Sean Combs has added Young Thug’s high-powered defense lawyer, Brian Steel, to his trial team.
In a new court filing Tuesday, Steel submitted his credentials and asked to be specially admitted as an out-of-state lawyer in Combs’ criminal case with just weeks to go before jury selection starts on May 5.
Steel, a highly regarded attorney known for his impeccable courtroom demeanor, represented Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, during the rapper’s nearly two-year trial related to his YSL gang and racketeering case in Atlanta. Steel famously took a contempt charge from the original judge on that trial and was subjected to a dramatic, on-camera arrest when he refused to disclose how he’d heard about a controversial conversation between the judge, prosecutors, and a key witness. The contempt charge was ultimately dropped, and that original judge was removed from the case.
“Brian is a legend, especially after YSL,” Douglas Weinstein, who represented Williams’ co-defendant Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick, tells Rolling Stone. “His insights, tenacity and character will be a phenomenal addition to Mr. Combs’ team. I saw it in person during the YSL trial. I wish I could be a fly on the wall with whatever happens. He’s a legend in Georgia.”
Combs, 55, is fighting a racketeering conspiracy charge as well, though the cases are very different. Combs has pleaded not guilty to allegations he trafficked multiple women under a “criminal enterprise” that used violence, threats, and manipulation to fulfill Combs’ “sexual gratification.” The disgraced music mogul has been in custody at a federal detention center in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
Weinstein says Steel’s highly courteous, but firm, personality could be an asset when Combs’ case veers in highly sensitive territory. “I think his humanity coupled with his integrity is necessary in the Combs case,” Weinstein said. “He is a genuine person. If you spend any degree of time with him, you know it’s totally real.”
Before Steel’s addition to the team, rumors raged that Combs was angling to add Los Angeles legal titan Mark Geragos to his team. Geragos’ daughter, Teny Geragos, already is representing the Bad Boy Records founder. Geragos has been tied up representing the Mendendez brothers amid their push for resentencing, but a well-placed source tells Rolling Stone he was in New York earlier this week.
From Rolling Stone US
