Friday, May 24, 2019

Ex-Michelle Obama Aide Refuses Subpoena Related to Smollett Scandal

A former top aide to Michelle Obama refused to be served a subpoena Wednesday related to her contact with Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx in the Jussie Smollett case.

The subpoena was issued by former Illinois Appellate Judge Sheila O'Brien as part of her request for a special prosecutor to investigate the Cook County state's attorney's handling of Smollett's criminal case, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

O'Brien wants the former first lady's one-time chief of staff, Tina Tchen, to produce "Any and all documents, notes, phone records, texts, tape recordings made or received at any time, concerning conversations with Kim Foxx in re: Jussie Smollett" at a May 31 hearing.

Tchen, an attorney in Chicago, intervened in the Smollett case by telling Foxx that a member of the "Empire" star's family had "Concerns" about her office's probe, the Sun-Times previously reported.

Tchen reached out to Foxx on Feb. 1, three days after Smollett told cops he was the victim of a homophobic and racist beatdown near his apartment.

"Shortly after Mr. Smollett reported he was attacked, as a family friend, I contacted Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who I also know from prior work together," she said in a March statement.

A judge is expected to decide Thursday on whether sealed records in Smollett's case will be made public, ABC Chicago reported.

https://nypost.com/2019/05/23/lawyer-who-intervened-in-jussie-smollett-case-refuses-subpoena/

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