Chicago Police Would Like To Have Another Chance To Talk To Jussie Smollett
CABRERA: Chicago police would like to have another chance to talk to Jussie Smollett. Sources tell CNN, the police now have new evidence suggesting the "Empire" actor paid two men to orchestrate an attack on himself. Smollett initially told authorities the men yelled racial and homophobic slurs and one put a rope around his neck during this alleged assault last month. The men are now said to be cooperating with the investigation. This is just now the latest twist following a tearful interview Thursday with Good Morning America in which Smollett gave a detailed account of the attack and expressed anger about not being believed.</s>JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR/SINGER: I'm pissed off.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it that has you so angry?</s>SMOLLETT: The attackers but it's also the attacks. It's like, you know, at first, it was a thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth, then that's it because it's the truth. Then it became a thing of like, oh, how can you doubt that? Like how do you not believe that? It's the truth. And then it became a thing of like, oh, it's not necessarily that you don't believe that this is the truth. You don't even want to see the truth.</s>CABRERA: CNN's Ryan Young has been breaking the latest developments for us. Ryan, you just got new information about the investigation. Tell us about it.</s>RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we continue to work this story. According to a source familiar with the investigation, detectives have now obtained and are examining the cell phones of the two brothers that they suspect that Smollett paid to orchestrate the attack. So if you think about that, they now have the phones of the two men. They are going to go through it and they will probably be able to trace back certain messages maybe between all three of the men, a very interesting development on this Sunday night.</s>CABRERA: So what are Smollett's lawyers now saying about this?</s>YOUNG: Yes, it's interesting. In a statement to CNN that was released last night, Smollett's attorneys wrote in part, as a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to this alleged perpetrators that say Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying. So you can see that strong statement from the attorney. You think about this, Ana, 12 detectives still currently working this case. Now they have the brothers who are talking with them. They have the phone that we have been able to talk about now as well. They put all of this together. They believe the men also by their financial reports purchased the rope. All of this is sort of being a domino effect. They want to talk to Jussie again to see where he stands with this investigation and obviously the brothers have been talking. So it will be interesting to see what detectives have been able to get to them and what the actor can say against what they say as well. So many twists and turns in this.</s>CABRERA: Oh, my, where will it go next? Ryan Young in Chicago, thank you. Venezuela is gripped in while Senator Marco Rubio tells me is a manmade crisis of epic proportions. What else he is saying about that? And the latest on efforts to deliver U.S. aid to that country.