Sean 'Diddy' Combs gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory, his lawyer says
Sean 'Diddy' Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for Black incarcerated men in America.
Article content
'They all said: 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government,'' attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
After federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, the lawyer said he told Combs to expect arrest on sex trafficking charges.
Article content
'I said: 'Maybe it's your fate in life to be the guy who wins,'' he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. 'They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.'
Article content
The verdict came after a veteran team of eight defense lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs' ex-employees.
Article content
Article content
The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man.
Article content
'You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,' Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, 'is simply not sex trafficking.'
Article content
Agnifilo said the blunt talk was a 'no brainer.'
Article content
'The violence was so clear and up front and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn't think it was something it wasn't,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Province
21 hours ago
- The Province
Sean 'Diddy' Combs gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory, his lawyer says
'They all said: 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government,'' attorney Marc Agnifilo said Published Jul 06, 2025 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 5 minute read In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Manhattan federal court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) Sean 'Diddy' Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for Black incarcerated men in America. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'They all said: 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government,'' attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Combs, 55, remains jailed after his Wednesday conviction on prostitution-related charges and could still face several years in prison at an upcoming sentencing after being credited for 10 months already served. Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean 'Diddy' Combs,' arrives at federal court for Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City on May 12, 2025. Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images After federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, the lawyer said he told Combs to expect arrest on sex trafficking charges. 'I said: 'Maybe it's your fate in life to be the guy who wins,'' he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. 'They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The verdict came after a veteran team of eight defense lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs' ex-employees. The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man. 'You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,' Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, 'is simply not sex trafficking.' Agnifilo said the blunt talk was a 'no brainer.' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The violence was so clear and up front and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn't think it was something it wasn't,' he said. Combs and his lawyers seemed deflated Tuesday when jurors said they were deadlocked on the racketeering count but reached a verdict on sex trafficking and lesser prostitution-related charges. A judge ordered them back to deliberate Wednesday. 'No one knows what to think,' Agnifilo said. Then he slept on it. FILE: Cassie Ventura, right, walks out of the courtroom past Sean Diddy Combs after testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. Photo by Elizabeth Williams / AP Morning surprise awakes lawyer 'I wake up at three in the morning and I text Teny and say: 'We have to get a bail application together,' he recalled. 'It's going to be a good verdict for us but I think he went down on the prostitution counts so let's try to get him out.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He said he 'kind of whipped everybody into feeling better' after concluding jurors would have convicted him of racketeering if they had convicted him of sex trafficking because trafficking was an alleged component of racketeering. Agnifilo met with Combs before court and Combs entered the courtroom rejuvenated. Smiling, the onetime Catholic schoolboy prayed with family. In less than an hour, the jury matched Agnifilo's prediction. The seemingly chastened Combs mouthed 'thank you' to jurors and smiled as family and supporters applauded. After he was escorted from the room, spectators cheered the defense team, a few chanting: 'Dream Team! Dream Team!' Several lawyers, including Geragos, cried. Janice Combs (L), mother of Sean 'Diddy' Combs and her grandson King Combs (R), depart Manhattan's Federal Court in New York City on May 13, 2025. Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images 'This was a major victory for the defense and a major loss for the prosecution,' said Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who worked with Agnifilo as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey over two decades ago. He credited 'a dream team of defense lawyers' against prosecutors who almost always win. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Agnifilo showcased what would become his trial strategy _ belittling the charges and mocking the investigation that led to them — last September in arguing unsuccessfully for bail. The case against Combs was what happens when the 'federal government comes into our bedrooms,' he said. Lawyers gently questioned most witnesses During an eight-week trial, Combs' lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations. Combs never testified and his lawyers called no witnesses. Sarah Krissoff, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, said Combs' defense team 'had a narrative from the beginning and they did all of it without putting on any witnesses. That's masterful.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A person wearing a 'Free Puff' sweatshirt arrives for the start of the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial at Manhattan Federal Court on May 05, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images Ironically, Agnifilo expanded the use of racketeering laws as a federal prosecutor on an organized crime task force in New Jersey two decades ago, using them often to indict street gangs in violence-torn cities. 'I knew the weak points in the statute,' he said. 'The statute is very mechanical. If you know how the car works, you know where the fail points are.' He said prosecutors had 'dozens of fail points.' 'They didn't have a conspiracy, they just didn't,' he said. 'They basically had Combs' personal life and tried to build racketeering around personal assistants.' Some personal assistants, even after viewing videos of Combs beating his longtime girlfriend, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, had glowing things to say about Combs on cross examination. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. FILE: Sean P. Diddy Combs with Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of 'The Perfect Match' at the Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles on March 7, 2016. Photo by CHRIS DELMAS / AFP via Getty Images For Combs, Agnifilo sees a long road ahead once he is freed as he works on personal demons, likely re-entering a program for domestic batterers that he had just started before his arrest. 'He's doing OK,' said Agnifilo, who speaks with him four or five times daily. He said Combs genuinely desires improvement and 'realizes he has flaws like everyone else that he never worked on.' 'He burns hot in all matters. I think what he has come to see is that he has these flaws and there's no amount of fame and no amount of fortune' that can erase them,' he said. 'You can't cover them up.' For Agnifilo, a final surprise awaited him after Combs' bail was rejected when a man collapsed into violent seizures at the elevators outside the courtroom. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'm like: 'What the hell?'' recalled the lawyer schooled in treating seizures. Alex Fine, Cassie Ventura's husband, departs after the opening statements in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial at the Southern District Manhattan Federal court on May 12, 2025 in New York City. Photo by John Lamparski / Getty Images Agnifilo straddled him, pulling him onto his side and using a foot to prevent him from rolling backward while a law partner, Jacob Kaplan, put a backpack under the man's head and Agnifilo's daughter took his pulse. 'We made sure he didn't choke on vomit. It was crazy. I was worried about him,' he said. The man was eventually taken away conscious by rescue workers, leaving Agnifilo to ponder a tumultuous day. 'It was like I was getting punked by God,' he said. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Local News News Vancouver Whitecaps News Vancouver Canucks
