Jussie Smollett was completely crucified in her cross-examination

ONEfter Jussie Smollett spilled all the tea she could on Monday, Special Prosecutor Dan Webb put the focus back on the attack on Empire the star the actor is said to have staged a brutal cross-examination on Tuesday.

Webb, a barrister’s attorney who crucified corrupt judges and police officers when he worked as a U.S. attorney for the area including Chicago and who prosecuted Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser and The removal of the president as special counsel in the Iran-Contra affair, has shifted the focus back to the incident at hand. This after Smollett had previously shared intimate details about his relationship with one of the Osundairo brothers, who testified that the actor paid them $3,500 in 2019 to create out a fake hate crime against him.

Tuesday’s cross-examination was like a master class on how to mine the details and seal the deal. After a day of speculation, innuendo and tabloids, Webb wanted to remind the judges what they were here to decide.

Webb focuses on the scene of the incident and the actions leading up to it. Evidence provided during testing showed that Smollett and Osundairo brothers drove several times in the previous days around the exact spot where the actor later claimed he had been physically assaulted, had bleach poured over him, and had a noose tied around his neck. him in the cold hours of January 29, 2019.

Smollett previously testified that he only worked with Abimbola, Osundario’s brother to whom he also testified that he was in a drug-induced, sexual relationship – and that he did not get along with his brother Olabinjo, whom Smollett claims has “nothing to do with my life.” (Abimbola, who appeared further on “Empire,” denied that he and Smollett had an affair.)

So why did Olabinjo sit in the car with the two of them around the area in question for a workout that didn’t happen?

“Have you been stoned to the point where you decide that when you get to Streeterville, you’ve been stoned too much to practice?” Webb asked.

“No,” Smollett replied. “I have worked with weeds many times. It’s definitely not that. “

The actor stated that he found it “strange” for Olabinjo to go with him and Abimbola and at the time, he said the practice wasn’t happening because he had an interview to prepare for. But as Webb repeatedly pressed him on specifics, Smollett’s frustration grew more and more apparent.

One notable example was when the prosecution forced Smollett to admit that he had driven around the area not once but three times with the Osundairo brothers.

“Do you have any reason to disagree with the police statement that you have crossed the intersection three times?” Webb asked.

“I don’t know,” Smollett replied. “I walked around the block.”

“How long have you been there?”

“Well, you have supervision, you have to tell me,” Smollett replied. “That was three years ago.”

It was clear that Webb had punctured a nerve with Smollett. After the actor tried to cast doubt on Abimbola’s testimony by claiming the two had an affair, Webb focused on Smollett again, pressing him in a series of tense back-and-forth exchanges about details. specifics of the night in question. These included whether Smollett thought Walgreens was open for 24 hours, why he went looking for eggs in the middle of the night, whether he asked Abimbola about his workout that night, and so on. continued until the actor seemed to succeed a breaking point.

“I’m just worried about answering yes or no,” Smollett told Judge James Linn after Webb began rating one of his responses as “unresponsive.”

“Please, please,” Linn told him. “All witnesses are the same, it is not your personal matter. Lawyers ask questions, you answer them. “

In one final round of back and forth, Webb forced Smollett into the attack himself, and why Smollett changed his initial description of his attackers to the police from white to “pale.”

At the end of his cross-examination, Webb left many nagging questions about Smollett’s account of what happened for jurors to consider. Among them: If Smollett had delayed training with Abimbola that night, as he testified, why was there no follow-up text or call about that?

When Webb finished his question, he asked Smollett if “having a few bruises” had really affected his acting career.

“Mr Webb, I have a scar under my eye that looks like a bag for the rest of my life,” Smollett replied, referring to a “black circle” on her face. “That’s totally a problem.”

Webb then showed Smollett a picture of himself in His controversial February 2019 Good Morning America interview with Robin Roberts a few weeks after the attack. In the photo, Smollett doesn’t appear to have any of the markings he just described on the stand.

Smollett clapped his hands in response, asking Webb if he knew what Hollywood interviews are like and asserting that the make-up provided to him on set “makes me look so much better.”

Damn, Jussie – how did you let him have you like that?

After Webb finished, defense attorney Nenye Uche continued with diverting questions for Smollett regarding his communication with the Osundairo brothers. They’re fine and fair, but the damage is done, as it looks like the once-popular star may have bitten off more than he could chew by choosing to stand.