Fugees rapper Pras Michel is hopeful President Trump will grant him a pardon after he was found guilty in a $100m foreign extortion scheme.
Michel, who is still awaiting sentencing after he was convicted in 2023, told TMZ he is hopeful Trump will take his case into consideration for clemency.
Michel, 52, also called to free Tory Lanez, 32, who is currently serving 10 years in prison for shooting and wounding Megan Thee Stallion.
‘It’s not a secret, you know, we working on a pardon,’ Michel told the outlet, appearing to add that he and his team were ‘hopeful’ their wishes would work out.
When asked what message he would send Trump, the rapper said: ‘At the end of the day, there’s always going to be love for any president, no matter what, and he’s the current president and you know, look to him.
‘And all we can do is wish that, you know, wish the best for him and we all gotta play our part… so big up to him and everything he got going on and obviously I hope he turn an eye on me, obviously, you know what I’m saying…. it’s only been what, 60 something days whatever it is, so you know, we just gotta stand by him.’
Fugees rapper Pras Michel is hopeful President Trump will grant him a pardon after he was found guilty in a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy spanning two presidencies; pictured 2022
Michel, who is still awaiting sentencing after he was convicted in 2023, told TMZ he is hopeful Trump will ‘turn an eye’ to his case and offer him clemency; Trump pictured March 6
He also gave a ‘big shout out’ to ‘free Tory Lanez.’
‘But the president can’t pardon him because it’s a state situation. But the governor… big up to Torey Lanez,’ he said.
The Governor of California – Gavin Newsom – does have the authority to pardon individuals convicted in the Golden state.
Michel says both he and Trump also have a commonality – their experience with the prior administration’s justice department.
Both he and Trump were convicted during Biden’s presidency, with Trump found guilty in a hush money trial.
‘Yeah, I mean, if you talk about lawfare and… elect the prosecution, you know I think that probably have that in common, you know, we believe the last Justice Department was probably a little bit… a little bit egregious. But you know, that’s what we have justice for, you know, you gotta trust the process,’ he said.
In January, The Hollywood Reporter claimed Trump was considering pardoning Michel.
The White House did not provide a comment and Michel refused to address the issue with THR, however his publicist told the outlet that his legal team ‘is exploring all available options following his case.’
Michel was found guilty in a $100m foreign extortion scheme, having been the lynchpin lobbyist for China in a bewildering plot whose cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama and Donald Trump; pictured arriving to his trial in March 2023
He also gave a shout-out to Tory Lanez, pictured 2022, who is currently serving 10 years in prison for shooting and wounding Megan Thee Stallion
‘We remain optimistic about potential paths forward,’ she said.
Michel and Trump have previously worked together, with the former Apprentice star once making a brief appearance in Michel’s debut solo studio album Ghetto Supastar.
‘I have no doubt that you’re going to be a big success,’ Trump says in a voice message appearing in an interlude. ‘I hope very soon you’re going to be in the leagues with me.’
In 2023, Michel was found guilty in a $100m foreign extortion scheme, having been the lynchpin lobbyist for China in a bewildering plot whose cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
The Grammy winning rapper, who netted $88 million through the scheme, was found guilty in a three-week trial in April of ten counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign government agent.
He is facing 20 years in prison, but has been able to delay sentencing, according to TMZ.
Pras pictured leaving U.S. federal court after his conviction in April 2023
Michel was convicted in April 2023 on all 10 felony charges he faced, with prosecutors claiming he pocketed $88million as part of a foreign extortion plot.
He was the unlikely agent of flamboyant Malaysian businessman and fugitive Low Taek Jho – also known as Jho Low- who paid Michel to wield influence from the corridors of Washington D.C. to the mansions of Hollywood.
The rapper was accused of illegally funneling cash into political causes including Obama’s 2012 election campaign, and also tried to persuade top-raking officials in the Trump administration to drop a federal probe into Low and deport a billionaire Chinese dissident.
He was paid with money Low allegedly embezzled from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Jho Low was the moneyman behind the international scheme – and he allegedly made this fortune as the mastermind of the largest embezzlement plot ever.
The Malaysian businessman, 42, allegedly spearheaded the 1MDB scandal, which siphoned $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
He is now a fugitive.
Before Interpol issued a red notice for Low’s arrest in 2016, he enjoyed a reputation as a flamboyant party boy whose lavish events included a host of A listers.
His connections include Kim Kardashian, who according to an FBI report once received a trash bag filled with $250,000 from Low after a card game.
Leonardo DiCaprio, whose movie The Wolf Of Wall Street was partly financed by Low, was one of the witnesses who testified at Michel’s trial.
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