Sean 'Diddy' Combs鈥� lawyer mocks sex trafficking case in closing, says charges 'badly exaggerated'
Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs' lawyer implored a jury on Friday to acquit the hip-hop mogul, arguing overzealous federal prosecutors twisted his drug use and swinger lifestyle into a sex trafficking and racketeering case that could put him behind bars for life.
鈥淗e is none of these things. He is innocent,鈥� defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, glancing at Combs during a four-hour closing argument. "He sits there innocent. Return him to his family who have been waiting for him.鈥�
Jurors are expected to begin deliberating Monday after the judge instructs them in the law.
Agnifilo repeatedly mocked the government's case, peppering his presentation with folksy quips and bawdy observations. He said prosecutors 鈥渂adly exaggerated鈥� the evidence, and he belittled federal agents who seized hundreds of bottles of baby oil and lubricant in raids last year at Combs鈥� homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area.
"Way to go, fellas," he said of the agents.
Agnifilo accused the government of targeting Combs, irritating prosecutors and the judge, and questioned why no one else was charged in what the prosecution alleges was a racketeering conspiracy involving Combs鈥� personal assistants, bodyguards and other employees.
In a rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said Agnifilo had spent 鈥渁 whole lot of energy鈥� trying to distract from Combs鈥� 鈥渋nexcusable behavior.鈥�
鈥淢ake no mistake," Comey told jurors, "this trial was about how in Sean Combs鈥� world, 鈥榥o鈥� was never an option.鈥�
Agnifilo called Combs鈥� prosecution a 鈥渇ake trial" and a 鈥渢ale of two trials" and ridiculed the notion that the 鈥淚'll Be Missing You鈥� singer engaged in racketeering.
鈥淎re you kidding me?鈥� Agnifilo asked. 鈥淒id any witness get on that witness stand and say, 鈥榊es, I was part of a racketeering enterprise 鈥� I engaged in racketeering?鈥欌� No, those accusations were a figment of the prosecution鈥檚 imagination, he argued.
Combs, in a sweater and khakis, watched Agnifilo with rapt attention after looking down and slouching during Thursday鈥檚 prosecution closing. He didn't testify during the seven-week trial, and his lawyers called no witnesses of their own.
Combs鈥� family, including six of his children and his mother, sat behind him.
As Agnifilo was speaking, Combs鈥� son Christian and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West released a song titled 鈥淒IDDY FREE.鈥� West, who now goes by Ye, showed up to court two weeks ago to support Combs.
Combs鈥� ex-girlfriends R&B singer Cassie and a woman testifying under the pseudonym 鈥淛ane鈥� told jurors that Combs coerced them into participating in 鈥渇reak-offs鈥� or 鈥渉otel nights鈥� 鈥� drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers while Combs watched, directed, masturbated and sometimes filmed them.
Agnifilo argued prosecutors had invaded Combs鈥� most intimate personal affairs, warning jurors: 鈥淲here鈥檚 the crime scene? It鈥檚 your sex life."
He also mocked the prosecution鈥檚 assertion that Combs and his underlings engaged in hundreds of racketeering acts, as well as the government鈥檚 suggestion that many of the sex marathons at the heart of the case were crimes.
If that鈥檚 so, he said, 鈥渨e need a bigger roll of crime scene tape,鈥� a reference to a famous line from the movie 鈥淛aws.鈥�
While Agnifilo fought to keep Combs from prison, he argued there's another factor at play in the allegations that women have lobbed against him: the prospect of draining him of his wealth through lawsuits.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about crime. It鈥檚 about money. This is about money," Agnifilo said.
Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, sued Combs in November 2023 over abuse allegations. He settled with her the next day for $20 million, but the allegations prompted federal law enforcement to open the criminal investigation that led to his arrest. Dozens of other lawsuits followed.
鈥淚f you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it鈥檚 hard not to pick Cassie,鈥� Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo reiterated that the defense 鈥渙wns鈥� the fact that Combs was violent but argued that behavior does not justify the grave charges against him.
Combs and Cassie had a 鈥渓oving, beautiful relationship,鈥� albeit a 鈥渃omplicated鈥� one, Agnifilo said.
鈥淚f racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship." Agnifilo said. "They were deeply in love with each other."
Echoing prosecutor Christy Slavik鈥檚 closing argument on Thursday, Agnifilo showed jurors part of the now-infamous security camera footage of Combs attacking Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Agnifilo acknowledged that the video clearly shows domestic violence, but he disputed the prosecution鈥檚 theory that the assault was evidence of sex trafficking by force. Pausing the tape several times, he insisted Combs may have been angry not that Cassie was trying to flee a 鈥渇reak-off,鈥� but that she was taking his cellphone.
In her rebuttal, Comey said: 鈥淏eing a domestic abuser is not a defense to sex trafficking.鈥