The House investigation proceeded in two phases. The contents of the call initially came to light through an intelligence community whistleblower report, but a summary of the call was later made public by President Trump. At the time of the call, the Office of Management and Budget had frozen $400 million in military aid to Ukraine at the direction of the President. The first impeachment trial stemmed from a call President Trump had with the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in which President Trump asked the Ukrainian President to announce two investigations: one involving his potential opponent in the upcoming 2020 presidential election and a second into unsubstantiated allegations that entities within Ukraine had interfered in the 2016 presidential election. In each case, he was acquitted on all counts by the Senate. President Donald Trump was impeached twice during his single term in office. “We’re confident in his legal team, and we look forward to people hearing the actual facts of this case,” Jojo Smollett told reporters.The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Outside the courtroom on Tuesday, Smollett’s brother said it has been “incredibly painful” for the family to watch Smollett be accused of something he “did not do”. Trump tweeted: “Jussie Smollett – what about … the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?” The actor Viola Davis wrote: “We all have to take this racist and homophobic act of violence very personally.” Kamala Harris, then a California senator, condemned the attack as an “attempted modern-day lynching”. The allegedly staged attack on Smollett drew widespread reaction and excited political and ideological divisions across the US. He “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career”, said the then Chicago police superintendent, Eddie Johnson, adding: “This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve.” “When he reported the fake hate crime, that was a real crime,” Webb said.Ĭhicago police have said Smollett claimed he was attacked because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on Empire. Smollett is charged with felony disorderly conduct, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years.Īccording to special prosecutor Dan Webb, Smollett recruited the brothers to help him carry out a fake attack which he reported to Chicago police, saying he was attacked by supporters of the then president, Donald Trump. “Jussie Smollett is a real victim,” Uche said of the actor, who is Black and gay. Uche also suggested a third attacker was involved and told jurors there was not a “shred” of evidence linking Smollett to the crime prosecutors allege. In opening statements on Monday, defense attorney Nenye Uche said two brothers attacked Smollett because they did not like him and that a $3,500 check the actor paid the men was for training so he could prepare for a music video. “At the end of the investigation, we determined that the alleged hate crime was actually a staged event,” Theis said. He also said Smollett refused to provide medical records related to the attack or a cheek swab so investigators could compare it to DNA that may have been on a rope Smollett said the attackers put around his neck. Theis said investigators spent days after Smollett reported the alleged attack in January 2019 following up leads, collecting videos from surveillance cameras, door bells and businesses, poring over phone records and canvassing the area in sub-zero temperatures.
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