President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday and announced an FBI and U.S. Justice Department investigation into the case regarding Empire star Jussie Smollett. Chicago prosecutors on Tuesday dismissed 16 disorderly conduct charges against the actor.
Trump wrote, "FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!"
News of the FBI's investigation into Smollett's case surfaced last month.
A government official informed USA TODAY of the FBI probe into whether Smollett had a role in mailing a threatening letter, a week before the alleged assault, to the actor at the Chicago studio where Empire is filmed. The source said the investigation was in its preliminary stages and the FBI denied USA TODAY's offer to comment.
This isn't Trump's first time speaking out against the Smollett case.
After the actor was arrested on charges that he falsified a police report, Trump took to Twitter and accused Smollett of making "racist" and "dangerous" comments.
Smollett, who is Black and openly gay, told police that he was attacked in January by two men in Chicago who tied a noose around his neck and yelled homophobic and racist slurs, including “this is MAGA country.”
He was arrested and indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct charges after he was accused of staging a hate crime against himself and filing a false police report.
