The sex trafficking criminal trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is near its completion, always surprising: while the prosecution took the best of 7 weeks to present their case, the defense presentation was shockingly short, around 20 minutes.
The disgraced rap mogul is charged with using his fame, his fortune, and his companies to further a criminal racket that exploited and sex trafficked women (and male escorts) via violence, threats, or economic leverage.
The prosecution was able to show how some of Combs’s former workers aided him in procuring drugs, paying bribes and compensating escorts, which is a key part of the racketeering conspiracy charge against him.
It was also shown the control he had over the music career and finances of often-beat-up Cassie Ventura.
The defense was able to poke holes in some aspects of some of the testimonies, and by the way they behave, they seem super optimistic about his chances of acquittal.
BBC reported:
“Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team rested their case in his sex trafficking trial on Tuesday after making arguments for only about 20 minutes.
Their short presentation followed nearly seven weeks of arguments and witness testimony brought by federal prosecutors in New York. The prosecution finished making their case Tuesday afternoon.”
His defense filed another motion to dismiss arguing that the government has failed to meet the burden of proof in the charges filed against him.
Diddy thanked the judge and confirmed to the court that he will not take the stand.
“Calling new witnesses can introduce more problems for the defense – and having Mr. Combs take the stand would have been an even riskier move, hanging the case mostly on his testimony, Mr. Epner said.
Instead, Mr. Combs’ lawyers gave a quick presentation, showing messages in an attempt to bolster their argument that Mr. Combs’ girlfriends were willing participants in sexual encounters with him and male escorts, which were called freak-offs.”
In the meantime, federal prosecutors indicated they are dropping some of the charges against the rapper to simplify the task of the jury.
Fox News reported:
“The government indicated in a letter to the judge filed Tuesday, and obtained by Fox News Digital, that the theories of attempted kidnapping, attempted arson and aiding and abetting sex trafficking will not be pursued.
‘The Government understands the Court’s desire for streamlined instructions. With that in mind, the Government has suggested ways to streamline those instructions’, the letter read.
‘Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to (i) attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, (ii) attempted arson under California law, and (iii) aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary’.”
The defense and prosecution will finalize jury instructions today (25). Closing arguments in the case against the disgraced music mogul will likely take the entirety of Thursday (26) and Friday (27).
The jury is set to start deliberations on Monday (30).
Read more:
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial: Prosecution Rests Their Case, as Judge Subramanian To Rule on Yet Another Motion To Dismiss by Rapper’s Defense
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