By Were Kelly
Pras Michel, a founding member of the acclaimed hip-hop group The Fugees, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to funnel foreign funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign.
The sentencing today closes a high-profile corruption case that exposed vulnerabilities in the US campaign finance system and detailed the extent of foreign attempts to influence American politics.
Michel was convicted on multiple counts for acting as an unregistered foreign agent and for channelling millions of dollars from the Malaysian financier Jho Low into the Obama re-election effort and other political causes.
The defence had argued that Michel was entrapped and misled about the legality of his actions, portraying him as a naive celebrity caught in a complex web of international finance. The sentence delivered by the judge, however, reflected the severity of the violations.
“In this case, the line between influence and illegality was crossed, repeatedly and deliberately,” the presiding judge stated during the hearing.
The case humanised the complex world of campaign finance law through the dramatic downfall of a celebrity, putting a spotlight on how foreign entities can exploit connections and loose enforcement to gain access to the highest levels of US power.
A former federal prosecutor not involved in the case commented, “This sentence sends a strong message that these crimes are taken seriously, regardless of the defendant’s fame. It underscores the ongoing risk of foreign money in US elections, a problem that has only grown more sophisticated since 2012.”
Michel’s legal team has already indicated they will file an appeal, which is expected to include claims that his actions were protected political speech.
The lengthy prison term marks a stunning fall for the artist, once celebrated for his musical contributions to one of the best-selling rap groups of the 1990s. The appeals process is likely to drag on for months, even as Michel begins his sentence.
