Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has decided to testify in his own defense against allegations from Chicago prosecutors that he committed a vile hate crime against himself by planning a fake attack with his two associates, brothers Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo. The Osundairo brothers had testified that the actor paid them to carry out the phony hate crime attack against him in 2019.
Over the course of two days, the 39-year-old actor had testified vehemently that the allegations were hundred percent false, claiming that the Osundairo brothers lied on him. Regarding Smollett’s ‘bizarre’ testimony, some legal experts, who are not involved with Smollett’s case, believe the actor did himself no favors and likely hurt his defense by taking the stand.
Neama Rahmani, a former U.S. attorney, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that”
“Smollett testifying in his own defense is one of two things, or maybe both: a narcissistic criminal defendant who is doubling down on his charged lies to law enforcement or defense attorneys who know they are way behind and are throwing a low probability Hail Mary to try to get their client off.”
“Either way, Smollett’s story was a bizarre attempt at forcing a square peg into a round hole by offering every possible explanation for the state’s digital evidence except the most obvious one: that he is guilty. In the unlikely event he is acquitted, Smollett’s decision was a genius move. But it is far more likely that the jury sees through his ruse and Smollett is convicted. If so, the judge may sentence him to prison time for obstructing justice and perjuring himself on the witness stand,” Rahmani added.
A high-powered Michigan lawyer, James White, told Fox News Digital that the actor’s testimony was nothing more than “an unparalleled disaster,” echoing Rahmani’s comments. James also stated that he believes Smollett not only “hurt his case” but also “went beyond and made the prosecutor’s case” in the process.
James told the outlet that Smollett’s story is so unbelievable, and no reasonable jury is ever going to buy it in the face of the evidence. During his time on the stand, Smollett admitted to smoking marijuana with Bola Osundairo and mentioned other personal anecdotes that James believes “weren’t relevant” to the actor’s defense.
“I think that he absolutely buried himself to the extent he wasn’t already buried,” James pressed.
James, however, acknowledged that closing arguments are set to take place on Wednesday and that the jury is yet to deliver a verdict. Nevertheless, he said Smollett’s testimony “was almost indecipherable trying to make sense of it, and I just don’t see how any reasonable jury is going to find any truth in everything he said.”
James also contended that Smollett should not have taken the stand at all.
“The real issue of the real story here is why was he even up there taking the stand?” questioned White. “So for me, the million-dollar question, which really hasn’t played out during the course of the trial to the extent that I’ve seen is, did his attorneys try to stop this? Or were they a part of this plan? Because if it’s the latter, that’s a problem.”
In addition, a founding partner at Los Angeles-based Walzer Melcher family law firm, Peter M. Walzer, told Fox News Digital that in his estimation, Smollett’s entire business model in this instance is rooted in “persuasion.” “And seeing as though the jury is weighing Smollett’s word against that of the Osundairo brothers, Smollett “is the only one who can refute the allegations made against him,” Walzer added.
