Smollett Statement News Today

Reputation on the front page, you cant go to the b section and put it on the back page and say were sorry. >> bill: so the archdiocese apologized. do you drop the case against them or not? >> no. the diocese of covington squeezed a half apology halfway into a paragraph. that apology is not at all related or similar in size to the damage that their statement did. the diocese of covington statement was used nationally and internationally as a truthful statement, and the person who repeats that sta...

They followed the truth, follow the evidence, and found out that this seems to be an elaborate hoax. >> sandra: two of them have released a statement saying that they will actively fight these charges. here is a statement from them, saying "like any other citizen, he enjoys the presumption of innocence, where information both true and false has been repeatedly leaked. given these circumstances, we intend to mount an aggressive defense." what did you take away from that statement? >> his attorney...

>> i would encourage the superintendent and his legal team to do just that. to make requests, that it involves repaying the citizens of chicago for resources that may have been wasted. if he is determined to be guilty, but i certainly would like to see the judge, if they find that he did this hold him accountable criminally and civilly. >> sandra: got it. as we know, he conducted interviews on. he made a very emotional statement. final thoughts here, could those be used against him in this? >> a...

Start taking questions? >> i think we will see them lay out the case. they made a unique step of presenting it to a grand jury. it has been explained to people outside of the law enforcement practice. they have determined that it is enough to bring a charge. i think they will lay out the evidence and probably see the defense continue on where they are going to try and attack the credibility of the witnesses who have come forward and given statements contrary to mr. smollett statement. at that is...

To this, all of that will be entered into the trial process effectively and efficiently. >> bill: it was reported over the weekend, fox 32 in chicago do some great reporting. all of the locals have been the leader on the story from the very beginning. they reported that there was a receipt from ace hardware where they bought the rope to make the news. i think the other critical factor is the phone because it has been reported that he was reluctant to turn his phone over because he had contacts o...

At that point. but it was that on the 15th, friday the 15th, after approximately 47 hours of them being in custody, and hours of them meeting with us and telling us their story and documenting their story, did we release them without charging. and i classified them no longer as suspects or persons of interest, and as witnesses. so as is typical with any investigation, one would typically lock these witnesses into a grand jury statement. monday was a holiday, the 18th. tuesday was the first day t...