Harris, Booker call for judgement on Jussie Smollett case to be withheld until investigation is completed

Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Cory Booker (N.J.), two of the Democrats running for the White House in 2020, called for judgement in the case of Jussie Smollett to be withheld until investigations have been completed.

Smollett, an actor on “Empire,” told Chicago police that he was assaulted around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 by two men who placed a rope around his neck, beat him and poured an unknown chemical substance on him. The black, gay actor says that the two men, who he said were wearing masks, yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him.

{mosads}This Saturday, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the probe into the attack told CNN that police believed Smollett had actually paid two men to carry out the assault. 

Smollet has vehemently denied that he played any part in the attack.

Harris initially condemned the reported attack as a “modern day lynching” when it happened. 

.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery.

This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019

When asked about developments in the case Monday, she told reporters that further investigation was needed.

“I will say this about that case,” she said. “I think that the facts are still unfolding, and I’m very concerned about the initial allegation that he made about what might have happened.”

“And it’s something we should all take seriously whenever anyone alleges that kind of behavior, but there should be an investigation,” Harris added. “And I think that once the investigation has concluded then we can all comment, but I’m not going to comment until I know the outcome of the investigation.”

Booker similarly condemned the alleged attack when it was first reported, also calling it a modern-day lynching.

The New Jersey lawmaker told reporters Sunday that he would withhold judgment until “all the information actually comes out from on-the-record sources.”

.@eschor asks @CoryBooker to respond to reports that the Jussie Smollett attack may have been planned by the actor.

He called the attack a “modern day lynching” when the news broke. pic.twitter.com/8Zf8y7vhrv

— Megan Pratz (@meganpratz) February 17, 2019

The two presidential hopefuls were not alone in calling out the incident when it first became news.

President Trump called the alleged attack “horrible.”

“It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned,” he said Jan. 31.