The attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has claimed that his case is an example of the federal government’s general toxicity toward a successful black man.
The scandal-hit music mogul, 54, was sensationally arrested last week and charged with crimes including extortion and sex trafficking, which he has denied.
His attorney Marc Agnifilo, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, has blamed the FBI for taking down Diddy because he is black.
Speaking TMZs In “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment,” Agnifilo said the federal government “historically has not been a friend of the successful black man.”
“They’re starting to argue this case as an attempt to take down a successful black man. This is the government scrutinizing its affairs, scrutinizing its taxes, doing everything right,” he said.
His attorney Marc Agnifilo, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, has blamed the FBI for arresting Diddy because he is black.
Diddy, seen here next to his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter,
Agnifilo added: “What is the last remnant, we go into his bedroom because maybe we don’t like the way he has sex.”
He goes on to say that his client has turned “some of the most important companies” into the hands of a black man and that society has now reduced Diddy to a “monster.”
Combs was arrested last week by Homeland Security officials at the Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Manhattan.
He has since been jailed while awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The indictment, which details allegations from 2008, accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior.”
Combs has been accused of arranging “Freak Offs,” described as “elaborate and produced sex performances,” arranged and directed by Combs while he masturbated and often recorded them.
His indictment stated that some “Freak Offs” would last days, requiring Combs and victims to be given IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use.
Federal agents claimed they seized “1,000 bottles” of baby oil and lube after raiding his homes in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year.
Earlier this week, Agnifilo said the star liked to buy in bulk, as other Americans usually do.
He told the New York Post: “I don’t think there were a thousand. I think it was a lot. I mean, there’s a Costco right down the street. I think Americans are buying in bulk, as we know.”
Federal agents claimed they seized ‘1,000 bottles’ of baby oil and lube after raiding his homes in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year
Police and officers are seen around Diddy’s Miami home in March after conducting raids
Agnifilo added: “These are consensual adults doing what consensual adults do. We can’t become so puritanical in this country as to think that sex is somehow a bad thing, because if it were, there wouldn’t be any people left.”
Costco has since come out and confirmed that they do not sell baby oil at any locations in the country.
Agnifilo said his client is positive about his chances in court, adding: “He’s just laser-focused, he’s committed, he’s helpful, he’s confident.
“We’re going through our defense like we do every day and his mood is relatively good.”
Diddy’s arrest came 10 months after allegations of sexual and other abuse against the music mogul, and an announcement from prosecutors that he was under investigation for sex trafficking.
The allegations started with a lawsuit by Diddy’s ex Cassie Ventura, claiming she was beaten and raped by the star.
The lawsuit was settled the day after it became public, but Diddy has since been dogged by other claims.
Last year, Diddy was sued by ex-Cassie, who claimed she was trafficked, raped, drugged and brutally beaten on many occasions by Diddy. They are pictured here in 2018
The indictment against him also alleges that he coerced and abused women for years, while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to control his victims.
It indirectly refers to an attack on his ex-girlfriend Cassie, which was captured on video.
Prosecutors wanted him jailed. His lawyers suggested he be released on a $50 million bond for home detention with electronic monitoring. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with the government.
Like many older hip-hop figures, Diddy, the founder of Bad Boy Records, had cultivated a friendlier image with the public.
The father of seven was a respected businessman whose annual Hamptons ‘White Party’ was once an essential invitation for the jet-setting elite.
The lawsuit was settled the day after it became public, but Diddy has since been dogged by other claims
But prosecutors said he facilitated his crimes by using the same companies, people and methods that brought him to power.
They said they would prove the charges with financial and travel records, electronic communications and videos of the “Freak Offs.”
In March, authorities raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Florida, seizing drugs, videos and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube, prosecutors said.
They said agents also seized weapons and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers.
A conviction on each charge would require a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with the possibility of a life sentence.