ALBAWABA - Sean "Diddy" Combs faces major setback as trial evidence approved.
A federal court ordered Friday that Sean “Diddy” Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial will display security footage of him abusing his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Defense lawyers also appeared to indicate throughout the hearing that they would defend Combs by claiming his swinger lifestyle was lawful.
Additionally, Combs turned down a plea deal that the government offered him, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser. Smyser did not elaborate on the offer.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 01: Cassie (L) and Sean 'Diddy' Combs aka Puff Daddy (Photo by Mike Coppola / via AFP)
Judge Arun Subramanian of the U.S. District Court ruled that the footage, which was initially aired by CNN last year, was admissible as evidence, which was a blow to Combs' legal team. In a motion filed this month, the defense had attempted to have the video excluded from the evidence, claiming it "is wholly inaccurate, having been altered, manipulated, sped up, and edited to be out of sequence"—claims CNN has vehemently refuted.
The video is a crucial piece of evidence, according to the prosecution, who have denied that it was misleading.
The initial video shows Diddy assaulting, kicking, and dragging Ventura at the hotel while only wearing a white towel, which was destroyed, according to Combs' lawyers. The footage also showed him hurling a vase at her.
"Never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source," CNN claimed in a statement last month.
In 2023, Ventura, who was formerly signed to Combs' record label under the name Cassie, filed a lawsuit against him, alleging years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. An attorney for Combs stated that the swift settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing. Combs issued a public apology and stated that "he took full responsibility" for his behavior following CNN's May airing of the tape.
In a video message, Combs stated, "I was disgusted when I did it then." "Now I'm disgusted."
In her lawsuit, Ventura detailed the hotel assault. The government used the video to support its claim that Combs shouldn't be granted bail. Since his arrest in September, Diddy has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn.
Combs attended the hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Friday while wearing a prison uniform. According to the prosecution, Combs operated a criminal organization that, among other things, engaged in kidnapping, arson, and sex trafficking.
According to the prosecution, the surveillance footage from 2016 showed Combs attempting to pull Ventura back to a hotel room where a "freak off" was taking place.
The elaborate sex displays that Combs reportedly "arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded" are referred to as "freak offs" in his five-count indictment, which charges him with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The indictment states that they "occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers."
According to the indictment, federal agents found various freak-off supplies, including drugs and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, as well as electronic devices that held pictures and videos of the freak-offs with numerous victims, during their raids on Combs' homes in Miami Beach and Los Angeles last year.
According to Diddys' legal team, the interactions were voluntary.
Smyser said jurors would see some odd videos and asked the court to show them only to the jury and lawyers, with no audio released to the public. According to her, the recordings will feature escorts, victims, and occasionally Combs.
Additionally, Subramanian decided that although Combs' legal team had attempted to have Dr. Dawn Hughes, a clinical psychologist, testify against him for coercive control, she was permitted to speak to jurors about coping mechanisms, delayed disclosure, memories, and the reasons individuals maintain relationships.
According to Subramanian, in some circumstances, the defense may also call an expert to testify as a rebuttal witness against Hughes.
"Juries don't need Dr. Hughes to explain what abuse and violence are," Subramanian stated.
One of Sean Combs' lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, contended that the prosecution wants to stop the defense from claiming that Combs' behavior was a part of his way of life.
