Pras was found guilty of political conspiracy earlier this year for money laundering and illegitimate lobbying tactics, and he is now demanding a retrial.
On Tuesday (October 17), Reuters reported that the Fugees MC is hoping to have his case brought back to life because his former attorney, David Kenner, messed up “the single most important portion” of his defense by using generative AI to put together a closing statement.
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“Kenner’s closing argument made frivolous arguments, misapprehended the required elements, conflated the schemes and ignored critical weaknesses in the government’s case,” a brief by the 50-year-old’s new legal team stated. “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 Kenner — who was famously the former lawyer for Death Row Records in the ’90s — has a financial stake in a company that partners with the technology he used and then showed off about. In a May press release, he took credit for “the first use of generative AI in a federal trial” regarding the closing statement.
EyeLevel.AI, the tool in question, has denied that Kenner has any stake in their company.
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Since being found guilty in April, Pras has insisted that he’s not an FBI informant or guilty of any other crime he is being held to.
“Pras was never an FBI informant. It’s not accurate and, quite frankly, it’s dangerous,” his publicist, Erica Dumas, told AllHipHop. “If he was an informant, he would not be on trial. The government does not prosecute and threaten its informants with more than two decades of jail time.”
Though artists like 50 Cent have claimed that Pras is a snitch, there has been one artist that has steadfastly stood by the embattled rapper: Chuck D of Public Enemy.
Taking to Twitter soon after the verdict, the veteran MC blasted what he called a “prop-agenda machine” that was biased against the rapper seemingly from the start.
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“Pras was a valedictorian in HighSchool or in the final runnings,” he wrote. “They NEVER mention THAT. Instead USA propAgenda machine ALWAYS promotes this backwoods Jed ass Clampett tale of Hood gangstaS, which NEVER been a threat ANYWHERE other than Blackfolk. Wrong is wrong but this SMELLS.”
