The legal troubles of Pras Michele, a member of the renowned music group The Fugees, have taken a new turn.
Recently, it was revealed that his lawyers stand accused of sharing confidential information with Bloomberg, including salacious details about celebrity figures such as Kim Kardashian, violating the court’s Protective Order.
On March 2, 2023, Bloomberg published two related articles, one detailing Michel’s conduct mainly from his perspective and incorporating defense themes of innocent alternative explanations for his dealings with Low, government targeting, disproportionate punishment, and vindictive prosecution.
According to court documents, Pras Michele’s defense counsel provided government discovery, including grand jury material, to Bloomberg reporters for publication in the two defense-oriented articles a month before trial.
The Feature Article quotes or cites the defense counsel eight times and includes two photographs of Michel with Presidents Biden and Clinton, which the defense counsel provided to the government.
There was also a tale of how Low wanted to give Kim a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, but her then-husband Kanye West made her text Low to say “they don’t like Basquiat and instead wanted a Monet” because the rap star thought Low was lying about the priceless gift.
The Bloomberg articles refer to a cache of previously undisclosed FBI and Justice Department documents as providing much of the content for the story.
It includes a photo presented to the grand jury in this investigation depicting one of the political fundraising events at issue in the 2012 conspiracy, complete with the government’s grand jury sticker.
The feds claim the articles narrated an extrajudicial defense to the media to influence the jury pool shortly before the trial. This disclosure was willful and violated the court’s Protective Order.
Pras Michele is accused of taking millions of dollars from 1MDB and Jho Low, among other charges, and donating to Obama’s campaign using straw donors.
The superseding indictment alleges that between May and November 2012, Michel, Low, and others agreed to use Low’s money to make illegal foreign and conduit contributions to political committees supporting a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States.
The government claims that the contributions aimed to secure access to the candidate at fundraising events.
The indictment also alleges that between March 2017 and January 2018, Michel secretly agreed with Low to lobby the Trump Administration and DOJ to drop the investigation of Low for his role in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from 1MDB.
The recent accusations against Pras Michele’s lawyers of sharing confidential information with Bloomberg have only added to his legal woes.
The alleged violation of the court’s Protective Order is a severe offense and could have far-reaching consequences for Pras Michele’s legal team.
It remains to be seen how this development will impact the trial in a case that has already garnered considerable attention.