The hearing had nothing to with the charges against Smollett, who is accused of lying to police when he reported that two masked men attacked him in downtown Chicago in January 2019.
When Cook County Judge James Linn ordered the hearing, he said it centered on the question of whether Nenye Uche had a conflict of interest after two key witnesses in the case said they spoke to him.
After Uche joined Smollett’s legal team, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo alleged that Uche had spoken with the previously representing them and talked to them about the case.
And his contention that his attackers told him he was in “MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” helped turn the incident into a national and international sensation.