David Kenner, the attorney who represented Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel in his criminal trial case, which he lost, is expected to plead guilty to a criminal contempt charge. The charges stem from prosecutors' allegation that Kenner leaked grand jury materials to reporters ahead of the trial.
Prosecutors filed documents on Thursday (January 25) to tell a federal judge that Kenner had "agreed to accept responsibility for violating the court’s protective order" and plead guilty to a misdemeanor over the incident, in which he allegedly leaked "swathes of sensitive internal government records" to reporters. Kenner is expected to enter his plea on Friday.
Weeks before the trial, prosecutors accused Kenner of leaking sealed documents to Bloomberg. Prosecutors wrote at the time, "In a show of gamesmanship seeking to influence public opinion and bias potential jurors in favor of the defendant, the defense has disclosed for publication swaths of sensitive internal government records. The disclosure may result in harassment or intimidation of government witnesses – in a case in which witness tampering is among the charges." Bloomberg and its reporters were not accused of any wrongdoing.
After Pras was found guilty of political conspiracy last year, there have been allegations that Kenner botched his trial. Earlier this month, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly called a three-day trial to review Kenner's practices during the trial, which was recently highlighted in an article by Vulture.
It was revealed that Kenner outsourced most of the casework to a medical malpractice attorney in Minneapolis, who refused to appear in court because he wouldn't leave his two dogs. Kenner was also questioned about taking over a year to file his first motion, which led to questions about his health after suffering injuries in a fall in 2022. Kenner reportedly did not disclose this with Pras.
When it comes to Kenner's representation of Pras, prosecutor Nicole Lockhart maintains that "unsuccessful is not the same as ineffective." Now, the judge will choose whether to sentence Pras, grant him a retrial, or allow plea-bargain negotiations.
Source: billboard.com
