Smollett Lies Expose a Culture of Lying to -- and About -- the Police

Lawyers representing Jussie Smollett, the actor who apparently lied to the Chicago Police Department about an alleged hate crime, called him a "man of impeccable character and integrity."

Before Smollett's tale of being of a victim of an attack by two men yelling pro-Trump slogans fell apart, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), one of many who vouched for his character, blamed President Donald Trump for creating an atmosphere that encouraged such an attack. Waters said: "I know Jussie. I love him. His family's a friend of mine. I know his sisters, I met his mom, and I called already to Jazz, one of the sisters, to talk to her about what's happening, what's going on."

This "man of impeccable character and integrity" appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" two weeks ago, where an oh-so-sympathetic Robin Roberts interviewed him. Smollett, at times tearing up, described the pain of being attacked by racist Trump-supporting homophobes. But he also described his second painful experience, that of being doubted. "It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim or a Mexican or someone black," Smollett told Roberts, "I feel like the doubters would've supported me a lot more, and that says a lot about the place that we are in our country right now."

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