Actor Leonardo DiCaprio took the witness stand in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Monday to testify in the trial of hip-hop star Pras Michel on charges Michel ran an illegal multimillion-dollar influence that funneled money to Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.
Michel, a founding member of the ’90s group the Fugees, is accused of illicitly funneling money from a Malaysian financier, Jho Low, into U.S. politics including making contributions to Barack Obama.
Michel is charged with conspiring to commit fraud, making illegal campaign contributions, and falsifying records. Prosecutors used DiCaprio’s testimony to show the jury how Low leveraged cash to gain access to powerful and wealthy people.
DiCaprio is not accused of criminal wrongdoing.
According to Yahoo:
DiCaprio recalls meeting Low around 2010 at his birthday party in Las Vegas after being introduced by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
The pair hit it off, with DiCaprio offering to make a “significant contribution” to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
However, when Low suggested a sum between $20 and $30 million dollars to assist in the Democrats’ campaign efforts, DiCaprio was taken aback by the amount.
“I basically said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’” The Revenant actor stated.
Low would later offer to help finance a movie for DiCaprio, which turned out to be the hit 2013 film Wolf of Wall Street, which prosecutors say he helped fund using money laundered from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund, through a Los Angeles-based movie production company, Red Granite Pictures.
The acclaimed thespian says he severed ties with Low in 2015 after his team discovered allegations of Low using “illegal funding from Malaysia and a multitude of other places” for his endeavors.
“DiCaprio told a Washington jury on Monday that Malaysian financier Low revealed his plans to donate up to $30 million to help President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in what prosecutors allege was part of an illegal foreign influence operation.” https://t.co/KKoD6TToPE
— JKash the SuperHero Orange MAGA Queen🍊 (@JKash000) April 6, 2023
The actor was in Washington, D.C., to testify for the prosecution in the multimillion-dollar conspiracy and fraud trial. https://t.co/VpHSbEJ6Du
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 4, 2023
Actor Leo DiCaprio took the stand to testify in “The Fugees” rapper Pras Michel’s money laundering case. The rapper is accused of funneling millions of dollars to Obama’s 2012 Election campaign with help of “Wolves of Wall Street” financier & Malaysian billionaire Jho Low. pic.twitter.com/1slF6mf2N5
— pupdaddy (@dip2rooneynbub) April 6, 2023
