Pras‘s first attempt to get his political conspiracy conviction reversed has been shut down by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a United States district judge who previously oversaw cases involving Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, and Microsoft.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rendered her decision as of Friday (April 12). Judge Kollar-Kotelly said that there was more than sufficient evidence to convict the Fugees MC of the charges on the first go-round, and therefore, there was no reason to dismiss the conviction.
“After a five-week trial, a jury convicted Michel of ten counts,” the judge wrote in her memorandum of law. “The Court has thoroughly reviewed the extensive evidence presented at trial and finds the evidence sufficient to withstand a motion for judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29. Accordingly, Michel’s [309] Motion for Judgment of Acquittal is DENIED.”
Check out the order, and part of the memorandum, below.
Back in January, Pras’ former attorney David Kenner pleaded guilty to leaking confidential federal grand jury files to two reporters in 2023, which is in direct violation of federal rules.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, the United States District Court in Washington, DC found probable cause that the ex-attorney for the Fugees rapper “committed misdemeanor contempt in violation of 18 USC 401 (c)” by leaking files.
“Unfortunately, former attorney David Kenner failed at every turn to competently represent Pras over the course of this lengthy legal battle,” said Erica Dumas, the spokesperson for Pras, in a statement furnished to HipHopDX.
Back in April 2023, Pras was convicted of money laundering and illegitimate lobbying tactics. Just a few months later, he began working toward bringing his case back to life on grounds of his ex-attorney apparently messing up “the single most important portion” of his defense by using generative AI to put together a closing statement.
“Kenner’s closing argument made frivolous arguments, misapprehended the required elements, conflated the schemes and ignored critical weaknesses in the government’s case,” the New Jersey native’s new legal team stated in a brief. “The AI program failed Kenner, and Kenner failed [Pras] Michel. The closing argument was deficient, unhelpful and a missed opportunity that prejudiced the defense.”
They also pointed out that the star lawyer, who famously represented Death Row Records in the ’90s, has a financial stake in a company that partners with the technology he used.
