Pras Michel of the Fugees in New York City on May 4, 2022.Photo:Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Pras Michel, the Fugees member who wasfound guilty in Aprilof conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, is now claiming that his trial lawyer was “unqualified, unprepared and ineffectual throughout the trial” — and that he used an “experimental artificial intelligence program” to draft a closing argument.
Michel, 51, and his legal team filed a motion for a new trial on Monday, citing several reasons, among them, his defense counsel David Kenner allegedly having been “ineffective” and having “severely prejudiced the defense.”
Pras Michel (left) and his lawyer David Kenner arrive to federal court in Washington D.C. on April 3, 2023.Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty
Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty
The court motion cites a press release about the company EyeLevel.AI, which notes that Kenner’s use of artificial intelligence in the case was “the first use of generative AI in a federal trial.” Thereleaseitself touted “cutting-edge technology” that allows lawyers to “obtain complex answers about the facts of their case in a fraction of the time compared to traditional legal search methods or advanced legal analytics.”
Kenner, who has previously representedSnoop Dogg, called the technology a “game changer for complex litigation" in the aforementioned release.
He did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Friday.
According to Michel’s legal team, Kenner’s use of AI “may also explain” why the lawyer misattributed lyrics fromDiddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” to the Fugees. The motion also notes that he misattributed Michel’s solo track “Ghetto Supastar (That is What You Are)” as a Fugees song, too.
The motion also alleges that Kenner may have had “an undisclosed financial interest in the program,” which EyeLevel.AI COO Neil Katz denied to theAssociated Press, with the company adding that the program wasn’t “experimental," and only used facts from the case and court transcripts.
Lauryn Hill (left), Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean of the Fugees at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 22, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/WireImage
Gotham/WireImage
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The rapper was found guilty on 10 counts over attempts to help a Malaysian businessman, Jho Low, and the Chinese government gain access to the highest levels of the U.S. government,CNN previously reported.
CNN reported that Michel testified that in 2012, Low paid him $20 million to set up a photograph with Barack Obama, with prosecutors alleging that the rapper “funneled over $800,000” of Low’s money to the former president’s campaign through straw donors.
The New York Timesnoted after the trial that Michel was found guilty of witness tampering, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Kenner told reporters after the verdict, perNBC News, that he was “confident” about seeking a mistrial at the time.
“Today’s verdict demonstrates that anyone who engages in unlawful foreign-sponsored efforts to influence American officials, our elections or the criminal justice system will be brought to justice,” Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., an assistant attorney general with the Justice Department, toldThe New York Times.
source: people.com
