The defense delivered its closing argument in the sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday, arguing the 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is a “swinger” and a drug abuser guilty of past domestic violence, but not the “leader of a criminal enterprise” as prosecutors portrayed him.
“He did not do the things he’s charged with,” Marc Agnifilo, Combs’s lead defense attorney, told jurors. “He did what he did. But he’s going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn’t do.”
Agnifilo scoffed at the government’s investigation into Combs, who federal prosecutors say abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called “freak offs” with male escorts while he watched.
“They are swingers,” Agnifilo said. “This is their lifestyle.”
He pushed back against the allegations that Combs used “power, violence and fear,” along with kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes.
Agnifilo attacked the testimony of Cassie Ventura, Combs’s former girlfriend, who told the court that he repeatedly beat her and forced her to take part in the “freak offs.” Agnifilo said their decade-long relationship was “complicated,” but argued it was also “a great modern love story.”
Combs is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Judge Arun Subramanian said he will give the jury instructions on Monday before the 12-member panel begins its deliberations.
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including the New York Times, CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post.
