Jussie Smollett's Story Has Race Discrepancy

A key part of Jussie Smollett's story is not tracking ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

TMZ broke many of the details of Jussie's story just hours after the attack ... the rope, the bleach, the statement by the attackers, "This is MAGA country" and also that his 2 attackers were white.

We have now confirmed, the 2 Nigerian men who were picked up by police at O'Hare Airport are black. Police say the 2 men are the same ones who were captured on surveillance video around the time of the incident.

Jussie told Robin Roberts this week, he's positive the 2 men on the surveillance video are the same 2 men who attacked him.

When we first reported the details of the story -- including Jussie saying the 2 men were white -- we were told twice, after we posted, it accurately reflected Jussie's version of events. We also spoke with our Jussie sources Friday and they reaffirmed he had said that day the men were white.

One of the reasons why it's so important ... as we reported, Jussie says the men hurled a racist epithet and screamed, "This is MAGA country." As you know, Trump reportedly made hateful remarks about African countries, calling them "Shithole countries."

The 2 men were both extras on "Empire."