In
But
He's a somebody. And I've just seen an
So, if it please the court, I'd like to have this video marked as "Exhibit A."
"Has everybody had a good time tonight?" Obama asked the audience at a 2016
Smollett smiled and clapped, beaming with excitement. Who wouldn't be beaming after performing for the president and the first lady?
It was obvious that he was having good time. Clearly, he was becoming somebody. A real
Smollett became such a somebody that
Well, it's almost inexplicable. Foxx did admit she had inappropriate contact with the Smollett family and with
Foxx said she recused herself from the case because of the questionable contacts. But in reality, she hadn't.
And then she dropped the whole thing.
Hate crime? What hate crime?
Tuna sandwich? The one Smollett kept with him even after fighting those MAGA racists? What tuna sandwich?
What MAGA racists? Those bodybuilding brothers, the Osundairos? What Osundairos?
When Foxx mysteriously dropped all the charges, it smelled so badly that retired Illinois Appellate Judge
O'Brien has asked Foxx to appear at a hearing Thursday before Judge
It's all so theatrical, like a courtroom drama turgid with
In
Just type "
Top entertainers performed that night. Big stars like Usher. So did Smollett, who was by no means a big star like the others, but somebody up there must have liked him.
It was a fantastic show. The president and the first lady were cool, singing and dancing and having fun. Finally,
If I were directing, I'd have had the
They'd do a great job singing that
They sang that one to him for eight years, and most are still singing it to this day, with tears.
But look, ah, here's the thing.
And on the night in question, in
"Has everybody had a good time tonight?" Obama asks on the video. "Let's say, 'Thank you' to all our outstanding performers!
"
But he'd skipped Smollett. And just then,
"The Band Perry!
You didn't forget anybody, Mr. President. And you got the important name on the record.
What does this video prove, if anything?
Oh, I'm no lawyer. I'm not a former appellate judge seeking answers to a strange case. And I'm not a state's attorney who'll never be anyone's wing man now.
But it is interesting. And it kinda, sorta answers the question: Where does
"She is our lawyer. We are her clients. We should be able to rely upon our lawyer's word," O'Brien wrote in her petition. "To find that Foxx's clear statement of recusal was something other than a recusal would indicate that she was being less than truthful in her handling of the Smollett case and in her statements to the public."
Less than truthful? That's an understatement. Her pants are on fire.
Once word got out that Foxx had her private contacts with
But when I asked Foxx if she'd really recused herself, her office said the state's attorney had meant it only in "the colloquial" sense.
In other words: Taxpayers sure are stupid, aren't they?
All this should be before
I hope he sees the video and notices the two excited people in the front row.
One was
They're smiling.
And they're not nobodies.
They're somebodies.
No further questions, your honor.
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John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune who also hosts a radio show on WLS-AM.