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After telling the court they decided not to call any witnesses, Sean Combs’ lawyers took around 25 minutes to present their case at the mogul’s sex trafficking and racketeering trial Tuesday.
Instead of calling anyone to the stand, Combs’ defense team read aloud a series of text messages between Combs and his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura that corresponded to certain freak-offs in the couple’s decade-long relationship. In those messages, Ventura expressed her love for the hip-hop mogul and seemingly relayed her excitement about aspects of their sex life. “I think as long as we continue to communicate,” Ventura wrote in part to Combs in late May 2017, “we can keep it sexy and try new things because that trust will be there.”
The defense was remarkably short, considering Combs is facing up to life in prison if convicted on the five felony charges against him. The 55-year-old, who has been actively involved in his case, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, the sex trafficking of Ventura and another ex-girlfriend, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Prior to the defense’s case, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian asked Combs if it was his decision not to testify. Combs stood upright and complimented the judge on doing an “excellent job” overseeing the trial. In a voice that seemed a bit husky, Combs answered affirmatively that he had been informed about his rights and after much contemplation decided not to testify in his own defense. “That is solely my decision,” he said, nodding vigorously. “It’s my decision, with my lawyers.”
At different points of the trial, Combs’ lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, offered vastly different estimates on how long the defense’s case could take. After prosecutors said they had scaled back their witness list, Agnifilo stated that the defense might need a total of two weeks. More recently, Agnifilo estimated needing between two and five days. In a surprise move Monday, he said the defense wouldn’t call any witnesses and only introduce exhibits. While it’s not uncommon for a defense team to offer no witnesses of their own, it signaled that the defense felt cross-examinations have raised enough doubt to lead to an acquittal or hung jury.
Now in its seventh week, the trial is approaching the July 4th holiday weekend. Subramanian previously told jurors he expected they would be finished with their service by then. With closing statements set for Thursday, the case is expected to be in the hands of the jury on Monday.
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Combs appeared to be in good spirits as the prosecution wound down its case. During defense attorney Teny Geragos’ cross-examination of the prosecution’s final witness, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent, Combs was seen laughing with his attorneys. At court’s close on Tuesday, a smiling Combs hugged his attorneys.
Instead of relying on calling witnesses, Combs’ lawyers read into the record a new set of text messages between Ventura and Combs, and a stipulation agreement with prosecutors pertaining to certain government witnesses who met with SDNY officials several times prior to trial.
Combs’ team has been able to put on much of their case during cross-examination of the government’s nearly three dozen witnesses, grilling them about alleged inconsistencies in their testimony or seemingly contradictory statements.
At one point, Judge Subramanian noted defense lawyer Nicole Westmoreland’s intense cross of Ventura’s friend Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, who claimed Combs dangled her off a 17th floor balcony. He said Westmoreland scored a “real Perry Mason moment” when she offered evidence that Combs was not in Los Angeles during the time frame Bongolan gave as the date of the alleged incident. (Bongolan testified she wasn’t sure about the exact date.)
Since Combs’ September arrest, his lawyers have argued the charges, spanning nearly 20 years, are an unjust prosecutorial overreach. They’ve accused the government of coming into Combs’ personal life and casting judgment on his private sexual activity. In her opening statement last month, Geragos said the two women at the heart of the sex trafficking charges, Ventura and a woman using the pseudonym “Jane,” were not victims. She called them independent, capable adults who made their own decisions.
While Combs might have been a “jerk,” a controlling, jealous boyfriend, and admitted to at least one instance of brutal violence, he is not on trial for domestic violence, Geragos said. “Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” she said. “Had he been charged with domestic violence, had he been charged with assault, we would not be here right now.”
Combs’ attorneys have suggested that several of the government’s witnesses stood to gain something from their relationships — both romantically or professionally — with Combs. For Ventura, her romance with the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment helped solidify her celebrity status and bolster her music career, they claim.
Despite Ventura testifying that Combs effectively kept her music hostage, only releasing one album of a 10-album deal, his attorneys showed photos of Ventura on red carpets of her movie career, at various photoshoots, and name-dropping A-list artists.
And it wasn’t just Ventura allegedly using Combs for personal gain, Geragos claimed. She suggested other alleged victims or employees had their own motives, including personal profit. The seasoned attorneys grilled former Bad Boy artist Dawn Richard and Bongolan about civil lawsuits they were pursuing against Combs.
They questioned Combs’ former assistants, Capricorn Clark and a woman identified by the pseudonym “Mia,” about why they continued to have friendly interactions with Combs after they both claimed they suffered traumatic experiences with him during their tenures.
“They are with him, or they are working for him because they are getting something they want from being with him,” Geragos said. “Now, with each person, that something may be different. And it usually is. But with each person, they are all getting something.”
From Rolling Stone US
