Fugitive Rapper Pras Michel's Appeal Denial Leaves Him Without Bail, Sentencing Looms
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has dealt a significant blow to rapper Pras Michel, one of the Fugees, by denying his request for bail while he appeals his 14-year prison sentence. The conviction stems from charges of money laundering, illegal lobbying, and witness tampering related to his alleged connection with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
Michel's lawyers had argued that a series of reversible errors tainted the trial, claiming that the district court improperly referred to him as a "co-conspirator" multiple times and allowed an FBI agent to offer opinions on several occasions. However, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected these claims, stating that Michel's motion largely repeated arguments that had already been extensively briefed and resolved before the jury delivered its verdict.
Michel, 53, is now required to take affirmative action to pursue his appeal of the bail ruling with the DC Circuit in the coming weeks or risk having no further extension of his report date considered. His spokesperson, Erica Dumas, has described the trial as "unprecedented" and "a coronation of guilt," claiming that the appeals court will recognize the case for its clear constitutional violations.
The conviction was a culmination of federal prosecutors' investigation into Michel's alleged involvement in making illegal contributions to Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. The charges were expanded two years later to include bank fraud, concealment of material facts, witness tampering, and other offenses related to his connection with Low Taek Jho.
Michel had previously been ordered to begin serving his prison sentence on January 27 but will now have a short reprieve, with a new report date set for March 30.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has dealt a significant blow to rapper Pras Michel, one of the Fugees, by denying his request for bail while he appeals his 14-year prison sentence. The conviction stems from charges of money laundering, illegal lobbying, and witness tampering related to his alleged connection with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
Michel's lawyers had argued that a series of reversible errors tainted the trial, claiming that the district court improperly referred to him as a "co-conspirator" multiple times and allowed an FBI agent to offer opinions on several occasions. However, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected these claims, stating that Michel's motion largely repeated arguments that had already been extensively briefed and resolved before the jury delivered its verdict.
Michel, 53, is now required to take affirmative action to pursue his appeal of the bail ruling with the DC Circuit in the coming weeks or risk having no further extension of his report date considered. His spokesperson, Erica Dumas, has described the trial as "unprecedented" and "a coronation of guilt," claiming that the appeals court will recognize the case for its clear constitutional violations.
The conviction was a culmination of federal prosecutors' investigation into Michel's alleged involvement in making illegal contributions to Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. The charges were expanded two years later to include bank fraud, concealment of material facts, witness tampering, and other offenses related to his connection with Low Taek Jho.
Michel had previously been ordered to begin serving his prison sentence on January 27 but will now have a short reprieve, with a new report date set for March 30.
... like, he was already serving a 14-year sentence and now he's gotta appeal again? And the judge is all "nope, you're good" on his bail request 
. It's like, what's the point of even having an appeals process if it's just gonna be ignored? 
The prosecution had some serious dirt on him, and now he's paying the price 
. His lawyers are trying to spin this as a "coronation of guilt", but let's be real, it's not looking good for him 
. I mean, Pras Michel was already in a tough spot, and this denial of bail just makes things worse 
. The fact that his lawyers couldn't even get their appeals to stick on some technicality is just crazy 
. And now he's gotta try and appeal it again? Like, what's the point at this rate 
? It's just another example of how broken the system can be 
! I'm sending him all my positive vibes 
, hoping he'll get the justice he deserves and his appeal gets approved ASAP 
! That trial did seem kinda unfair 
, so I hope the DC Circuit court will see what really went down. Fingers crossed for a reduced sentence 
!
maybe he should have taken responsibility from day one and avoided this whole mess? 
anyway, his appeal lawyers are gonna try to poke holes in the trial, but it'll be tough... a 14 yr sentence is no joke 
.
this is crazy, Pras Michel's life is like a drama movie 
he's going down hard but I feel bad for him, 14 years is a long time 