Thread by @jmetr22b

Closing arguments are set to begin in less than an hour in #JussieSmollett’s trial on charges of reporting a phony hate crime. Judge Linn is known for keeping jurors deliberating late into the night if need be, so put on an extra pot of coffee…chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-… w/@crepeau

The judge has not said publicly if there are time limits on closing arguments, but 26th and Cal vets are guessing about 90 minutes total per side. So the jury should be getting the case later in the afternoon

Judge Linn just said there is no time limit on the lawyers for arguments.

Webb: This case is relatively simple. Smollett "falsely reported a fake hate crime to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime ...We have proven this by overwhelming evidence."

Webb: Not only is what Smollett did a crime, "beyond that it’s just plain wrong to just outright denigrate" something as serious as a hate crime, and "then to make sure it had words and symbols" emblematic of this country's racist past

Webb says they have overwhelming evidence corroborating what the Osundairo brothers told police, and that Smollett "tailored his testimony" to fit what he couldn't deny, like surveillance footage, and lie about the rest

Webb said Smollett lied when he testified that to this day he does not know who attacked him. "That is false testimony," he says.

"I don’t think there can be any doubt in anyone's mind who sat through this evidence that is was the Osundairo brothers, who are black, who attacked him," Webb says. Smollett's story that they were white was all part of the hoax, he says.

"If I say it was whites, that makes it more real," Webb says. "It gives it more credibility (that it was a hate attack)"

Webb now showing jurors a list of what he says are six key pieces of evidence "that destroy" Smollett's story about what happened. First is withholding evidence:
"I'm telling you if he is the true victim of a crime then he would not be withholding evidence from the police."

Webb said Smollett refused to turn over his cell phone because it would show he was in recent communication with one of the brothers who was in on the hoax. "The last thing Mr. Smollett wanted was for police to reach out to Bola Osundairo."

Webb says Smollett refused to turn over his limited medical records because he didn't want police "poking around" and finding out that his injuries weren't serious. "He knew that they had pulled their punches. He knew his injuries weren't serious. So he said 'No.'"

Next key, Webb says, is that Smollett refused to give a DNA sample. (Smollett testified he was a private person.. "I won't even go on Ancestry.com). "This evidence is extremely powerful that he knew he had planned out a fake hate crime."

The way the rope was put around Smollett's neck, Webb says, also destroys his credibility. He's showing jurors the surveillance image of the rope loosely around his neck shortly after the attack. By the time police get there, the rope is closer to his throat.

"His so called explanation for jimmying with the rope got blown out of the courtroom yesterday," Webb says. "If he was innocent, the real victim of a hate crime, why would he be jimmying and monkeying around with the rope? He made it look worse, and he got caught."

Webb ridicules Smollett's story that he an Bola were going to work out the morning of the attack, and that's why he was texting him. Yet there was no evidence after the attack the workout was ever canceled. "That workout story was a bunch of hooey, not true at all," Webb says.

Webb brings up the text of "support" Smollett sent to Abel Osundairo when he was in custody. "He wants the brothers to think we can keep our mouths shut. Mr Smollett is gonna keep his mouth shut and no one will ever know what happened," Webb says.

Webb says Smollett's whole defense was just to try to dirty up the Osundairo brothers, asking Bola, "Oh you're a bad guy and you bought drugs for Smollett." Bola also "had a right to buy guns and he ha a card to legally have those guns."

And the attempt by the defense to show that "somehow the brothers are homophobic" had nothing to do with the evidence in the case, Webb says.

Webb: "The police really busted their rears for this hoax."

Police spent thousands of man hours knocking on doors, reviewing surveillance video, interviewing cab drivers, and the defense says "all this is is a rush to judgement by the Chicago police Department," Webb said. "And that's not fair."

Webb says he's "running out of time" and is going to wrap up. The judge told him there were no time limits, but I think he's hit the right notes.

Webb has finished. Taking a short recess

Smollett's attorney, Nenye Uche, is starting by talking about "the elephant in the courtroom," which is assumptions.

Uche: 'The entire prosecution case was built like a house of cards, and we all know what happens to a house of cards when you apply a little pressure. It crumbles."

Uche says cops were in such a rush to judge Smollett that they ignored the fact that the Osundairos had heroin and guns in a safe in their home. "Are you kidding??"

Uche: This is a crazy case, so we’re breaking it down in chapters.
He's also likened it to an "African prince scam" ... "Don't fall for it," he says.