WASHINGTON — A judge on Friday rejected an attempt for a new trial in a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy case against rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that his lawyer’s use of a generative AI program during closing arguments and other errors during the trial in Washington DC did not amount to a serious miscarriage of justice.
Michel was found guilty of 10 charges after a jury heard testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the top charges. He is free pending sentencing, which has not yet been determined.
The Grammy-winning rapper was accused of funneling money from a now-fugitive Malaysian financier through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, then trying to suppress a Justice Department investigation and suing on behalf of China under the Trump administration influence extradition proceedings.
The defense argued that Michel simply received bad advice as he tried to make a living while reinventing himself in the world of politics.
His attorney David Kenner, known for his past representation of rappers such as Suge Knight and Snoop Dogg, later pleaded guilty to leaking grand jury information to reporters.
Michel got a new lawyer who alleged that Kenner made a series of mistakes, including using an “experimental” generative AI program that bungled closing arguments by misattributing a text from his client’s influential 1990s group.
However, Michel failed to show that Kenner’s handling of the case prejudiced the jury, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said.
She acknowledged that some of the errors Michel cited had some validity, but found that they did not neutralize prosecutors’ extensive evidence against him or make the nearly month-long trial unfair.
A representative for Michel had no immediate comment on the ruling.
