Cook County chose to exercise its jurisdiction in this case and as a result, the Attorney General\u2019s office had no role in this prosecution. The Attorney General\u2019s office investigates matters of public integrity based on specific and credible allegations.<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s it? Hiding behind such a narrow view of an Attorney General\u2019s role is monumentally\u00a0 hypocritical for Raoul.<\/p>\n From the start, he claimed vast responsibilities. In his victory speech on election night,\u00a0he said<\/a>\u00a0he and other attorneys general had to collaborate \u201cbecause of the direction Donald Trump is taking us,\u201d and he needs to \u201cdefend the decency of this country as we know it.\u201d Since then, he has attempted to assert influence over a broad range of matters. For example, he said on Twitter that he \u201cmust continue to advocate for critical climate action and hold the Trump administration accountable when it disregards the plain text of the law in its quest to dismantle environmental protections.\u201d Most recently, he issued a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0on the Robert Mueller\u2019s Russia probe, saying Mueller should be forced to testify before Congress.<\/p>\n At a bare minimum, Raoul should be condemning the rank injustice that was done, just as Mayor Emanuel and other officeholders have.<\/p>\n More importantly, he should be pressing for answers and providing direction on at least some of the myriad, open issues in this affair, or making sure somebody else is doing so.<\/p>\n For example, the judge in Cook County ordered the case file sealed, but they can be unsealed. Who would do so? Who is looking at whether that can be done here? We certainly can\u2019t count on the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney. Could Raoul commence that process, or at least take a position on who should make a determination of whether it should be done?<\/p>\n Who if anybody is providing support and assistance to federal authorities who are still considering bringing their own charges? Somebody should be ensuring that all evidence earlier collected by the Chicago Police gets to the Feds, and Raoul could be assuring that is happening.<\/p>\n What about\u00a0the serious ethical questions<\/a>\u00a0raised about Kim Foxx, the Cook County State\u2019s Attorney who corresponded with Smollett\u2019s allies about having her office duck out of the case entirely?<\/p>\n Most importantly, what about voiding the dismissal entirely because of Foxx\u2019s botched \u201crecusal\u201d from the case? See\u00a0our separate article<\/a>\u00a0why that should mean that her office had no authority to continue to handle the case, rendering the dismissal voidable. Clearly that\u2019s something Raoul should be spearheading.<\/em><\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the\u00a0complaint by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police<\/a>, which they sent to the United States Justice Department, claiming Foxx interfered with their investigation. Surely that\u2019s a matter for the state\u2019s Attorney General to take an interest in.<\/p>\n Finally, there are questions about possible political interference. They are vague but growing. It was Michelle Obama\u2019s former chief of staff, Tina Tchen,\u00a0who emailed Foxx<\/a>\u00a0to say she was reaching out on behalf of Jussie\u2019s family to express \u201cconcerns\u201d they had with how the investigation was being handled. And Foxx\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0she would \u201cnot be where he is today\u201d without Kamala Harris, the presidential candidate. If concrete allegations on political interference materialize, where do they get asserted?<\/p>\n Some of these matters may not be formally within the attorney general\u2019s enforcement authority, but surely the state\u2019s top legal officer has some responsibility for helping sort this mess out.<\/p>\n Why has Raoul turned his back on the case? Mark Konkol, writing in\u00a0The Patch<\/a>, probably has the answer:<\/p>\n Foxx has strong ties to the state\u2019s top prosecutor charged with investigating elected officials accused of violating state law, rookie Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Foxx, the political prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, served on Raoul\u2019s transition team after the 2018 election. Raoul spokeswoman Vanessa James declined to comment Tuesday.<\/em><\/p>\n Greg Hinz at\u00a0Crain\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0recently summarized the consequences of the Smollett calamity perfectly:<\/p>\n [T]he next time police are reluctant to prosecute a case of gay-bashing . . . the next time people are afraid to testify against someone with clout . . . the next time average citizens let gang bangers go free because they\u2019re scared to cooperate . . . the next time police just don\u2019t want to put in extra effort because they think it\u2019s not worth it . . . the next time people laugh when you say you\u2019re from Chicago . . . remember this case.<\/em><\/p>\n Are those not matters worthy of the state\u2019s top legal officer\u2019s attention? Then again, given his close political ties to so many involved, maybe we\u2019re better off if he stays in hiding.<\/p>\n UPDATE: State Rep. David McSweeney, a Republican from the Chicago suburb of Barrington Hills,\u00a0filed a resolution Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0asking Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul to \u201cconduct a full, prompt, and comprehensive examination\u201d of the case.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wirepoints.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kwame-raoul.jpg\")