"Like any other citizen, Mr. <person>Smollett</person> enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."
Thursday evening, the attorneys released a statement criticizing law enforcement's handling of the case.
"Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. <person>Smollett</person> and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election," the statement read. "Mr. <person>Smollett</person> is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing."