(CNN) Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx described actor Jussie Smollett as a "washed up celeb who lied to cops" in texts to her staff.

"Sooo......I'm recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases ...16 counts on a class 4 (felony) becomes exhibit A," she wrote on the same day that a Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett on a theory that he falsely reported being the victim of a hate crime in Chicago.

Foxx went on to make a comparison between Smollett's case and another.

"Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it's indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn't mean we should."

"It's not who we want to be."

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