Lil Durk offers music earnings, property as collateral in latest bid for release

A federal judge is weighing whether Chicago rapper Lil Durk can await his next trial at home. Yeah, we plan to speak with Durk's father. That was yesterday after the hearing. A representative told us they decided to hold off while the legal team weighs its next steps. So they didn't want anything to be put out in the public sphere that could hurt his chances of release. Now, this morning, we're actually taking a closer look at the letters filed with the court, including what Jay-Z and former Cook County State's attorney Kim Fox told that judge. That song helped make Englewood native Lil Durk a Grammy winner. Now his music and the money it generates are part of his fight for freedom. Durk Banks has spent more than two years in federal custody, even after a jury acquitted him in September in his murder-for-hire trial. This is a beautiful thing because the family is on high right now. All right, back it up. That's his father, Dante Banks Sr., also known as Big Dirk, reacting to that verdict. We, the jury, find Dirk Banks not guilty of all charges. But that verdict did not mean release. Banks was acquitted of all charges, tried in connection with the 2022 L.A. shooting. ...that killed the rapper known as Lil Pop, the cousin of rapper Quando Rondo. He remains detained on separate charges of murder, in aid of racketeering, and a firearms offense. He has pleaded not guilty. Now his attorneys are asking the judge to reconsider, arguing the acquittal weakens the case for keeping him locked up. Their proposed bond package puts his future earnings on the line. Music royalties, publishing revenue, income from his name, image, and likeness, and touring earnings also offered the home where his mother lives, plus cash and property from friends. His lawyers argue fleeing would cost Banks and his family their financial future. Sony Music Entertainment also prepared to guarantee an appearance bond of up to $1 million, according to a letter from company attorney. Stephanie Yu. Other letters focus on his character, rapper and businessman. Jay-Z describes Banks as kind, respectful and disciplined and praises him for creating opportunities for young artists from his community. Fanatics founder and Reform Alliance co-founder Michael Rubin points to his devotion to family, faith and charitable work, including performing at a fundraiser that raised more than $20 million. Hard times don't last. J. Cole, his collaborator on All My Life, writes that Banks wanted the song to deliver a message of peace, growth, and maturity to young people. Former Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx also supports release, citing Banks' acquittal, time in custody, and presumption of innocence on the remaining charges. And from the family of Lil Pop, no objection to bond. His mother writes on behalf of his family that they do not object if the court considers release appropriate. You'll remember Dirk was acquitted on all of the charges related to that murder-for-hire plot that was back in September. But while those letters speak to the judge, Banks' team is holding off on speaking publicly after. After the hearing, well, I appreciate you calling. So you won't be able to speak tonight because you guys want to strategize, right? Dirk's team, legal team wants to strategize. So we've been waiting for a little over an hour now waiting for Lil Durk's father to actually speak with us after court. That didn't happen. But instead, we did get a chance to talk to someone from his team about what happened in court today. They say based on how this case is going, they're deciding as of right now not to speak out publicly. The judge heard arguments but took the bond request under submission, leaving Banks waiting for a decision. His trial is scheduled for August 30th of 2027. Prosecutors still insist he should remain in custody, arguing he still poses a danger to witnesses and that the proposed financial guarantees do not adequately address the risk that he could flee. Thankful to God Almighty for releasing him. It is not guilty verdict. Thank God. Tia Ewing, Fox Chicago. So we want to take a closer look into this. And joining us now is Christopher Hotelling, who is a Chicago-based partner at the law firm Nixon Peabody. He specializes in white collar defense. Attorney, thank you so much for your time this morning. My pleasure. Thanks for having me on. All right. So I know we're going to do this as a phoner because we have some issues with the Zoom. But first, I want to get your take on this, because Natalie and myself, we were talking about, you know, we've covered all kinds of cases over the years. We've never heard of someone offering up, for example, their royalties, saying, you know, their name and likeness. They're going to offer that up to the judge. What do you make of those things right out the gate? Well, I mean, it's a very serious package that they're offering in