The Michelle Obama Chief of Staff Who Kept Jussie Out Of Jail Is Also In Charge of SPLC Investigation Into Morris Dees Scandal

Patrick Howley   |  

Mar 26, 2019

Tina Tchen, the former Michelle Obama chief of staff, was caught Tuesday intervening with Cook County prosecutor Kim Foxx to keep Jussie Smollett out of jail on hate hoax charges — Smollett’s charges were dropped in return for community service.

Tchen’s texts to Foxx were confirmed by the Chicago Sun-Times. The emerging narrative that Tchen recused herself at the last minute is nullified by the fact that her underling took over the case.

Tchen is not only the leader of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which raised $14 million as of January. She also works for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), leading the group’s internal investigation in light of the Morris Dees sexual misconduct scandal broken by Big League Politics.

The Montgomery Advertiser reported just days ago: “Days after it fired co-founder Morris Dees for undisclosed misconduct issues, the Southern Poverty Law Center hired a Chicago-based lawyer well-versed in gender and racial equity issues to review its workplace environment and policies. Tina Tchen previously worked as chief of staff to then-first lady Michelle Obama and now leads a “workplace cultural compliance” practice at Buckley LLP, which examines “gender and racial equity, sexual harassment” and other diversity barriers in the workplace. The review was announced on Thursday alongside the termination of Dees. SPLC President Richard Cohen said at the time Dees failed to adhere to the organization’s “values,” hinting at misconduct.”

Disgraced hate-crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett has longstanding ties to the Obamas.