Jussie Smollett 'Will Not Be Intimidated' by Chicago Demands for Investigation Costs

Jussie Smollett 'will not be intimidated' by Chicago demands for investigation costs, say his [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Jussie Smollett "will not be intimidated" by Chicago demands for investigation costs, say his lawyers.

In a letter sent to the City of Chicago Department of Law, Smollett's lawyer Mark Geragos asserted that the city's calls for the Empire actor to repay them investigation cost would be "vehemently" fought if necessary.

"We are in receipt of your March 28. 2019 letter, sent two days after all criminal charges against Mr. Smollett were dismissed, demanding that Mr. Smollett pay to the City of Chicago $130,106.15 for 'repayment of investigation costs' within seven (7) days," the letter reads, "Otherwise, you threaten to prosecute Mr. Smollett for making a false statement to the City pursuant to Municipal Code 1-21-010 or to pursue any other legal remedy available at law."

"Your letter constitutes part of a course of conduct intended to harass and irreparably injure Mr. Smollett," the letter continues. "As explained below, your letter is both factually and legally flawed, and Mr. Smollett will not be intimidated into paying the demanded sum."

"As you know, Mr. Smollett vehemently denies making any false statements to the City of Chicago, or to any individuals investigating the January 29, 2019 attack on him," the letter goes on to read. "All criminal charges against Mr. Smollett from this incident have been dismissed and his record has been sealed. Thus. your claim that Mr. Smollett filed a false police report and orchestrated his own attack is false and defamatory."

The threats from the Chicago city government come after Smollett's alleged fake hate crime assault case was dropped due to the prosecution reportedly not having a strong enough case against the actor.

Following the charges against Smollett being dropped, his lawyers issued a statement saying, "Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him. Jussie was attacked by 2 people he was unable to identify on January 29th."

"He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public, causing an inappropriate rush to judgment," the statement continued.

"Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions. This entire situation is a reminder that there should never be an attempt to prove a case in the court of public opinion. That is wrong. It is a reminder that a victim, in this case Jussie, deserves dignity and respect. Dismissal of charges against the victim in this case was the only just result," the statement concluded.

Read the full new letter from Geragos & Geragos here.

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