Fugees rapper Pras Michel is seeking a new trial after being convicted of political conspiracy, alleging his former attorney used artificial intelligence (AI) to draft his closing argument. The Brooklyn rapper faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in an international money-laundering scheme.
In a motion filed on Monday night in a Washington, D.C. court, Michel’s new attorneys alleged his previous council David Kenner used AI at critical junctures in his trial. This and other allegations made in the motion contributed to “prejudicial ineffective assistance of counsel,” and warrant a new trial, Michel’s new team from ArentFox Schiff argued.
“[Kenner] used an experimental artificial intelligence (AI) program to draft the closing argument, ignoring the best arguments and conflating the charged schemes, and he then publicly boasted that the AI program ‘turned hours or days of legal work into seconds,’” the motion reads.
Michel’s new legal team contends that Kenner’s use of the new technology went far beyond simple laziness. Instead, they allege that Kenner held an undisclosed financial stake in an AI program and used Michel’s high-profile trial as a publicity opportunity. Shortly after Pras’ conviction back in April, a firm called Eyelevel issued a press release stating that the company “made history last week, becoming the first use of generative AI in a federal trial,” below a picture of Michel.
Kenner is even quoted in the PR as saying the AI technology was “an absolute game changer for complex litigation.” That press release, however, did not mention the fact that Pras was found guilty on ten counts. In a declaration accompanying Michel’s motion for a new trial, Pras’ former publicist even alleges that she heard Kenner say after the trial something to the effect of “AI wrote our closing.”
The charges against Pras included campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks. He purportedly worked on behalf of Low Taek Jho, aka “Jho Low”, a fugitive businessman accused of siphoning over $4 billion from a Malaysian state investment fund known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Prosecutors alleged that Michel funneled millions of dollars into former Barack Obama‘s 2012 presidential campaign through straw donors. Then while Donald Trump was in office, Michel attempted to influence the Department of Justice to squash an investigation into the 1MD scandal. Prosecutors said Michel was paid about $88 million for his work with Jho Low
Additionally, Michel was accused of attempting to persuade the U.S. government to extradite a government dissident back to China even though he never registered as a foreign agent for his lobbying work, as is required by law.
Last January, Fugees were due to set out on a 25th-anniversary tour for The Score. After playing just one show in New York City, the trio of Pras, Wyclef Jean, and Lauryn Hill canceled the outing as reports circulated that the government was investigating Michel. There is still no date set for Pras’ sentencing, where he faces up to 20 years in prison. He remains out on bond, as he has since 2019 when charges were first filed, and just last night in New Jersey launched a co-headlining tour featuring Fugees and Lauryn Hill. The run of over 20 concerts features dates across the U.S. as well as two shows in Canada. For full tour details head here.