Judge denies retrial bid for Fugees rapper Pras Michel in political conspiracy case

A federal judge has denied Prakazrel “Pras” Michel’s request for a new trial. Michel, a member of the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees, was convicted on multiple charges in 2023 in a high-profile political conspiracy case. The ruling, issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, rejected the defense’s argument that various trial errors, including using a generative AI tool by Michel’s former attorney David Kenner, had compromised the fairness of the proceedings.

Kenner’s use of an “experimental” AI program during the trial’s closing arguments became a focal point of the appeal, particularly after the AI incorrectly cited a lyric from Michel’s time with the Fugees to Sean Combs, widely known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy. 

However, the judge argued that there isn’t a “reasonable probability that the result of his trial would have differed had Kenner correctly attributed a lyric to him,” nor did the content derived from the AI program “relate to any evidence in the case, only general sympathetic statements and one lyrical quote.”  

Separate from the arguments made regarding the AI program, Michel contended that Kenner’s closing argument was prejudicial, included “ “an admission of guilt,” and lacked “the strongest and most obvious argument” for acquittal on the conspiracy charge.

In his motion, Michel’s defense team argued there were 14 total errors made throughout his trial that lay the grounds for a new trial. According to his legal team, the jury was unfairly influenced after learning that two federal judges had ruled “that Michel conspired with [others] to commit the charged crimes,” tainting the jury’s perception of Michel’s culpability.

Michel’s attorneys also claimed that FBI Special Agent Robert Heuchling gave improper testimony that unfairly suggested Michel’s guilt, and his trial counsel, Kenner, provided ineffective assistance and had conflicts of interest that adversely impacted his defense.

Despite acknowledging the validity of some of the errors cited by Michel’s new legal team, Kollar-Kotelly concluded that these mistakes did not substantially affect the jury’s decision. She pointed to the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution during the nearly month-long trial as a key factor in her decision to deny the retrial request.

The court concluded there was a fair basis for three of Michel’s 14 error claims—influence of prior judicial rulings, improper testimony by Agent Heuchling, and ineffective assistance of counsel—but the errors did not “exert a cumulative effect such as to warrant reversal” of Michel’s conviction.

I “hope he gets a retrial,” said Kenner, who represented Michel from 2021 to April 2023, during a January hearing this year by Kollar-Kotelly. “He deserves it.”

Michel was convicted on 10 counts in April 2023, with charges stemming from allegations that he funneled money from Malaysian financier Jho Low to President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign through illicit means.

Michel, who remains free on bond, faces up to 20 years in prison on the most severe charges. His sentencing date has yet to be determined. 
 

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