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
Sean 'Diddy' Combs gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory: lawyer
Published Jul 06, 2025 • 5 minute read Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas. Photo by Jordan Strauss / Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. NEW YORK (AP) — Sean 'Diddy' Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for Black incarcerated men in America. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'They all said: 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government,'' attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Combs, 55, remains jailed after his Wednesday conviction on prostitution-related charges and could still face several years in prison at an upcoming sentencing after being credited for 10 months already served. After federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, the lawyer said he told Combs to expect arrest on sex trafficking charges. 'I said: 'Maybe it's your fate in life to be the guy who wins,'' he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. 'They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The verdict came after a veteran team of eight defence lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs' ex-employees. The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man. 'You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,' Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, 'is simply not sex trafficking.' Agnifilo said the blunt talk was a 'no brainer.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The violence was so clear and upfront and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn't think it was something it wasn't,' he said. Combs and his lawyers seemed deflated Tuesday when jurors said they were deadlocked on the racketeering count but reached a verdict on sex trafficking and lesser prostitution-related charges. A judge ordered them back to deliberate Wednesday. 'No one knows what to think,' Agnifilo said. Then he slept on it. Morning surprise awakes lawyer 'I wake up at three in the morning and I text Teny and say: 'We have to get a bail application together,' he recalled. 'It's going to be a good verdict for us but I think he went down on the prostitution counts so let's try to get him out.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He said he 'kind of whipped everybody into feeling better' after concluding jurors would have convicted him of racketeering if they had convicted him of sex trafficking because trafficking was an alleged component of racketeering. Agnifilo met with Combs before court and Combs entered the courtroom rejuvenated. Smiling, the one-time Catholic schoolboy prayed with family. In less than an hour, the jury matched Agnifilo's prediction. The seemingly chastened Combs mouthed 'thank you' to jurors and smiled as family and supporters applauded. After he was escorted from the room, spectators cheered the defence team, a few chanting: 'Dream Team! Dream Team!' Several lawyers, including Geragos, cried. 'This was a major victory for the defence and a major loss for the prosecution,' said Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who worked with Agnifilo as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey over two decades ago. He credited 'a dream team of defence lawyers' against prosecutors who almost always win. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Agnifilo showcased what would become his trial strategy _ belittling the charges and mocking the investigation that led to them — last September in arguing unsuccessfully for bail. The case against Combs was what happens when the 'federal government comes into our bedrooms,' he said. Lawyers gently questioned most witnesses During an eight-week trial, Combs' lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations. Combs never testified and his lawyers called no witnesses. Sarah Krissoff, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, said Combs' defence team 'had a narrative from the beginning and they did all of it without putting on any witnesses. That's masterful.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ironically, Agnifilo expanded the use of racketeering laws as a federal prosecutor on an organized crime task force in New Jersey two decades ago, using them often to indict street gangs in violence-torn cities. 'I knew the weak points in the statute,' he said. 'The statute is very mechanical. If you know how the car works, you know where the fail points are.' He said prosecutors had 'dozens of fail points.' 'They didn't have a conspiracy, they just didn't,' he said. 'They basically had Combs' personal life and tried to build racketeering around personal assistants.' Some personal assistants, even after viewing videos of Combs beating his longtime girlfriend, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, had glowing things to say about Combs on cross examination. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For Combs, Agnifilo sees a long road ahead once he is freed as he works on personal demons, likely re-entering a program for domestic batterers that he had just started before his arrest. 'He's doing OK,' said Agnifilo, who speaks with him four or five times daily. He said Combs genuinely desires improvement and 'realizes he has flaws like everyone else that he never worked on.' 'He burns hot in all matters. I think what he has come to see is that he has these flaws and there's no amount of fame and no amount of fortune' that can erase them,' he said. 'You can't cover them up.' For Agnifilo, a final surprise awaited him after Combs' bail was rejected when a man collapsed into violent seizures at the elevators outside the courtroom. 'I'm like: 'What the hell?'' recalled the lawyer schooled in treating seizures. Agnifilo straddled him, pulling him onto his side and using a foot to prevent him from rolling backward while a law partner, Jacob Kaplan, put a backpack under the man's head and Agnifilo's daughter took his pulse. 'We made sure he didn't choke on vomit. It was crazy. I was worried about him,' he said. The man was eventually taken away conscious by rescue workers, leaving Agnifilo to ponder a tumultuous day. 'It was like I was getting punked by God,' he said. Toronto & GTA Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls World World
Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Edmonton Journal
Sean 'Diddy' Combs gets standing ovation from inmates after court victory, his lawyer says
Article content Sean 'Diddy' Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for Black incarcerated men in America. Article content 'They all said: 'We never get to see anyone who beats the government,'' attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Article content Article content Article content Article content After federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, the lawyer said he told Combs to expect arrest on sex trafficking charges. Article content 'I said: 'Maybe it's your fate in life to be the guy who wins,'' he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. 'They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.' Article content The verdict came after a veteran team of eight defense lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs' ex-employees. Article content Article content The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man. Article content 'You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,' Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, 'is simply not sex trafficking.' Article content Agnifilo said the blunt talk was a 'no brainer.' Article content 'The violence was so clear and up front and we knew the government was going to try to confuse the jury into thinking it was part of a sex trafficking effort. So we had to tell the jury what it was so they wouldn't think it was something it wasn't,' he said.
