The Cook County state’s attorney will not be involved in the investigation of hate-crime charges made by “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
According to Chicago TV station WLS, channel 7, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has recused herself from the case because she knows possible witnesses.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the decision to recuse herself was made to address potential questions of impartiality based upon familiarity with potential witnesses in the case,” a spokeswoman for Ms. Foxx’s office told the ABC affiliate via email.
The office did not elaborate on who the witnesses are or what relevance they had to the Smollett case, which began as a hate-crime investigation but is now reportedly being handled as a hoax.
Ms. Foxx’s first assistant, Joseph Magats, will handle the Smollett case, the spokeswoman said.
