Leo Terrell responds to Smollett getting out of jail: How embarrassing
‘Outnumbered’ weighs in on actor Jussie Smollett being freed from jail while he appeals conviction.
Fox News contributor Leo Terrell told "Outnumbered" on Thursday that he is upset about Jussie Smollett getting an early release from jail while appealing his conviction in court.
"I’m so upset about this. I have been a civil rights attorney for 30 years and I’m proud of being a civil rights attorney for people who have been victims of discrimination. I want every Fox News viewer to know right now that Jussie Smollett is a liar and a convicted felon. He is not a civil rights victim. He is playing the race card, which is not appropriate," Terrell said.
"This guy trying to bamboozle the entire country on the fact that he was the victim of a vicious hate crime by Trump supporters."
Jussie Smollett is led out of the courtroom after being sentenced at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on March 10, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Cassella-Pool/Getty Images) (Brian Cassella-Pool/Getty Images)
Terrell said that any support of Smollett, aside from his family and lawyers, is naive and blinded by the facts.
"This is embarrassing," Terrell said after blasting actress Taraji P. Henson for comparing Smollett’s story to Emmett Till.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT SHOUTS HE'S ‘INNOCENT,' ‘NOT SUICIDAL’ AFTER BEING SENTENCED TO JAIL
A court ordered the release of Jussie Smollett from jail on bond Wednesday as the appeal of his conviction is pending.
Smollett was recently sentenced to 150 days in jail after he was convicted of lying to Chicago police about being the victim of a hate crime back in 2019. The "Empire" actor was convicted on five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police.
This booking photo provided by the Cook County Sheriff's Office shows Jussie Smollett. A judge sentenced Jussie Smollett to 150 days in jail Thursday, March 10, 2022, branding the Black and gay actor a charlatan for staging a hate crime against himself while the nation struggled with wrenching issues of racial injustice. (Cook County Sheriff's Office via AP)
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Despite the claims falling apart, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' tweets from that time remain online.
Host Harris Faulkner pointed out that VP Harris "had a lot of strong opinions" and there are lingering questions about the handling of the case.
"I have more questions: Chicago, what happened with Kim Foxx and that prosecutor? The D.A.'s team? What was going on there? I have so many questions and was Jussie Smollett involved in any way in perpetrating something bigger, something was that was like a woke moment gone awry? We don’t know, and we may never know. But it bears asking the questions because the tax dollars were spent, and we as a public were manipulated," she said.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT REPORTED ATTACK: TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Host Emily Compagno pushed back on the notion that Smollett's continued incarceration would be "punitive."
"It's a deterrent and it's punitive for when people do bad things. … That's what happens. That's the price you pay," said Compagno.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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