Diddy’s ‘attack the accuser’ defense could easily backfire — but it may be all he has

The evidence already described publicly — including video of the “Freak Offs” themselves — is ugly enough. In his bail arguments this week, Agnifilo said the defense has interviewed some of the male escorts involved in these performances.

“I have asked all the questions I could think of,” he argued Tuesday. “Did anything ever, ever seem remotely nonconsensual? Was anybody too drunk? Was anybody too high? Did anyone express any hesitation? Was there the slightest inkling that possibly — possibly — the woman wasn’t consenting? No, no, no, no,” the lawyer said.

Agnifilo also mentioned a recorded conversation in which Ventura’s lawyer asked Combs’ lawyer for $30 million to keep the R&B star from publishing a tell-all book about the relationship.

Soon after, Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against Combs and his companies in November 2023, detailing the allegations against him. The case quickly settled for what Agnifilo described in court as “an undisclosed and large amount of money.”

Prosecutors have sought to show how Combs used the vast resources of his business empire — he owns companies in the music, fashion, and liquor industries — to facilitate his sex-trafficking, including by arranging flights for male escorts and having 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant on hand. Prosecutors say Combs also relied on employees to cover up his misdeeds, suggesting they pressured hotel security to delete records of Combs assaulting Ventura.

“The reason why these men, in many ways, have been able to get with committing these alleged crimes is that they had the benefit of all of these people working for them and with them, and carrying out all of their whims,” Geddes said.

According to Geddes, structuring the case as a racketeering conspiracy will allow prosecutors to illustrate the “extraordinary power disparity” between Combs and victims, including Ventura, regardless of the particulars of their relationship. Combs’ wealth, status, and army of employees were weaponized to coerce his victims, prosecutors say.

“Even if he produces evidence that shows that Cassie or any of these victims said ‘Yes’ — that would not negate the government’s case here,” Geddes said. “Because that’s the very nature of the crime: that any consent was coerced.”

A big worry for prosecutors might be ensuring there aren’t any jurors who are awed by Combs’ fame.

“It only takes one person to hang a jury and refuse to convict,” said Geddes, who helped pick the jury for R. Kelly’s trial. “And it can be very hard to suss out who may be a closet Diddy fan.”