Pras
Michel
and
his
legal
issues
are
still
hanging
over
his
head
but
on
Wednesday
(January
10),
he
entered
a
new
hearing
with
a
new
legal
team.
The
Fugees
rapper
is
now
represented
by
a
new
legal
team
featuring
Doug
Jones,
a
former
senator
who
represented
Alabama.
As
reported
by
Vulture,
Pras
Michel,
51,
was
convicted
on
10
counts
of
connected
to
a
conspiracy
to
influence
the
Chinese
government
in
Washington,
D.C.
nearly
nine
months
ago.
He
has
since
fired
his
former
attorney,
David
Kenner,
who
Pras
has
accused
of
using
AI
to
write
the
rapper’s
closing
statement
in
his
earlier
trial.
According
to
the
outlet,
the
hearing
for
today
isn’t
typical
and
suggests
that
there
could
be
a
retrial
or
acquittal
of
the
previous
convictions,
this
is
due
to
the
prosecution’s
alleged
mishandling
of
the
case
and
Kenner’s
defense
tactics.
Before
working
with
Doug
Jones,
Pras
hired
new
lawyers
to
handle
the
Kenner
issue
and
toured
for
much
of
the
latter
part
of
2023
with
his
Fugees
bandmates
as
part
of
Lauryn
Hill’s
25th-anniversary
tour
in
connection
to
her
debut
album,
The
Miseducation
of
Lauryn
Hill.
Jones
made
his
mark
as
a
civil
rights
attorney
and
was
the
federal
prosecutor
who
helped
convict
two
members
of
the
Ku
Klux
Klan
for
the
1963
bombing
of
a
Birmingham
church
that
killed
four
Black
girls
in
2020
and
2021.
The
hearing
this
week
will
focus
on
Kenner,
who
once
represented
Snoop
Dogg
in
1996
and
aided
the
popular
rapper
and
pitchman
in
dodging
murder
charges.
Michel’s
side
argues
that
Kenner,
82,
was
not
up
to
par
to
represent
Michel,
especially
in
a
case
of
that
magnitude.
“Upon
reviewing
the
record
of
Mr.
Michel’s
previous
trial,
questions
have
emerged
about
the
consistency
and
fairness
of
the
legal
process,”
shared
Michel’s
publicist,
Erica
Dumas,
in
a
statement.
Kenner
is
expected
to
take
the
stand
and
explain
his
side
while
facing
accusations
of
using
AI
to
write
Michel’s
closing
argument
statment.
Pras
Michel
is
still
awaiting
sentencing
on
the
previous
conviction
but
plans
to
hit
the
road
again
with
the
Fugees
this
March,
according
to
sources
close
to
Vulture.
—
Photo:
Getty
