Online Reporter
NEW YORK. — After weeks of bombshell testimonies, hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs finally spoke in court as the prosection closed its case on Tuesday.
Diddy has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He told the court:
“It’s my decision with my lawyers” not to testify.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted in the scheme.
Speaking for the first time in court in weeks, Diddy told Judge Arun Subramanian that he was “doing an excellent job”.
“I want to tell you thank you,” the rapper told the judge.
Diddy’s 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 on Tuesday afternoon.
His defence attorneys argued that the government has failed to meet the burden in proving any of the charges against him, which he’s vehemently denied, and the judge should drop the case against him.
Prosecutors have alleged Diddy used his celebrity status and business empire to run a criminal enterprise to sex traffic women and conceal his crimes.
During their arguments, the government called more than 30 witnesses to the stand.
The defence called none, instead submitting into evidence several text messages between Mr Combs and his ex-girlfriends, singer Casandra Ventura, and another victim who testified under the pseudonym Jane.
It is always difficult for defence teams to decide whether to call any fact witnesses to the stand, said Mitchell Epner, a New York-based lawyer and former prosecutor.
Calling new witnesses can introduce more problems for the defence – and having Diddy take the stand would have been an even riskier move, hanging the case mostly on his testimony, Mr Epner said.
Instead, Diddy’s lawyers gave a quick presentation, showing messages in an attempt to bolster their argument that Diddy’s girlfriends were willing participants in sexual encounters with him and male escorts, which were called freak-offs.
In one text message to Diddy that his attorneys read aloud, Jane told him “I always have fun” during their freak-offs, or what she called “hotel nights”.
The quick defence case came after Diddy’s legal team filed a motion asking the court to acquit their client, claiming the government had not met their burden in proving any of the charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
His attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued that the victims in the case were capable women who could have left on their own accord, giving a hint of the points the legal team is likely to present during closing arguments scheduled later this week today and tomorrow.
Diddy “regrettably violent, but domestic violence is not sex trafficking”, Ms Shapiro said.
Prosecutors have argued Diddy’s ex-girlfriends were coerced into unwanted sex acts with drugs, violence and other means. — BBC.
