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Jennifer Bonjean To Lead The Fight To Free R. Kelly

Jennifer Bonjean said she believes federal prosecutors abused government statutes during the singer’s racketeering trial in Brooklyn.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Jennifer Bonjean will lead the charge on efforts to challenge the singer’s recent conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in Brooklyn–which came after weeks of grueling testimony from over 40 witnesses for the prosecution and a swift guilty verdict.

She said she’s “looking forward to getting familiar with the record” in Kelly’s case, which was anchored by Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges that she called a “kitchen sink approach.”

“I am becoming increasingly concerned with how the government is abusing the RICO statute in order to plead around the statute of limitations and essentially put people’s entire lives on trial,” Bonjean said.

“It’s becoming a formula for the government. You have a right to defend yourself against specific allegations.”

Bonjean said she saw similar government overreach in another high-profile case she’s handling: NXIVM sex-cult leader Keith Raniere, who was convicted under the RICO statute in the same courthouse as Kelly.

The website for Bonjean’s Manhattan-based law firm states that she and her partners “tackle difficult cases in the interest of justice,” and “fight for individuals whose rights have been violated by the criminal justice system.”

The overturning of Cosby’s 2018 sexual assault conviction in June is listed among the firm’s notable cases.

The actor was released from his three to ten-year prison sentence because those prosecuting his case violated an agreement he made with a previous prosecutor that protected him from being criminally charged for Andrea Constand’s sexual assault.