Jussie Smollett trial resumes, unclear if he will testify

CHICAGO (AP) — After two brothers spent hours telling a jury how Jussie Smollett paid them to carry out a fake racist and anti-gay attack on him in downtown Chicago, the big question as the actor’s trial resumed Monday is whether he will tell his side of the story.

The prosecution rested Thursday and the defense began calling witnesses. On Monday, testimony began with the defense calling a security guard who was working in the area where the alleged attack occurred in January 2019.

Attorneys rarely announce whether their clients will take the stand before they actually call them to testify, and Smollett’s attorneys have not made their plans public.

The reasons why Smollett might want to testify begin with just how bizarre the case is. During the trial that started Nov. 29, what emerged was the story of a television star who cast two brothers as his attackers, gave them dialogue to recite, and paid for the rope he told them to fashion into a noose and loop around his neck.

As strange as that sounds, it is the only narrative that has come to the jury from the siblings, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. And some legal experts say the only chance Smollett has of beating charges that he lied to the police is by telling jurors his version of what happened on Jan. 29, 2019.

Defense attorney Shay Allen has suggested the brothers, who are Black, were motivated to accuse Smollett of staging the hoax because they disliked the performer — who is gay and Black — and then saw an opportunity to make money. They have suggested that after the brothers were questioned by police about the alleged attack, they asked Smollett for $1 million each to not testify against him at trial.

Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a...