Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Testifying at His Own Trial Could Be a Huge Mistake, Expert Says
Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly wants to take the stand at his trial for sex trafficking and racketeering. That could be a massive mistake, a legal expert warns.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ attorney doesn’t think he can keep his client off the stand
On Sept. 16, Combs was arrested and charged in a three-count indictment with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors say that beginning at least in 2008, the rapper “led a criminal enterprise that existed to facilitate his abuse and exploitation of women, to protect his reputation, and to conceal his conduct.”
Combs’ alleged criminal activities included forcing women to participate in “Freak Offs” where they “engage[d] in frequent, days-long sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.” He used violence and intimidation to control victims, including physical assaults and threats to expose recordings of the Freak Offs, according to the indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Diddy is currently behind bars at a jail in Brooklyn. He has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has not been set, but when the music mogul does get his day in court, he plans to testify, his lawyer said.
“I don’t know that I can keep him off the stand,” Marc Agnifilo said in the TMZ documentary The Downfall of Diddy. “I think he is very eager to tell his story. And I think he will tell every part of his story, including what you see on the videos.”
“He has his story. And he has a story that only he can tell in the way that he can tell it,” Agnifilo added.
Diddy faces big risks if he decides to testify
Diddy might want to share his side of the story in court. But deciding to testify is a major risk, especially because he’s facing 15 years to life in prison, lawyer Francisco Mundaca told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in an email.
“It’s concerning as a defense attorney that Diddy says he wants to take the stand,” said Mundaca, who is a criminal law attorney and managing partner of the Spiggle Law Firm in Washington, D.C. “When a client in a criminal case wants to take the stand, 99.9% of the time, the defense will urge them not to. In the case of Diddy, if he takes the stand, there are just too many instances where he could say something wrong and implicate himself.”
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are shoring up their case against the hip-hop icon.
“Prosecutors in New York state, where the case is being tried, are among the best, and law enforcement is tough,” said Mundaca, who has worked as a prosecutor in New York. “No one knows what the prosecution is doing behind the scenes in this case, and just how many people they are speaking to through ‘immunity’ to get more information, but we can expect a lot more to come out on this case in the weeks ahead, which is likely keeping many people in Hollywood, including music executives and producers, and other celebrities, on edge.”
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