Fugees star Pras Michel, who was convicted in April on charges of conspiring to make straw campaign donations, witness tampering and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, appears to be breaking new legal ground by calling for a new trial.
via: Complex
Per a report from Josh Gerstein for Politico, Pras—who’s currently on the road with Lauryn Hill and The Fugees—said in a motion for a new trial that he had been the subject of “ineffective representation” from his trial counsel, identified as David Kenner.
Alleged in the suit is that Kenner “overlooked nearly every colorable defense” and “failed to object to damaging and inadmissible testimony,” as well as “used an experimental artificial intelligence (AI) program to draft the closing argument.” The latter, the court documents further allege, saw Pras failing to benefit from the “best arguments” while the lawyer in question was allegedly benefiting as a party with “an undisclosed financial stake in the AI program.”
Here’s more, straight from the court docs:
“It is now apparent that Kenner and his co-counsel appear to have had an undisclosed financial stake in the AI program, and they experimented with it during Michel’s trial so they could issue a press release afterward promoting the program—a clear conflict of interest.”
In April, Pras was found guilty in connection with “undisclosed lobbying campaigns” also involving Low Taek Jho, Elliott Broidy, Nickie Lum Davis, George Higginbotham, and more.
Currently, Pras is out on the road as part of Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill tour in celebration of the classic album’s 25th anniversary.
