A lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs indicated his defense team wouldn’t be calling any witnesses, meaning the man at the center of the trial won’t be taking the stand.
Marc Agnifilo signaled Monday morning that his client won’t testify at his own trial, even after the jury heard seven weeks of shocking testimony about the rapper’s sex life and alleged history of abusive behavior. The revelation comes months after Agnifilo said in TMZ’s 2024 documentary The Downfall of Diddy: “I don’t know that I could keep him off the stand...He is very eager to tell his story.”
Federal prosecutors have charged the mogul with five counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking, and racketeering conspiracy. He’s pleaded not guilty. Legal experts warn that taking the stand would be a gamble for the music mogul.
The risks outweigh the benefits if he took the stand, Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School, told The Independent in an email: “Diddy has everything to lose and nothing to gain by testifying. Currently he has the presumption of innocence, and the burden of proof which lies squarely with the prosecution. Before testifying, his attorneys can continue to rely on those legal principles and push the jury hard on whether or not the government has met its burden.”
Although the burden still stands and the jury will be instructed, “the truth of the matter is, if he testifies and they do not believe him, there will almost certainly be a guilty verdict,” she added.
Diddy testifying would open up the possibility for prosecutors to grill him over the now-infamous 2016 footage capturing him beating Cassie Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel and beyond his criminal trial, he faces dozens of pending civil suits.
“I do not know any defense attorney who would want to have their client cross-examined with a video like the video from the hotel in this case, let alone all of the other alleged criminal activity, in particular the allegations of abuse,” Cominsky said.
“With respect to his pending civil cases, generally speaking, anything he says can, and absolutely will, be used against him,” she added.
Even if they won’t hear from Diddy from the witness stand, jurors have, however, heard his voice throughout the trial in the form of audio messages, recorded phone calls, and videos.
On Monday, for the third day in a row of the trial, the panel watched explicit footage from “freak offs” — drug-fueled, days-long sex marathons — read through saucy messages between him and his ex-girlfriend, and even heard his voicenotes to his staff.
The government expects to rest its case Tuesday after Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello concludes his testimony. The defense will then enter some evidence into the record, but not call any witnesses. This represents a change in course from last week when Diddy’s team said it planned to call three witnesses, including Vashta Dunlap, the one-time head of human resources for Bad Boy Entertainment, and a forensic psychologist.
The attorneys and judge will have a charge conference Wednesday and closing arguments will begin Thursday. At this rate, the jury could begin deliberating Diddy’s fate as soon as Friday.
Throughout the past seven weeks, jurors have heard from his ex-girlfriends, associates, and former employees, who have documented shocking allegations.
Capricorn Clark, his former assistant, testified about how Diddy showed up at her home with a gun and told her to get into his car to “kill” Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi. The mogul was “upset” that Clark had hid Cassie Ventura’s relationship with Mescudi from him.
Ventura, who dated Diddy for 11 years, testified at length about how he physically abused her throughout their relationship, including one instance that resulted in a “permanent scar” on her eyebrow. She also told the court that the 2016 attack at the InterContinental Hotel — captured in now widely-seen security footage — happened after she tried to leave a “freak off” early.
The defense team repeatedly showed text messages in which Ventura seems to be eager to participate in “freak offs.” On the stand, however, she emphasized that she only wanted to sleep with Diddy and that she felt obligated to participate in the sex encounters because he controlled her career and for her own safety.
Jane, his girlfriend from 2021 through 2024, similarly told the court that she felt obligated to participate in the sex marathons because he paid for her rent. Diddy’s defense team, however, has been showing text after text indicating that Jane was a “willing participant” in the “freak offs.”
Although none of the mogul’s employees face any criminal charges, the prosecution frequently pointed out text messages from his former chief-of-staff Kristina Khorram, his former head of security D-Roc, and a few other members of his staff that indicate they knew about the sex marathons and the physical abuse. They have not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.
