the attack.

They also used a check he'd given them, purportedly for personal training, as apparent proof that he paid them for the attack.

Smollett was excluded from the final two episodes of Empire as a result of the scandal.

20th Century Fox said it was 'gratified' that he had been cleared.

'Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed,' a spokesman said.

The brothers are who told police that he paid them to stage the attack, but police insisted vociferously to have other evidence that backed up their claim.

Smollett had been facing up to 48 years behind bars on 16 felony counts of lying to police by claiming he was attacked on January 29 by two men he said he could not identify and who he said called him racial and homophobic slurs.

The FBI will also continue investigating a threatening letter that Smollett received at the studio in Chicago where Empire is filmed on January 22, just days before he was attacked.