Jussie Smollett's lawyer says Osundairo brothers lied, it's up to state to bring charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jussie Smollett's attorney says the two brothers who claim they worked with the "Empire" actor to stage a hate crime against him are lying.
Tina Glandian spoke with "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, a day after Chicago prosecutors abruptly dropped charges, yet still insisted that Smollett lied to police about being attacked by two strangers on Jan. 29.
Glandian says Smollett, who is black and gay, had hired one brother as a personal trainer, and that they discussed training and nutrition in the hours before the attack as Smollett's flight to Chicago was delayed. But she says Smollett had no idea who attacked him until the brothers were later identified by police.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JUSSIE SMOLLETT HOAX CHARGES DROPPED, ACTOR WANTS TO 'MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE'
She says Smollett is a victim of a crime and "just wants his life back."
“If the brothers are saying that he helped them stage this attack, you’re saying the brothers are lying,” host George Stephanopoulos asked.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Absolutely,” Glandian responded
“They’re not telling the truth,” he followed up.
“No,” she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smollett's attorney's allegations come after the Osundairo brothers' lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, told Fox News in a statement Tuesday that she is no longer representing them.
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"The Osundairo brothers were fully prepared to testify in any criminal proceeding in the Jussie Smollett case," Schmidt told us. "Following today’s decision ending the criminal case against Smollett, Gloria Schmidt no longer represents the Osundairo brothers as trial witnesses in the criminal matter."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A rep for the Osundairo brothers did not return Fox News' request for comment.
On Tuesday, Smollett’s attorney Patricia Brown Holmes appeared alongside the actor at the Chicago courthouse, where she fielded questions from reporters.
When asked directly if the State’s Attorney would be pursuing charges against the brothers, she said she was unsure, but reminded the public that her client alleges a crime took place and that the Osundairo brothers admitted to being a part of it, thus leaving the ball in investigators' court.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The two brothers have said that they attacked him so, you know,” Brown Holmes said. “We don’t want to try them in the press any more than he wanted to be tried in the press.”
Smollett has maintained his innocence and previously pleaded not guilty to all 16 counts against him.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smollett told police he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from a Chicago Subway sandwich shop around 2 a.m on Jan. 29. The actor said the masked men beat him, made derogatory comments and yelled "This is MAGA country" — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again" — during an attack that lasted less than a minute.
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Police eventually determined the masked men were brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, and they were identified by cops as being the men seen on surveillance video buying the rope that was hung around Smollett's neck during the alleged attack. Johnson told the press at the time that the Osundairo brothers were cooperating with authorities and the investigation was pivoting from a hate crime investigation into a case of false reporting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Osundairo brothers have not been charged with any crime related to the incident despite their arrest and questioning by police shortly before Smollett’s arrest.