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Content advisory: This article includes allegations of sexual assault.
Sean “Diddy” Combs wants to testify at his criminal trial for charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to his attorney.
“I don’t know that I can keep him off the stand. He is very eager to tell his story,” the embattled rap mogul’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in an interview for a new TMZ documentary.
When contacted by CNN, a representative for Combs declined to elaborate on Agnifilo’s comments or say whether Combs will, in fact, take the stand.
A source with knowledge of the current case tells CNN that the discovery phase has not begun, so it is too early to confirm any witnesses or individuals who could be called to the stand during the upcoming trial.
Prosecutors unsealed the three-count indictment against Combs on September 17, accusing the artist of orchestrating “a criminal enterprise” through his business empire that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping and decades of physical abuse against women, among other allegations.
A hotel surveillance video first published by CNN in May that showed Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 was cited in the indictment against him. Prosecutors allege that the footage showcases Combs’ decades-long pattern of physical abuse.
Asked by TMZ about video of Combs, Agnifilo said that if Combs testifies, he would explain his actions in the video.
“I think he will tell every part of his story, including what you see on the video, so I except it’s going to be explained by the both of us,” Agnifilo said in the interview. “He has his story, and he has a story that I think only he can tell in the way he can tell it in real time.”
Prosecutors allege Combs “bribed” a hotel staff member “to ensure silence” in 2016. (Ventura’s now-settled November 2023 lawsuit claimed he paid the hotel US$50,000 to obtain the hallway security footage of the assault.) Allegations of bribery, making payments to cover up alleged misdeeds and filming alleged sexual assaults have been made by the government and several accusers in 11 civil suits, which Combs has denied.
In charging Combs, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York alleged that Combs held what he called “Freak Offs,” or elaborate sex performances in which he drugged and coerced victims into extended sex acts with male sex workers. About one thousand bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant were seized as part of a search in the investigation.
“I can’t imagine it’s thousands. And I’m not really sure what the baby oil has to do with anything,” Agnifilo said in his interview with TMZ. “One bottle of baby oil goes a long way. I don’t know what you need a thousand for. I mean, he has a big house. He buys in bulk. I think they have Costcos in every place where he has a home. Have you sat in the parking lot of a Costco and see what people walk out of there with?”
In an interview with CNN after Combs was indicted last week, Agnifilio downplayed the number of victims he believes are involved in the criminal charges, after prosecutors said that more than 50 witnesses or victims have spoken with federal investigators.
“It’s one victim,” he told anchor Kaitlan Collins. “That’s all that’s in the indictment.”
Combs is currently awaiting trial at New York City’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has been home to singer R. Kelly, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Combs is being held in the same housing unit at the MDC as one-time cryptocurrency whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried and former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a source told CNN, explaining that their shared facility is reserved for high-profile inmates and isolated from the general public.
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety, you should call 911.
A full list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling can be found on the website for the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres.
Helplines, legal services and locations that offer sexual assault kits in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia can be found here.
National Residential School Crisis Line: +1 866 925 4419
24-hour crisis line: 416 597 8808
Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: +1 833 900 1010
Trans Lifeline: +1 877 330 6366
Sexual misconduct support for current or former members of the Armed Forces: +1 844 750 1648
Read about your rights as a victim here.
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