Chicago prosecutor who dropped Jussie Smollett charges: 'We didn't exonerate him'

The prosecutor who made the surprise decision to drop charges against Empire star Jussie Smollett for allegedly making false assault claims said the dropped and expunged charges are not an indication of the actor's innocence.

"We didn't exonerate him," Joe Magats, the top assistant to Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, said in a statement tweeted out by New York Times correspondent Julie Bosman.

The prosecutor said he "saw no problems with the police investigation or the evidence against Smollett," Bosman tweeted, adding that the actor's charges were dropped "in return for his agreement to do community service" and for the forfeiture of "his bond to the city of Chicago."

"We work to prioritize violent crime and the drivers of violent crime," Magats said. "Public safety is our number one priority. I don't see Jussie Smollett as a threat to public safety."

"We stand behind the investigation, we stand behind the decision to charge him and we stand behind the charges in the case," the prosecutor said. "The mere fact that it was disposed of in an alternative manner does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities in the case or the evidence."

Magats' statement contrasts claims made by Smollett's lawyers, who said the dropped and expunged charges were not part of a deal and that the actor would not be doing any additional community service.