According to his attorney, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs can’t wait to testify in his upcoming trial.
Marc Agnifilo, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney, gave TMZ a preview of how Diddy’s trial might unfold, as part of the outlet’s upcoming documentary on the case.
“I don’t know if I can keep him off the stand. I think he’s very eager to tell his story. And I think he’ll tell every part of his story,” Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo is speaking out about a week after Diddy was charged in New York with extortion, sex trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
Diddy, 54, pleaded not guilty to all three charges and was denied bail. The judge hearing his case agreed with prosecutors that he posed a serious flight risk and a danger to others.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo spoke to TMZ and revealed that the rapper will almost certainly testify in his own defense
Agnifilo said Diddy will tell his story about the infamous video of him beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel
Criminal defendants have the right under the Fifth Amendment not to testify to avoid further incriminating themselves. They also have the right to testify even if it goes against the advice of their attorney.
When a witness appears before a judge in a court case, the opposing party, whether the prosecution or the defense, has the opportunity to question the witness and find holes in his or her story.
Judging from what Agnifilo says, it appears Diddy believes a jury should hear his version of events, despite the risks.
“He has his story, and he has a story that I think only he can tell the way he can tell it, in real time,” he said. “It’s a human story. It’s a story of love. It’s a story of pain. It’s a story of heartbreak.”
This follows Agnifilo’s explanation for the alleged reason behind the “1,000 bottles” of baby oil and lubricant found by authorities in Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles homes.
“I don’t think it was 1,000. I think it was a lot. I mean, there’s a Costco around the corner. I think Americans buy in bulk, as we know,” he told the New York Post.
Agnifilo and Diddy stand before U.S. Judge Robyn Tarnofsky in a Manhattan federal court during a hearing on September 17
According to Agnifilo, the first step is to address the events in the infamous video that shows Diddy hitting her then-girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
“I expect it to be explained by both of us,” he said. “When he describes that relationship, he uses ‘heartbreak’ more than any other word. He was heartbroken. She was heartbroken.”
Cassie, full name Casandra Ventura, sued Diddy last year, alleging he raped and abused her for a decade.
Just one day later, the lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.
Diddy has already given the world a taste of how he might defend himself against prosecutors’ questions about the assault, when he publicly addressed the controversy after CNN leaked the disturbing surveillance footage in May.
The music mogul apologized at the time via Instagram: “I’ve hit rock bottom, but I don’t make excuses.”
Diddy looked into the camera and said, “It’s so hard to look back on the darkest moments of your life, sometimes you have to do that. I was completely screwed.”
Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of ‘The Perfect Match’ in Hollywood, California. Two days earlier, Combs attacked Ventura in a hotel hallway
Diddy looked into the camera and said, “It’s so hard to look back on the darkest moments of your life, sometimes you have to do that. I was completely screwed.”
“My behavior in that video is inexcusable,” he continued. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video, I am disgusted by it.”
He went on to say that after the attack he sought professional help in the form of therapy and rehabilitation.
But that’s not the only thing he has to explain if he decides to testify.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York accuse Diddy of staging elaborate, often days-long sex shows he called “freak-offs,” in which he allegedly forced his victims to have sex with male prostitutes.
According to the indictment, Diddy masturbated during freak-offs and induced his victims to cooperate by giving them drugs and threatening them with violence.
A photo from inside Diddy’s Miami home shows law enforcement conducting a thorough search
His defense argues that the freak-offs were consensual.
Even if Diddy chooses to ignore the bizarre acts during questioning by his defense team, prosecutors will inevitably grill him on the subject and likely much more.
No trial date has been set, but Diddy continues to face damning allegations from women he’s encountered over his decades in the music industry.
The latest lawsuit against him was filed by Thalia Graves, who alleges that Diddy and his security chief Joseph Sherman raped her in 2001 at Bad Boy Records studios in New York.
Diddy is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will remain there until his trial begins.