Diddy Trial: Defense Presents Vigorous Closing

In a spirited closing argument before a Manhattan jury on Friday, June 27, 2025, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, vigorously contested the federal sex trafficking and RICO charges leveled against his client. Agnifilo argued that prosecutors had unfairly transformed Combs’ personal sexual preferences and consensual “swingers’ lifestyle” into felony offenses, portraying the case as an overreach by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Agnifilo painted Combs as a self-made success story—a New York native who rose from humble beginnings to become a pioneering music mogul and millionaire. He emphasized Combs’ contributions to the industry, noting that as early as 1993, at age 24, Combs championed “diversity, equity, and inclusion” through his work with Bad Boy Records. The attorney framed Combs’ so-called “freak-offs”—days-long, drug-fueled sexual events—as consensual expressions of his personal lifestyle, not coerced criminal acts. “Sean Combs never pressured anyone to participate against their will,” Agnifilo asserted, challenging the prosecution’s narrative of exploitation.

Central to the defense’s argument was the rejection of the prosecution’s claim that Combs ran a criminal syndicate through Bad Boy Records. Agnifilo highlighted that no witness testified to knowingly participating in criminal activities on Combs’ behalf. “Not one single witness said, ‘I was committing a crime for Mr. Combs,’” he told the jury. While acknowledging Combs’ struggles with addiction and occasional requests for assistants to procure drugs for personal use, Agnifilo clarified that such tasks were not their primary duties, distancing Combs from allegations of orchestrating a drug-fueled criminal enterprise.

The defense candidly addressed Combs’ history of domestic violence, particularly a widely publicized 2016 incident at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where surveillance footage captured him assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura. Agnifilo admitted Combs’ wrongdoing, stating that his client would have pleaded guilty to domestic violence if charged. However, he argued that these acts, while reprehensible, did not equate to running a sex trafficking or racketeering operation. “He’s not perfect; he’s made mistakes,” Agnifilo said. “But being a jerk doesn’t make him guilty of these charges.”

The defense initially fought to exclude the hotel footage from the trial, fearing its impact on jurors. When that effort failed, they pivoted, acknowledging Combs’ behavior while framing it as an isolated lapse rather than evidence of a broader criminal scheme. Agnifilo described Combs’ attempts to contact Ventura after she fled the hotel as the actions of a “fool” trying to reconnect with his girlfriend, not a criminal mastermind. “She had every right to be angry,” he conceded, but maintained that the incident was a personal failing, not a federal crime.

The defense claimed payoffs for the footage aimed to avoid media exposure, not obstruct justice, and framed Ventura’s $30 million in settlements as resolution. Ventura and another witness described abusive “freak-offs” and threats, which Agnifilo recast as part of a “romantic” relationship.

Combs, 55, faces a five-count indictment, including charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The prosecution alleges that Combs used his influence, wealth, and control over Bad Boy Records to orchestrate a decades-long scheme of sexual exploitation and abuse. The defense, however, insists that the government has misconstrued consensual relationships and personal failings as a criminal enterprise.