Sean Combs’ sex-trafficking trial is less than a month away, and his legal team is currently making preparations for the proceedings. At the same time, the lawyers have been contending with lawsuits that the 55-year-old rapper – who’s also known as P. Diddy – is facing. Considering the suits, there’s been a question about whether the allegations detailed in them will come into play during the trial. Now, Combs’ attorneys have filed more paperwork through which they’re sharing their take on the suits being brought up in court.
It was on Monday, April 7, that this latest motion from Diddy’s team was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to People, it’s his lawyers’ contention that the allegations of sexual assault and more that he’s facing via the lawsuits should not be brought into the trial. They argue that because their client hasn’t formally been charged with assault, there’s no reason to present the claims as evidence during the sex-trafficking trial. A portion of the group’s filing reads as follows:
The Court should require the government to try the case it charged and prove that case to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The government should not be permitted to pollute the trial with decades of dirt and invite a conviction based on propensity evidence with no proper purpose by painting Mr. Combs as a bad guy who must have committed the charged crimes.
Based on the brief, it would appear that Sean Combs’ legal representatives have other concerns as well. Later in the brief, they find it “hard to imagine any evidence that could be more unfairly prejudicial.” They’re also of the belief that the inclusion of details from the lawsuits is “likely to confuse the issues, mislead the jury, cause undue delay, and waste time.” When it comes to both the lawsuits Combs is facing, he’s denied wrongdoing, and he’s pleaded not guilty to the federal charges he’s facing.
Diddy was arrested in New York back in September 2024 and, since then, he’s been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His arrest came months after his homes were raided by federal agents, who acquired various items, ranging from electronic devices to 1,000 bottles of lubricant. The feds have charged Diddy with two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, two counts of sex-trafficking and a count of racketeering conspiracy. He’s set to remain in prison ahead of his trial.
All the while, lawsuits centered around the “Victory” performer’s alleged misconduct continue to surface. Many of the plaintiffs, who have filed anonymously, have accused the Grammy winner not only of sexual assault but also sex trafficking, domestic violence and more. A number of the individuals who’ve filed have been represented by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzzbee.
Despite the flurry of lawsuits, Diddy has seen a few legal wins on that front, as of late. One of his suits was recently dismissed because the Jane Doe who filed did not identify herself as required by the judge. Ahead of that, several of the claims leveled against Diddy by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones were dismissed for several reasons.
It’s currently not clear whether the court will agree with Sean Combs’ team on the notion that the allegations from the lawsuits shouldn’t play into the sex-trafficking trial. Should such evidence be allowed, we can only speculate as to how they would actually impact the case.
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