order to secure his release on bond. Obviously they want him out as quickly as they can. And the judge is giving a lot of serious consideration, I think, given the amount that's being put on the table. Because really what the judge is thinking about is what can I do that will ensure that he will continue to appear in later court proceedings. And so this is a significant amount of security. To convince and make sure that the judge is comfortable that he will be appearing in subsequent proceedings. Has this ever happened before? I mean, is there a precedent for this? Cuz you talk about like the average Joe and an attorney isn't gonna say, well, hey, if Natalie doesn't appear in court, then we'll garnish her wages. That will threaten her by that, to make sure she appears. Does something like this happen? It can, and I will tell you it doesn't happen all that often in violent crime cases. It happens much more regularly in say white collar cases. Individuals who are already wealthy, let's say they're either fraud cases, embezzlement cases, security fraud cases, you might see this more regularly, but not. It is very unusual in a violent crime case. I want to point out the fact that Lil Durk, which I know that's interesting that we have to say that as his name, but he was acquitted September 11th of all the charges that were tried in the murder for hire case that was involving that shooting and killing that happened in 2022. But what they're trying to keep him on is really the charges for murder and aid of racketeering and firearms. Let me ask you something. Is it typical with federal charges of this magnitude that someone would be able to go home, maybe have some serious conditions of confinement at home, and be able to go back and forth to trial? Have we ever seen anything like that play out? It would be very, very, very unusual. For a judge under circumstances like this to allow and release someone to bond. Because I think what you need to consider here is, is that the potential penalty, and again, Mr. Banks is presumed innocent. Of the RICO, the racketeering type charges, but the potential penalty is mandatory life in prison. And because of the severe nature of the potential consequences, it is almost universally the case. And certainly the case here in all Chicago cases, that RICO cases and individuals charged with RICO counts are typically held and detained throughout the course of the trial. In this case, as Tia mentioned in her piece, we saw character witness statements that were very positive from Jay-Z as well as a former Cook County State's attorney, Kim Fox. Could recommendations of that caliber maybe sway the judge? It's possible. I'm not sure that the character statements have as much effect as the as the security. You know, it's because what the security really does tell the judge is if Mr. Banks were to abscond and jump bail, there is a very, very significant amount of property and financial assets that are on the line that can be taken. And so because of those financial hooks, That is what I think is probably. Leaving the most amount in the judge's mind about whether or not he's considering it. The other piece, though, which is, again, interesting, is the fact that Mr. Banks was acquitted, as your package said just a few minutes ago, was acquitted just two months ago of murder for hire. So this is a really interesting set of circumstances that really kind of take this out of the normal and the mainstream. Talking to some people behind the scenes that have known Dirk for a very long time, they point to the fact that, you know, as of, you know, this month, he has been in federal custody for just over two years, been there since October 24th, 2024. We know that Obviously, every one of us have the right to a speedy trial. You said presumed innocent, obviously, and to proven guilty. Is that considered a speedy situation if we're talking about a trial to be scheduled for August 30th of 2027, and he's been there since October 24th of 2024? Well, as I understand it, the new charges were brought just this summer, I think maybe in July. And so when you have charges that are as serious and as complicated and as complex as Vicar Enterprise racketeering charges are, a trial in a year and a half, and actually probably just maybe a year and three months, that's actually pretty quick. So I think that... And again, I'm very certain that the defense also was comfortable to a certain degree with that time frame because they've got to get their hands on the evidence. So having a trial set for next August, I would say is not uncommon given a case like this and the amount of evidence, the sophisticated nature of it, the complicated nature of it to have a trial set that far out in advance. Well, we'll see what the judge decides. Christopher, thanks for your time. My pleasure. And again sorry about the inconvenience with the you know with the technical issues No problem. It worked just fine. Yeah, you were a wealth of knowledge.