Prosecutors finally confirmed that Sean “Diddy” Combs was offered — and rejected — a plea deal at a court hearing Friday, April 25, just weeks before the disgraced hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial is set to begin.
The long-rumored deal was mentioned near the end of the hearing, during which a variety of other matters were discussed. Prosecutors asked Judge Arun Subramanian if he could “allocute” Combs on the plea agreement, essentially meaning, ask him in court and on the record if he understands the plea he was offered and rejected. Subramanian said he would address the plea at a hearing next Thursday, April 1.
The terms of the plea deal Diddy rejected are unknown, and it’s unclear if they’ll ever be revealed. A lawyer for Combs did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
It’s standard procedure for prosecutors to offer plea deals in most cases they oversee, even when they believe they have a strong case. Francisco Mundaca, a former state prosecutor in New York and now owner of the Mundaca Law Firm, tells Rolling Stone, “This frequently happens in these types of cases. With sex assault cases, prosecutors try to protect the alleged victims as much as possible. Maybe their safety is in question, or you want to protect them from having to relive what happened. Once they testify, all the details are out there. So prosecutors want to balance bringing justice on behalf of victims while also protecting them. It’s a fine line they have to walk.”
Along with the revelation of the rejected plea, Friday’s hearing also saw Judge Subramanian rule that the 2016 security footage of Combs beating then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel could be shown to the jury. The infamous footage leaked to CNN last May, and at the time, Combs (who hadn’t been arrested and indicted yet) even posted a short apology video, in which he said, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, and I’m disgusted now.”
In recent weeks, however, Combs and his lawyers have fought hard to discredit the video and make it inadmissible as evidence. Just last March, Combs alleged that CNN had altered the security footage and destroyed the original tape. He accused the network of “covering the time stamp and then changing the video sequence,” and “speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are.” CNN issued a statement denying Combs’ claims.
Of the ruling on the video, Mundaca says, “It’s a huge win for the prosecution, and a tough loss for the defense. I can’t see how any jury member will be able to view that video and think favorably of Sean Combs. It’s going to be hard to watch. Visuals are so powerful at trial, they’re almost irreplaceable.”
Combs’ trial is set to begin May 5. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, and has denied all other allegations of misconduct leveled against him.
From Rolling Stone US
