Former U.S. attorney Dan Webb was named on Friday morning special prosecutor overseeing the investigation into the handling of the Jussie Smollett case.
Webb gained national prominence for prosecuting the findings of Operation Greylord, a 1980s federal investigation which examined judicial corruption in Cook County, Illinois. Webb also served as special counsel in the Iran-Contra affair.
Smollett was originally charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct in February for allegedly orchestrating an incident in January in which he paid a pair of masked men to attack him on a Chicago street, place a noose around his neck, and shout racist and homophobic epithets at him. Smollett also said that the two men shouted “This is MAGA country.” A police investigation revealed evidence that Smollett had hired the men to fake the crime.
Charges against Smollett were dropped in March without explanation, and the record of the case was sealed. Smollett was only required to forfeit the $10,000 bond he had already paid the city. – READ MORE