Chicago PD launches internal probe over leaked information in Jussie Smollett case
The police want to know how information about their investigation got to media sources
The Chicago Police Department is trying to figure out who within their department leaked critical case information to the press during the Jussie Smollett investigation, ABC News reports.
Officials said last month they launched the internal investigation “during the interrogation of the brothers when information leaked out,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the police department. Police say Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime attack with the help of two brothers in late January.
READ MORE: Jussie Smollett reportedly has evidence to dispute police claim about payment for a staged attack
However, during the probe, they realized case information was being leaked to news agencies.
“I will also add that there were several agencies briefed with information during that time and some of the information that went out was not factually accurate,” Guglielmi told ABC News on Thursday evening. “These types of investigations are fairly common so that we can determine if we have any integrity issues for future cases.”
This news comes on the heels of another investigation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital where dozens of workers may have been terminated for “improperly reviewing the medical records” of the Empire actor, just so they could sneak a peak at his medical chart.
READ MORE: Hospital workers in Chicago reportedly fired for accessing Jussie Smollett’s records
One nurse, who preferred to remain unnamed, claims it was a misunderstanding, and denies ever accessing Smollett’s chart. However, she did concede that she and many other nurses and hospital employees were fired last week due to allegations of misconduct concerning Smollett’s confidential information.
The nurse claims she that at the end of her shift last Tuesday, she was called in by her employers and unceremoniously terminated on the spot, then escorted out of the building, without ever being provided an opportunity to defend herself.
She maintains that she never accessed the actor’s chart directly, but did innocently scroll past his name while looking for another patient’s name. She’s appealing her dismissal and is speaking out because she fears others may have been overzealously fired over the same misunderstanding.
READ MORE: A billboard attacking Jussie Smollett, John Lewis and Maxine Waters causes outrage in Pa town
When the station contacted hospital officials for comment on the multiple terminations, a spokesman said company policy prevents him from commenting on the employment status of any of their employees.
Smollett was admitted to Northwestern on Jan. 29, and at the time claimed he was attacked by two assailants who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him. He has since been charged with staging the whole incident in what police believe was a “publicity stunt” to get a higher salary from for his role on the FOX Network show.
The actor continues to maintain that he is innocent.
