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This Friday (27), it was the turn of the defense of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs present his final arguments in the trial, with lawyer Marc Agnifilo leading the presentation.
On Thursday (26), the prosecution had already presented its
Check out the main points raised by the defense during this afternoon’s exhibition:
- Corrective Instruction: Prior to the return of the jury, prosecutor Maurene Comey addressed the judge about three questions in agnifilo comments so far. She said that he unduly asked the jury to consider why the prosecutors accused a certain extortion individual, said that the intercontinental video shows a light aggression and said he improperly suggested that Combs was accused of crimes such as a criminal fire and kidnapping, when, in fact, these crimes are included as predicates of the extortion accusation. The judge gave the jury a corrective instruction after his return.
- “False person”: Agnifilo characterized Mia, a former Comb assistant who witnessed that he has sexually assaulted her, as having taken a “false persona” while in the witness bench, stating that the animated person in the birthday video that the jury watched is Mia’s true personality. He also said that Mia’s testimony about the sexual assault that Combs would have suffered was false. “This was not unwanted sexual contact,” said Agnifilo, adding that he was consensual.
- Drug dispute: There is no evidence that supports the government’s allegation that Combs, with his company, conspired to distribute or behave with the intention of distributing a controlled substance, said agnifilo. “He obviously has a drug problem,” said Agnifilo, adding that although his assistants collected drugs for him, “the purpose of these businesses and enterprises has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with getting drugs for him.”
- “Lifestyle choice”: Agnifilo said the sex life of Combs and Ventura “was not just sexual trafficking,” but “swing” and that it was a “lifestyle choice” between the two. The evidence, agnifilo said, were “overwhelming” that Ventura wanted to participate in the “freak offs”. He then read aloud some sexually explicit messages that Ventura sent to Combs, referring to the meetings to illustrate his point. “There was nothing to tell her that it was against her will,” he added.
- Rape dispute: Agnifilo told the jury that although Combs is not accused of rape and that the jury does not have to take this into consideration, he “cannot” let them think that Combs raped Ventura in 2018, as she claimed in the statement. Agnifilo contested the chronology presented by venture about the exact moment when it all happened, arguing that she changed the date to hide the meeting of her current husband, who had discovered. “She lies and says she was raped,” agnifilo suggested.
- The Videos: Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs may have threatened to release videos of the “freak offs” from time to time, “but said” there is no chance of Sean Combs to release one of these videos. ” Agnifilo also said that the “freak offs” videos show “genuine intimacy” and that he doesn’t think Combs is the only person “in America doing homemade porn.”
- Questioning the difference: Jane, the ex-girlfriend of Combs who witnessed under a pseudonym, agreed to spend “hotel nights” with him, regardless of later regret, agnifilo argued, using a text message from Jane to illustrate her point. “The government said it is not saying that all ‘hotel nights’ were sexual trafficking. Well, so what were and how should Sean Combs know the difference?” He added.
- A kind gesture: Agnifilo described the fact that Combs paid for Jane’s house as a “kindness gesture” that should not be interpreted as a catalyst for sex trafficking. Combs, he said, took care of Jane and his son in this way and continues to pay for the house, even with Jane having witnessed him. “They made a deal and he kept him,” said Agnifilo.
- State Limits: The government called only two men who had sex with Ventura during the “Freak Off,” said Agnifilo, and asked why the government did not call any man who allegedly had sex with Jane. He added that the two men witnessed that they are not prostitutes and did not cross the state borders to find Cassie Ventura and Combs, despite having received money from them later.
- No conspirators: Agnifilo acknowledged that no other conspirator was indicted with Combs and said the government has no conspirator who witnessed to prove the accusation of conspiracy for extortion against him. He specifically criticized the government for not calling any witness to the intimate circle of Combs, including Kristina Khorram, former chief of comb’s cabinet, which was quoted several times during the trial. Agnifilo described Khorram as a helpful employee, dear to all.
- In conclusion: Agnifilo concluded by telling the jury that the right thing to do was acquit Combs of all the accusations against him. “He’s not a mobster … He’s there, innocent,” said Agnifilo, pointing to Combs. “Return him to his family, who awaits him.”
*Published by Fernanda Pinotti, with information from CNN Internacional
