Diddy pleads not guilty to new indictment ahead of trial

Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in court yesterday (March 14), and plead not guilty to two new indictments that were unveiled against him in January and earlier this month.

Several outlets have noted that the 55-year-old’s once dark hair was fully grey, and he sported a greying beard that had grown since his arrest last September. Yesterday marked the first time he spoke to the court since his arraignment on sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. He pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors added two more alleged female victims to the case and accused Combs of forced labour and abusive treatment of his employees, with Combs acknowledging that he was briefed on the two new indictments that expanded the alleged offenses committed under the racketeering charge.

The hearing focused predominantly on scheduling issues ahead of Diddy’s May 5 trial, with Judge U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruling that jury questionnaires would roll out on April 28, with the voir dire – a significant part of the selection process – commencing on May 5 ahead of opening statements on May 12.

Prosecutors had aimed to begin the jury selection process slightly earlier on April 21, in the hopes that opening arguments would commence on the trial’s scheduled start date of May 5. They noted a delay could mean the trial would run past the July 4th holiday weekend, which could impact the potential jury pool.

Defense for Combs, however, wanted jury selection to start May 5, with opening arguments falling on May 13, and recommended that 600 potential jurors complete written questionnaires over the course of two days. Their responses would be reviewed as both parties and whittled down to 12 jurors and a few alternates.

Meanwhile on Friday, Combs’ defense team also brought up their issue of hotel security footage, aired by CNN, that shows Combs physically attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016. In a previous pre-trial hearing, they alleged CNN “substantially altered” the video.

Over a year ago, Ventura – Diddy’s ex-girlfriend and former signee – filed a lawsuit against the Bad Boy Records founder for physical assault and rape, and the case was settled the following day despite Diddy denying the claims.

Months later, CNN obtained CCTV footage of Diddy dragging, kicking and hitting Ventura in an LA hotel, lending credence to Ventura’s allegations. Diddy later apologised for his “inexcusable” behaviour in the aforementioned video, which Ventura’s lawyers called “disingenuous”.

Prosecutors had said they were planning to use the footage as an exhibit at trial, with multiple witnesses speaking about the event. However, Combs’ legal team alleged CNN had “substantially altered [the footage] in significant respects” and had “destroyed the original footage.”

The publication later shared a statement with TMZ that strongly denied Combs’ claims. “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source,” a spokesperson for the outlet said Thursday. “CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested.”

Judge Subramanian did not make a ruling on the use of the footage at trial.

Per Rolling Stone, the two new superseding indictments have broadened the scope of prosecutors’ investigation, moving the timeframe Diddy was alleged to have used his various businesses to abuse women back to at least 2004, whereas the previous start date was 2008.

Prosecutors have accused Combs of using his billion-dollar empire as a “criminal enterprise”, citing a range of alleged offenses including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice” from 2004 to last year.

“Mr. Combs has said it before and will say it again: he vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY [United States District Court for the Southern District of New York],” Combs’ lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told Rolling Stone in a previous statement.

“He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will.”

Elsewhere, one of Combs’ lawyers recently quit the rapper’s forthcoming criminal sex trafficking case, writing: “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.”

Meanwhile, a woman who recently alleged she was sexually assaulted by Combs and Jay-Z in 2000 when she was 13 also recently voluntarily withdrew her lawsuit. Attorneys for Combs say no settlement was reached between the parties. When the original accusations were made in December, Carter denied the “heinous” claims, hitting out at her lawyers for “getting basic facts wrong”.

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