PrintDid Jussie Smollett rat on his celebrity lawyer?
On March 26, Jussie Smollett entered a Cook County courthouse to find all 16 of his felony charges dropped. In just a little over two weeks since was been charged for confabulating his own assault, the shocking dismissal of Smollett's crimes brought a wave of scrutiny of Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx. But just one day before, his lawyer, Mark Geragos, was implicated in crimes alongside notorious celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti. Did Smollett roll on his lawyer per an agreement that the court would treat him with leniency?
Smollett's celebrity attorney Geragos is officially the co-conspirator in Avenatti's criminal case in two different states for trying to extort $25 million from Nike. Avenatti claims he has proof that Nike was paying college and high school basketball players and that the sportswear company's practices were illegal. He is also facing charges of defrauding a bank for a loan for over $4 million as well as lying to clients about their settlements in order to use their monies to fund his own enterprises, including a chain of coffee houses.
While Geragos remains uncharged yet named in Avenatti's case, prosecutors are undecided as to whether they'll be seeking criminal charges against Smollett's attorney as the case proceeds. If he helped Jussie get such a great deal, he's sure to be able to broker one for himself that prevents him from seeing the inside of a prison cell.
However, Jussie may not have needed Geragos' help, since he already has his corner stacked with political heavyweights. CNN reported recently that Michelle Obama's own top aide, Tina Tchen, had private conversations specifically about Smollett's case with prosecutors very early on. Smollett also has long ties with Kamala Harris and other top Democrats.
Jussie Smollett's court proceeding took less than 120 seconds, with only 12 words uttered by the prosecution — that they would not be pursuing the charges. He walked out of the court free from the burden of 16 felonies. Part of the bargain reached was that Smollett would relinquish his bond to Cook County, and his handful of hours of community service were considered.
The court isn't arguing Jussie's guilt, but saying it is satisfied with his monetary payment of $10,000 and the few hours he did of community service in lieu of prosecuting him further. Talk about privilege! Smollett essentially paid to avoid jail with means that the average citizen does not have.
How this deal was reached is the real story, and there are three possible scenarios.
One, Smollett's attorney is that good. Mark Geragos might have his own legal trouble, but maybe he really is the wizard of law that he promotes himself to be as a notorious lawyer for criminal celebrities. His high profile might have enabled a deal with Cook County prosecutors, although it's doubtful that the deal would have been reached so quickly and seemingly painlessly, especially with public outrage reflecting so poorly on Kim Foxx and other prosecutors.
This suggests that two, Jussie Smollett had insider knowledge on a bigger, more valuable case (like a $25-million extortion crime). It may be no coincidence that just the day before Smollett had his charges dropped, his own lawyer and lawyer's close friend were implicated in huge federal crimes. Did Smollett learn something while building his relationship with his attorney that helped with his case? Was that something the key to finally bringing charges against Avenatti and potentially Geragos as well?
If Smollett was truly ignorant of his attorney's shady dealings, it brings on a third scenario: his connections pulled some strings for him. Jussie Smollett has a full rolodex of powerful people who could easy bend the right ears to get what they want done, regardless of the unethical implications. Since Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker had already publicly used Smollet's hoax to push their own political agendas, they had a stake in the outcome and final disposition and would want to minimize the negative effects on Smollett's public image.
