CHICAGO _ Key witnesses in the Jussie Smollett case _ the pair of bodybuilding brothers who told police they helped the actor stage a hoax hate crime on himself last year _ no longer intend to cooperate with Smollett's prosecution, according to a letter from their lawyer obtained by the Tribune.
This new development in the strange Smollett saga stems from a dispute over property the police raided from the brothers' home in the early stages of the investigation, when Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo were treated as suspects rather than witnesses.
The brothers' attorney has asked for the return of those belongings, including several firearms, ammunition and magazines, but the process has become "a paperwork nightmare," according to the letter from their attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, and addressed to a Chicago Police Department lawyer.
"I hope this effort from your office and your clients was worth it because my clients are advising that whether they receive their items or not, they will no longer be cooperating with the prosecution of Mr. Smollett," Schmidt Rodriguez wrote.
The brothers are top witnesses in the case against Smollett. Their statement to police turned the onetime "Empire" actor from victim to suspect, launching a high-profile case that has seen roller-coaster twists since Smollett was first charged last year.
Prosecutors, of course, regularly deal with reluctant witnesses. Ordinarily, people who backtrack on the stand can be confronted with their previous statements under oath.
But while the Osundairos gave sworn testimony before a grand jury in February 2019, that indictment was abruptly dropped the next month, complicating the situation. And they never went before a grand jury on Smollett's new charges, Schmidt Rodriguez told the Tribune.
Reached by phone early Thursday, Schmidt Rodriguez said the brothers felt disrespected and frustrated with the process of getting their belongings back, to the point where they are no longer interested in helping prosecutors in Smollett's case.
"(The brothers) were, like 'Gloria, we've had it, we've been so patient," she said. "Everything we've provided the office is without subpoena ... Instagram messages, social media posts, phone records, whatever it is we've needed, and wanted, they've produced. That ends now. We've obviously been too accessible for them."
A special Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett in February on six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself in downtown Chicago in January 2019.
The allegations were similar to charges brought by Foxx's office last year. Foxx had recused herself from overseeing the prosecution, revealing she'd had contact with a member of Smollett's family early in the investigation at the request of Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama's former chief of staff.
But in appointing attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor last year, Toomin wrote that Foxx botched the recusal by handing the reins to her top deputy. Because the recusal was invalid, the entire process played out without a real prosecutor at the helm, he wrote.
A Webb representative could not immediately be reached for comment on the new development.
