Jussie Smollett's lawyers say the city of Chicago is harassing him by threatening to sue him for $130,000 police investigation costs and warns he 'will not be intimidated'
- Smollett's lawyer Mark Geragos replied on Thursday to the city's request
- It has asked Smollett for $130,000 to pay for the cost of the investigation into the January 29 attack they say was staged
- Geragos said its threat to sue Smollett for the money amounts to harassment
- He said he 'will not be intimidated' by what he called its 'malicious' threat
- The city's mayor and police department thinks Smollett staged the attack
- It is furious at the State's Attorney's office for dropping the charges against him
- Attorneys are calling on SA Kimberly Foxx to be investigated for her handling of the case
- Police unions passed 'no confidence' vote in her over their handling
Jussie Smollett's lawyers have hit back at the city of Chicago on Thursday for threatening to sue him for costs of the police investigation into his 'hoax' attack and say it amounts to harassment.
On Friday, Smollett's lawyer Mark Geragos replied to the city's letter by claiming its threats were 'malicious'. It added that he 'will not be intimidated' by the city's demands.
He almost dared the city to proceed with filing a lawsuit and said that if it did, his team would want to depose Mayor Emanuel, the superintendent of the Chicago police department, the Nigerian brothers who say he paid them to attack them and their lawyers.
The letter reads: 'Your letter constitutes part of a course of conduct intended to harass and irreparably injure Mr.Smollett.
'Mr. Smollett will not be intimidated into paying the demanded sum.
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Jussie Smollett's lawyers said on Friday that he 'will not be intimidated' by the mayor of Chicago over threats to sue him for the cost of the police investigation into his allegedly staged attack
'As you know, Mr. Smollett vehemently denies making any false statements to the City of Chicago or to any individuals investigating the January 29 attack on him.
'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. It is apparent that your threats were made maliciously and in bad faith and without an honest belief that a cause of action against Mr. Smollett exists.
Describing the request as 'unprecedented' and 'unconstitutional', he went on: 'If you file a civil action against Mr. Smollett, please be advised that in addition to raising the appropriate legal defenses, 1) we will demand the prompt production of the entire investigation file in this matter, including the full discovery from the criminal action which was never provided to the defense; 2) we will demand that you promptly produce for deposition Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, Abimbola Osundairo, Olabinjo Osundairo, and attorneys Gloria Schmidt and Jorge Rodriguez; and 3) we will seek to have all records and hearings on this matter be open to the public.
'We are confident that Mayor Emanuel and Superintendent Johnson will not object to providing their testimony under oath.
This is the letter Smollett's attorneys sent in response to the city's threat of a lawsuit on Friday
'Mr. Smollett's preference remains, however, that this matter be closed and that he be allowed to move on with his life.'
On Thursday, the city of Chicago sent the 36-year-old a letter saying it planned to file a lawsuit against him unless he paid up.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city's police department still believe he is guilty of staging the January 29 attack and are furious that the State's Attorney's Office decided to drop the charges against him.
They are now demanding that he pay $130,000 which they say is the cost of the overtime paid to officers for investigating the attack as a means of holding him accountable.
State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx, whose office dropped the charges after she recused herself from the case for exchanging text messages with Smollett's family at the start of the probe, is facing calls to resign.
The police union in Chicago has passed a vote of no confidence in her and even attorneys who used to work for her and calling for her to be investigated.
Among them is Saani Mohammed who filed a petition asking for the investigation into Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx's actions over the decision to drop the 16 felony charges against the Empire actor.
According to court documents, Mohammed, who until recently worked in Foxx's office, wrote that a prosecutor should investigate if Foxx 'acted to impede the investigation… concealed evidence, and/or intentionally misled the public'.
Foxx also improperly 'used her position to intervene in the investigation', after meeting with one of Smollett's relatives before the charges were dropped, the filing states, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Police chiefs have called for the resignation of Kimberly Foxx Cook County State's Attorney after 16 felony counts were dropped against actor Jussie Smollett
Kevin Graham, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the vote was about more than just the Smollett case, NBC News reports.
He reportedly said the decision was just one of many issues undermining their trust in Foxx and Chicago's criminal justice system.
On Monday some 300 people, including off-duty Chicago police officers, took to the streets to protest, calling on Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx to resign over her handling of the case.
Foxx has defended her actions and those of her prosecutors.
Smollett told police on January 29 that two apparent supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him.
He claimed the attackers poured the bleach-like chemical on him and tied a rope noose around his neck, yelling racist and homophobic insults as well as 'This is MAGA country'.
He told officers the unknown chemical substance was used on him while 'Empire f****t' and 'Empire n*****' was shouted at him.
But on February 15, unconfirmed reports emerged suggesting the openly-gay actor might have staged the attack to save his job with help from two Nigerian brothers that he reportedly knew as extras on Empire.
The actor, best known for his role as a gay musician on the Fox Television hip-hop drama Empire, was charged in February with staging the incident himself and filing a false police report.
Investigators said they believe Smollett may have paid Abimbola 'Abel' and Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo $3,500 to assault him in the orchestrated attack.
Last week prosecutors dropped all 16 felony charges issued by a grand jury against Smollett, infuriating police and outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo told police Smollett paid them to attack him
Prosecutors said they stood by the accusation but that an agreement by Smollett to forfeit his $10,000 bond was a just outcome.
The case file was sealed by a Chicago judge, which critics suggested was evidence of a cover-up.
Last week Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel's law chief sent the Empire actor a letter demanding he cover the probe costs after the 16 felony disorderly conduct charges against him were dropped.
The letter, dated March 28, demanded the 36-year-old actor pay the $130,106.15 bill within seven days.
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot could reverse any legal action after she's sworn in on May 20.
Smollett was written out of the final two episodes of Empire this season after he was charged with staging the hate crime.
Fox executives have not said if he will return should the show be renewed for another year.
The actor's criminal defense attorney, Mark Geragos, could not be reached for comment.
