The U.S. government is seeking to prosecute Pras Michel, a co-founder of The Fugees, and his legal team for leaking sensitive information to Bloomberg.
Corey R. Amundson is the Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Amundson claims that Pras and his defense counsel allegedly shared confidential government documents, including grand jury material, violating a court’s protective order. The leaked information was published in two defense-oriented articles, which heavily cited Pras and defense counsel for their content.
He further noted that one of the articles published a photo bearing a grand jury exhibit sticker that matches the copy provided to the defense in discovery, and the same article quoted grand jury witness testimony provided to the defendant in discovery.
Amundson expressed concern about the defense counsel’s actions, and the government believes this breach of confidentiality could taint the jury pool and prejudice the case outcome.
“The disclosure may result in harassment or intimidation of government witnesses-in a case in which witness tampering is among the charges-and may compromise ongoing related cases and investigations,” Chief Amundson explained.
Pras is currently on trial facing serious allegations that he and his co-conspirators received money from Jho Low and the 1MDB fund and used illegal foreign and conduit contributions to political committees supporting then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Additionally, Michel and Low are accused of secretly agreeing to lobby the Trump Administration and Department of Justice to drop the investigation of Low’s role in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from 1MDB.
Furthermore, Michel and Low allegedly acted as agents of a Chinese Minister to arrange the removal and return of a dissident living in the United States in exchange for millions of dollars.
The government’s move to prosecute Pras Michel and his legal team for leaking sensitive information adds another dimension to a complex case.
The government has requested that a court issue an Order to Show Cause, notifying defense counsel of the contempt charge and setting a bench trial to resolve the matter.
