The two legal masterstrokes pulled by Diddy's defense team...and the prosecutors' fatal mistake
The music mogul, 55, was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges and only convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses.
Alan Dershowitz, who was part of OJ Simpson 's 'dream team' of lawyers in the infamous murder trial, told Fox News Digital that Diddy's attorneys made the right move by not having the mogul take the stand.
'Ultimately, the smart decision was not putting OJ on the witness stand,' he said of the team of lawyers led by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos.
'The smart decision here was not putting Combs on the witness stand. The difference is we want a complete victory. They got a partial victory, but an almost complete victory, so I commend them for excellent work.'
The defense has also been praised for presenting a simple case to the jury from the beginning, arguing that Diddy, as was shown in various evidence, is a domestic abuser and drug user, but not a sex-trafficker or the head of a criminal organization.
'Trials always come down to a battle of storytelling,' former federal prosecutor Moira Penza told the Wall Street Journal. 'I think we saw the defense had a clear narrative that was simple to understand.'
Geragos, the daughter of prominent lawyer Mark Geragos, repeatedly reminded the jury that Diddy was 'not charged with being a jerk. He's charged with running a racketeering enterprise.'
During closing arguments, Agnifilo told the court: 'We own the domestic violence... We own it.'
Meanwhile experts say prosecutors relied too heavily on the lurid details of Diddy's sex life and the now-infamous 'freak offs' in an apparent bid to turn jurors against the star.
The state focused on the huge amount of baby oil and lubricant that Diddy kept in his homes for the sex marathons. They also showed the jury video of Diddy's alleged victims having sex with male escorts.
While shocking, the evidence itself was not criminal in nature without the coercion aspect of the allegations.
Defense lawyers were able to credibly insist the freak-offs were consensual thanks to texts sent by alleged 'victims' displaying enthusiasm for the sex events.
'I think there is a belief that you can make the defendant so distasteful that it's going to lead a jury to convict on something other than the facts and evidence,' former federal prosecutor Artie McConnell told the WSJ.
'In my experience that rarely happens.'
Diddy dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop's celebrated figures behind bars for life.
Agnifilo called the verdict a 'great victory' and said the jury 'got the situation right — or certainly right enough' as he stood outside Manhattan federal court at a stand of microphones. 'Today is a victory of all victories.'
The mixed verdict capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Diddy's affable 'Puff Daddy' image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.
'I'll see you when I get out,' Combs told family members including his mother and children just before leaving the courtroom to return to jail. 'We're going to get through this.'
Diddy stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of three charges, two of which carried a mandatory 15 years and a maximum of life.
He was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.
Janice Combs, mother of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, and other family members depart federal court after verdicts were announced during Sean Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial at Manhattan Federal Court
His defense lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines, he would likely face about two years in prison.
Prosecutors, citing Diddy's violence and other factors, said the guidelines would call for at least four to five years.
Locked up since his September arrest, Diddy has already served nine months.
'We fight on and we're going to win,' Agnifilo said. 'And we're not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family.'
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