Diddy can still come out of trial a ‘winner' even if found guilty & despite damning trial abuse allegations, lawyer says

Scottish Sun

a day ago

The trial has heard weeks of gut-wrenching testimony from various witnesses, including musical artists Cassie and Kid Cudi
LESSER CHARGE Diddy can still come out of trial a 'winner' even if found guilty & despite damning trial abuse allegations, lawyer says
SEAN "Diddy" Combs can still come out of his federal trial as a winner if he's not convicted on all charges, despite the scandalous evidence and testimony from witnesses, according to an attorney.
Week three of Combs' federal trial has wrapped up as more witnesses, including another former assistant, continued to testify about the violence the music executive, 55, inflicted behind closed doors.
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A sketch image of Sean 'Diddy' Combs speaking with his legal team on May 27 before court begins for the day
Credit: Reuters
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Cassandra 'Cassie' Ventura and Sean Combs attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala in New York City in May 2018
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Combs pictured at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in May 2022
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Combs listens as his former girlfriend Ventura testifies at his sex trafficking trial on May 14
Credit: Reuters
The testimonies dived into the prosecution's accusations that the hitmaker, with the help of an inner circle of close confidants, used his far-reaching power and intimidation to cover up his alleged crimes and protect his public image.
However, Combs' defense team has argued that the alleged victims all engaged in consensual sexual acts and remained by his side for years because of his lavish lifestyle and career advancements.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who is not involved in the trial, said even if the music mogul is convicted of some crimes but not all, he will come out as a winner.
"Diddy's defense is that these individuals engaged in these sex acts willingly," Rahmani told The U.S. Sun.
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"There was no force. There was no coercion. They chose to do drugs. They weren't drugged.
"And the fact that they may have been paid may be unlawful under the prostitution charges, but to the extent that the defense gets guilty verdicts on prostitution only, and not guilties on racketeering and sex trafficking, that would be a huge win for Diddy in the defense."
WEEK THREE
For the second day, the courtroom heard on Friday gut-wrenching testimony from Combs' former assistant, referred to only as Mia, about the total control he held over her.
Mia, who worked for Combs for eight years in various capacities starting in 2009, testified how he made her work grueling hours and violently attacked her.
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The former assistant, one of Combs' many ex-employees who have taken the stand, broke down in tears as she told the jury about the multiple times he allegedly raped her.
Mia admitted in her testimony that she never disclosed the alleged sexual assaults to anyone, saying, "I was going to die with this."
Diddy trial descends into CHAOS as his lawyers explode and demand case be thrown OUT
The emotional victim recalled Combs' spurts of violence towards her and Ventura, telling jurors about the times he allegedly threw a computer and his bowl of spaghetti at her head.
"I wondered, what did I do to make him like this to me?" Mia testified.
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The jury heard from Scott Mescudi, better known as rapper Kid Cudi, during the trial's second week.
Mescudi testified about his brief relationship with Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura in late 2011, and told the court about when Combs flew into a jealous rage over the relationship.
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Sean Combs makes a heart gesture as he enters the courtroom on May 28
Credit: Reuters
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Prosecutor Madison Smyser questions Combs' former assistant and government witness 'Mia' on May 29
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Scott Mescudi, better known as rapper Kid Cudi, leaves the US District Courthouse after testifying at Combs' trial on May 22
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A photo of the damage Mescudi's Porsche sustained from a Molotov cocktail bombing
Credit: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
The Mr. Rager rapper, 41, accused Combs of breaking into his house, messing with his dog and locking his pet in the bathroom.
Mescudi's testimony was dominated by the January 2012 incident when his Porsche was blown up on his driveway by a Molotov cocktail, which he accused Combs of being responsible for.
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The jurors were shown pictures of Mescudi's charred sports car with the cut-up roof where the explosive was thrown.
The trial opened up with powerful testimony from Ventura, Combs' ex-girlfriend of over a decade.
The singer, 38, emotionally spoke about how Combs forced her to participate in weekly drug-fueled sex marathons, which he called "freak-offs," with male escorts.
Ventura, who said she did not want to engage in the sex acts, told the court her music career took a backseat due to the toll the "freak-offs" took on her day, testifying how she needed days at a time to recover.
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Prosecutors also released photos of the injuries Ventura allegedly suffered from Combs' years-long abuse, including a gash on her forehead that had become a permanent scar.
Dawn Richard, a singer who once competed in Combs' reality show Making the Band, also testified how she witnessed the music executive's abuse of Ventura.
Richard, who was signed to Bad Boy Records and part of the trio Diddy – Dirty Money, described how Combs hit Ventura "on the head and beat her on the ground" during a visit to his home recording studio in 2019.
Combs' trial is expected to continue until the first week of July, with the prosecution's case slated to rest the week of June 9.
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Diddy's charges explained by a lawyer
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained the set of charges Diddy is facing to The U.S. Sun:
"Diddy is facing three charges, or three sets of charges.
"The first is racketeering, which you typically see with organized crime enterprises - so the mob, cartels, street gangs -but we're seeing it a lot more in sex trafficking cases.
"And you don't need an organization like the mob, as long as it's an enterprise, which is something that consists of two or more people, and they engage in two or more RICO predicate acts, that's enough for racketeering.
"Racketeering is a powerful charge because it allows the government to bring in all sorts of evidence of criminal activity, as well as all sorts of people, into that racketeering conspiracy.
"And anyone who's a co-conspirator, they're on the hook for any criminal acts committed in furtherance of the conspiracy.
"The most serious charge, though, is sex trafficking.
"What separates sex trafficking from normal sex? Adults, of course, can consent to any type of sex, no matter how freaky it is. But sex trafficking has one of three elements: force, fraud, or coercion.
"And the government is saying that Diddy used force to force these men and women to participate in these freak-offs, and he coerced them by drugging them.
"The least serious charge is the prostitution, sometimes called the Man Act, and that's engaging in prostitution using some sort of interstate commerce across state lines. That obviously is unlawful.
"Typically, you don't see federal cases for prostitution only, which is why it's the least serious of the crimes."
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Combs intensely watches as his former assistant 'Mia' testifies at his trial on May 29
Credit: Reuters