The Morning Briefing: Smollett Arrested, Charged and Much, Much More

Good Friday morning.

Here is what’s on President Trump’s agenda today:

The president meets with the vice premier of the People’s Republic of China
President Trump delivers remarks at the Republican Governors Association event

Happening today: House Democrats to introduce bill that would block national emergency Friday

Alleged hoaxster Jussie Smollett charged

Yesterday at a press conference in Chicago, the Chicago police superintendent accused Jussie Smollett of orchestrating his own “hate” attack. If you don’t suffer from Trump derangement syndrome you knew this pretty much immediately upon hearing the details of the “crime.” Superintendent Eddie Johnson described Smollett’s alleged hoax as taking “advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career.”

“This is shameful because it painted this city that we all love and work hard in, in a negative connotation,” Johnson said. “To insinuate and stage a hate crime of that nature when he knew that as a celebrity he’d get a lot of attention … It’s despicable. It makes you wonder what’s going through someone’s mind.”

Did he smear the murder capital of America, Chicago, or did he smear every single innocent Trump supporter? Why aren’t we hearing apologies from those who ran with Smollett’s outlandish hate crime for inaccurately smearing the MAGAs?

Smollett’s lawyer is blaming the system or something.

“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a mayoral election,” his team continued.

“Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”

Stay tuned to see how long before this guy is fired from his show or how long before he is offered a tenured position at an Ivy League school.

Tucker: The ‘Cult Of Victimhood’ Prevents Don Lemon From Apologizing For His Abysmal Smollett Coverage

Here’s A Round-Up Of Jussie Smollett’s Worst Tweets About President Trump And His Supporters

The list of bogus ‘hate crimes’ in Trump era is long

MAGA-hat wearing teen claims California high school wouldn’t permit her to wear hat

Conservative activist assaulted at UC-Berkeley campus: I feared for safety

The latest poster child in the immigration battle is an actual terrorist

ISIS bride Hoda Muthana wants to come back the U.S. with her son after leaving America to go join ISIS and marry some jihadis. Is she a U.S. citizen? It’s a murky area: she was born here to a diplomat father, which means she is not a citizen. But her father claims he was not a diplomat when Muthana was born. It’s going to court.

Now, Muthana’s father, Ahmed Muthana, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, saying she is a citizen. The lawsuit also seeks a declaratory judgment that she was denied due process by the Trump administration when he and Pompeo declared she was not one.

The debate centers over her father’s immigration status when she was born in October 1994. He was working in the U.S. as a Yemeni diplomat on a diplomatic visa, and according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the children of foreign diplomats are not given birthright citizenship because they are not under the “jurisdiction of” the U.S., as required by the 14th Amendment.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, “She may have been born here. She is not a U.S. citizen, nor is she entitled to U.S. citizenship.”

The Obama admin revoked her U.S. passport, but we don’t know why they did. Who wants her back in the U.S., raise your hand?

Your daily WTF:

This might be the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. Woman Designs Handbag Using Her Amputated Leg Skin

Historical picture of the day:

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team members celebrate after their upset victory over the heavily favored Soviet team by 4-3 score in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Feb. 22, 1980. (AP Photo)

Other morsels:

IRS Analyst John Fry Identified as Michael Avenatti’s Source on Bombshell Michael Cohen Dirt

White House braces for Mueller report

North Carolina orders new U.S. House election after ‘tainted’ vote

Hilarious. Satirical site promotes Snopes factchecking its stories

Advocacy group says trans woman was killed after US deported her back to El Salvador

It’s The 39-Year Anniversary Of The Miracle On Ice Hockey Game

Pence takes Trumpism abroad

Obviously, a REALLY important issue for the vandals. Vandals tried to set the wrong General Lee monument on fire

Court: Feds Broke the Law with Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s Sweetheart Deal

Roger Stone slapped with gag order

El Chapo’s sons charged with drug trafficking