According to Rolling Stone, Pras Michel, a member of the US hip hop group Fugees that also includes Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, said in court that he met and provided material to the FBI voluntarily.
Last Tuesday, April 18, Michel made the unprecedented choice to provide testimony at his own federal conspiracy trial.
Michel is accused of taking money in order to advance Chinese interests, help Malaysian billionaire Jho Low establish contacts in the US political system, and try to sway the Obama and Trump administrations.
According to the prosecution, Michel earned $100 million for allegedly working with Low to illegally push President Trump to extradite Guo Wengui, a questionable self-declared dissident from Beijing who is wanted in his native country on fraud charges.
Wengui, who is at the center of a $1 billion fraud scheme, has been living in exile in the US since about 2015 and has strong ties to Trumpist Republicans like Steve Bannon. Wengui is also at the center of a $1 billion fraud scheme. According to Mother Jones, a piece about the US government's unwillingness to comply with China's request for the extradition of a well-known dissident living in New York was the subject of a pitch that contained a four-page note from Pras Michel in 2017.Michel testified before the court on behalf of himself that he voluntarily met with FBI agents to discuss China's efforts to extradite Guo Wengui. Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman, who covered the trial, reported that Michel chose to testify in his trial "after conferring with my attorneys.