Diddy lawyer says rapper is 'eager' to testify during trial, questions baby oil claims
Sean "Diddy" Combs is expected to take the stand in his own defense during his upcoming sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, sat down with TMZ for its quick-turn documentary "The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment," to discuss Combs' case and the bevy of allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder.
According to Agnifilo, Combs — who is currently in jail until his trial — plans to testify in his trial. "I don't know that I could keep him off the stand," Agnifilo said. "I think he is very eager to tell his story."
In reference to the 2016 hotel surveillance video where Combs was seen kicking, hitting and dragging ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, Agnifilo said the Revolt TV founder "will tell every part of his story, including what you see on the video."
"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," the attorney said of Combs' relationship with Cassie. "And it's a human story. It's a story of love, it's a story of hurt, it's a story of heartbreak."
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs isn't likely to take a plea deal, his lawyer says
"It's not up to me. It's up to Mr. Combs, and I don't see it happening because he believes he's innocent," Agnifilo said when asked whether his client might take a plea deal.
"He believes that he needs to stand up not just for himself (but) his family and for everybody who's been targeted by the federal government. He feels an obligation to those people to say, 'You know what? Maybe I can break the model. Maybe I can show the world that a Black man can win in federal court,'" the lawyer said.
"And I think he might be the only person I know of to be able to accomplish that."
Diddy's lawyer suggests feds exaggerated about 1,000 bottles of baby oil
In the documentary, Agnifilo suggested prosecutors' claim that federal agents seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant during the March raids of Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami is an exaggeration: "I don't think it was a thousand. Let's just say it was a lot.
"And I'm not sure what baby oil has to do with anything," Agnifilo said. After Harvey Levin replied the product could have been used as lubricant, the lawyer responded, "I guess; I don't know what you need a thousand (for). One bottle of baby oil goes a long way."
He continued, "(Combs) has a big house; he buys in bulk. I think they have Costcos in every place where he has a home."
A Costco spokesperson denied carrying baby oil at its U.S. locations, according to TMZ.
'Freak offs' were simply 'threesomes,' Diddy's lawyer says
Agnifilo also suggested Combs' "freak-offs" were simply "threesomes."
"This was with the woman that was his woman at the time and allegedly a third person," he said of Combs' ex-girlfriend, Cassie.
"I've spoken to about a half a dozen of these different men involved, and I asked them: 'Was there indicia of lack of consent?' and they said, 'Absolutely not. We would have never gone forward a single step had it seemed like anybody in that room was not consenting.' "
Agnifilo added that "no one was too high, no one was too drunk" during these experiences.
In a Sept. 17 letter to the judge arguing for Combs to be jailed until he is brought to trial, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams claimed his office has interviewed more than 50 alleged witnesses and victims and obtained "dozens" of videos depicting Combs' "freak offs." Prosecutors also allegedly have procured at least "90 cellphones, laptops, and cloud storage accounts, as well as over 30 other electronic and storage devices."
"The vast and varied sources of evidence ... will be compelling evidence of guilt at any trial in this case," Williams wrote.
Video of Diddy kicking Cassie is 'not related' to his federal charges, his lawyer says
In May, CNN released hotel footage from 2016 showing Combs, clad only in a white towel around his hips, running to his then-girlfriend Cassie as she stood by the elevators. He struck the singer and yanked her by the hair, throwing her to the ground before kicking her prone body twice. He then picked up her bag and started dragging her back toward the hotel rooms.
"Mr. Combs himself went publicly and apologized for the video," Agnifilo told Levin. "It is not evidence of sex trafficking. There was a certain level of toxicity and drug use in the 10-year relationship between Mr. Combs and the woman that he was in love with."
He continued: "Their difficulties did not stem from their intimate time together. Their difficulties stemmed from the fact that she was cheating on him and he was cheating on her. And what we see in that video is terrible. It's unforgivable, and we don't seek to forgive it. But it's not related to the charge."
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Cassie for comment.
Prosecutors reference hotel video of Diddy, Cassie in their charges against him
Combs' indictment, which was filed under seal by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on Sept. 12 and released to the public Sept. 17, mentions this hotel surveillance video in an overview of their racketeering charges against him.
"On numerous occasions from at least in or about 2009 and continuing for years, Combs assaulted women by, among other things, striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them," the indictment alleges.
"These assaults were, at times, witnessed by others and included one instance at a Los Angeles hotel in or about March 2016, which was captured on video and later publicly reported, where Combs kicked, dragged, and threw a vase at a woman as she was attempting to leave."
During his Sept. 17 arraignment, Combs pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking, one count of racketeering and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution. Despite his legal team's requests for him to be released on a $50 million bond, two judges have ruled for him to remain incarcerated.
Combs' lawyers have vowed to appeal the court's denials in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His next hearing is Oct. 9.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.