A grand jury hearing into actor Jussie Smollett's alleged assault case was postponed at late notice on Tuesday (19Feb19) following an appeal by his lawyers.
The Empire star's credibility has come under scrutiny in recent days after he was accused of paying brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo to beat him up outside his apartment in Chicago, Illinois on 29 January (19).
At the time, Smollett told police he had been attacked by two white men, who had tied a rope noose around his neck and poured a bleach-like liquid over him, while hurling racist and homophobic slurs.
However, the investigation took a turn last week (ends15Feb19) after the cops' "potential suspects", the Osundairo siblings, were questioned and subsequently released without charge, amid claims suggesting they had been hired by Smollett to stage the incident.
Prosecutors arranged to have a grand jury brought in on Tuesday afternoon to hear evidence from the Osundairos and decide whether or not Smollett should face a possible felony indictment for filing a false police report, but the proceedings were postponed thanks to a last-minute call from the actor's lawyers.
Details about the defence team's conversation with Chicago officials have not been revealed, but it was enough to call off the proceedings for the time being, according to CBS News.
Reports suggest Smollett's lawyers are discussing having their client sit down with prosecutors for a new interview regarding the latest developments in the case, something the 36 year old had previously refused to do.
The Osundairos also reportedly told detectives that Smollett was responsible for sending a threatening letter to himself at the Fox Studios in Chicago, where he films hip-hop drama series Empire.
FBI officials have since been brought in to further investigate the claims.
Smollett has strenuously denied orchestrating the attack, although he has yet to comment on speculation of his involvement in the letter threat.
Police have since obtained various search warrants to inspect Smollett's financial and phone records, among other documents, reports the New York Post.
The news emerges a day after it was reported that Jussie's scenes on Empire were being rewritten to minimise his screen time during production this week. However, Fox bosses have made it clear he is not set to be axed from the series, on which he portrays the openly-gay musician son of Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard's characters.
"Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show," a 20th Century Fox TV and Fox Entertainment representative tells Deadline.com.
If he is charged and convicted with filing a false police report, Smollett faces up to three years behind bars.
