Officially, Diddy’s sex trafficking trial has begun, and his defense team is bringing the claim that he was physically mistreated by his ex-girlfriend Cassie throughout their relationship.
The subject was brought up in court on the fourth day of the trial, according to TMZ, when prosecutor Emily Anne Johnson informed Judge Arun Subramanian that Victim 1—who is thought to be Cassie—would not be subjected to cross-examination over specific medical matters.
In response, the judge stated that the defense is free to cross-examine the witnesses on any topic the prosecution bring up.
The defense “is going to take the position that there was mutual violence in their relationship, hitting, on both sides,” Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo then stated. Domestic violence, or DV.
“We are definitely going to acknowledge domestic violence,” he continued. However, when does it turn into coercion?
To the judge’s question, “Are you saying that they are simply violent?” Agnifilo said, “That’s correct. We are arguing that it is pertinent.
Although Diddy is not charged with the violence Cassie allegedly suffered, video of him assaulting her at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016 will be shown during the trial in an attempt to provide insight into the troubled mogul’s character, which he has made an effort to exclude.
On April 17, Diddy formally asked the judge to exclude the footage.
“CNN bought the only known copy of the Hotel’s surveillance footage, uploaded that footage into a free editing software, altered the video, and then destroyed the original footage, even though it knew about and repeatedly reported about the federal investigation,” his team wrote in a letter outlining their intentions to do so.
According to his team, the alteration included “changing the video sequence after covering the time stamp.” Additionally, it involves accelerating the video to give the impression that the events are happening more quickly than they actually are.
They contend that it is an inaccurate depiction of the actual events, and they disclosed their intention to submit a motion to have the film removed from the trial. Since courts hardly ever accept altered video evidence, Diddy’s motion might be allowed if what they claim is accurate.
However, CNN executives told HipHopDX in a statement that the network never changed the video and did not destroy the source’s original copy of the film. A few months prior to Combs’ arrest, CNN broadcast the video narrative.
