Thread by @djbyrnes1

Cross examination of Jussie Smollett by the state prosecutors now starting. Prosecution asking Smollett if he just said he knowingly withheld useful evidence from the police. Smollett saying he wouldn't know, at least regarding what is "useful" evidence. #Smolletttrial

However, Smollett denies ever lying to the police. "I told them the truth, that I was the victim of a hate crime," he said.

Smollett claims that the news about one of his alleged attackers wearing a MAGA hat was a lie; a leak in the investigation that he says worried detectives as much as himself. Smollett denies ever mentioning a MAGA hat in his initial report to police.

Smollett now saying he didn't withhold anything from police to cover anything up. Maintains that there was no hoax.

Prosecutor Dan Webb counters that the lead investigator in the case, Michael Theis, testified last week that in 30 years doing his job, "You are the only victim of a crime that refused to turn over a cell phone."

Prosecution asking Smollett if he turned over only a small amount of phone records to police because he was worried the police thought he was lying. Smollett denies this, citing that his staff changed his phone number after the attack for security reasons.

Due to this change of a number, Smollett said, the relevant phone records weren't available until the next billing cycle. Smollett also added that the change to his phone number was done without his consent.

Prosecution still going over Smollett's level of police compliance in the investigation with a fine-tooth comb. We're on to Smollett's medical records now.

"Were you concerned that if you produced your medical records, that it would show that you did not suffer significant injuries?" - Prosecutor Dan Webb

Defense objects to the question, and Smollett is incensed by it. "My injuries are real." he says, citing a scar under his eye that he says came from the attack.

Webb, undeterred, points out that Dr. Robert Turelli, who examined Smollett following the alleged attack, testified last week that Smollett had no significant injuries at the time of the examination.

Defense once again objects that this is a mischaracterization of testimony, saying that Turelli's comments referred to Smollett's MRI and CAT scan, not to the bruising and cuts he suffered in the alleged attack.

Into DNA evidence now. Smollett says he "[doesn't] even do Ancestry.com" because he's that hesitant to give out DNA samples.

On to the noose rope now. Smollett says he took it off after getting back to his apartment following the alleged attack, but also says he put it back on when police arrived so as not to unintentionally soil potential evidence.

Smollett denies doing anything to deliberately alter the rope's appearance, but also says it had become slightly unraveled in taking it off and putting it on again.

Michael Theis, the lead investigator into Smollett's case in 2019, said last week that detectives found it suspicious that the rope's appearance differed between Smollett's apartment lobby security camera and the responding police officer's body camera.

Smollett, looking at the two images together, argues that the rope looks less like a noose in the body camera footage. This is counter to Theis' assessment last week that Smollett made the rope look *more* like a noose for when the police arrived.

On to the text messages between Smollett and Abimbola Osundairo, wherein Smollett asked for Abimbola's help "on the low."

Smollett maintains that he wanted to ask Abimbola to bring him back an herbal steroid from Abimbola's trip to visit family in Nigeria. Smollett said Abimbola told him the steroid was illegal in the U.S.

"What steroid do you think is legal in Nigeria that you can't get in the U.S.?" prosecution asks Smollett. Smollett asserts that there *are* steroids that are legal in Nigeria that aren't legal in the U.S., but says he doesn't know their names.

"I trusted [Abimbola] to know what it was... he said it was an herbal steroid," Smollett says.

Prosecution asking why they had to be in a car to discuss this issue. Smollett says it's because the discussion was just a small part of the two hanging out; that the two often drove around together.

Judge Linn wants to end the day at 6 p.m., so prosecution wraps up its questioning there. Linn says that, despite his prior prediction that the jury will begin deliberation on Tuesday, he now thinks it may start Wednesday.

I'm going to end the livetweeting now as well. The trial will pick back up tomorrow, hopefully around 9:15 a.m.