A judge has reportedly turned down Pras’ request for a new trial after the Fugees rapper was found guilty of 10 counts related to his money laundering case.
In April, Pras was convicted on charges of conspiring to make straw campaign donations, witness tampering and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China.
In January, his former attorney David Kenner is to plead guilty to a criminal contempt charge over allegations that he leaked grand jury documents to reporters ahead of the trial.
DC beat: today Aug 30, denial of motion for a new trial for PRAKAZREL MICHEL, with judge writing that "Michel met with PRC Vice Minister Sun Lijun on various occasions related to PRC’s desire to extradite Guo Wengui to China"… #FoxHuntQuidProGuo book below https://t.co/wPdRQCDdzU
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) August 31, 2024
Kenner “agreed to accept responsibility for violating the court’s protective order” and plead guilty to a misdemeanor. He allegedly leaked “swathes of sensitive internal government records” to the press.
Pras allegedly filed a motion to have a new trial, stating inadequate representation but the judge did not agree.
“Because [Pras] Michel has not shown sufficient prejudice resulting from the defense team’s use of the AI program (and the subsequent inclusion of Puff Daddy lyrics),” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her response. “The Court concludes that Michel has not demonstrated ineffective assistance of counsel on this basis.”
