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Diddy's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial has entered its sixth week, and it is still not clear whether the rapper himself will take the court stand. On the CNN podcast, Trial By Jury, host Laura Coates raised this question with former federal prosecutor as well as defense lawyer Gene Rossi. On the June 18 episode of the legal podcast, Rossi gave three reasons why he thinks Diddy won't testify.
"There are too many text messages, too many videos, and too many documents that you could just show him and just confront him, and his response to those documents could be very, very damaging to the case. That's number one," Gene said.
Another reason why Gene stated he is "worried" that the rapper's "arrogance" may appear during his time on the stand, which jurors may not like. In the third reason, Gene gave a reference to a courtroom scene from the movie A Few Good Men, in which Jack Nicholson’s character incriminates himself when provoked by Tom Cruise's character.
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"And number three, if he shows any flashes of anger during his testimony, you know, in the movie A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, you know you don't want that moment. I don't think he'll take the stand. But what I would say to the defense, of course they may not listen to me, is don't over try your case," Gene added.
Gene said that the defense should not try to go overboard and wrap this case up in a minimum number of days. He further added that the jurors don't take it very positively when the defense tries to admit much evidence that deviates from the argument.
While discussing Diddy's trial, Gene Rossi said that although the court has heard weeks of testimony describing Combs' "weird lifestyle," he still questions whether these actions amount to RICO violations or simply reflect "perverted" relationships.
Insights from other legal experts on Diddy's chances of testifying
Gene Rossi's views on the possibility of Diddy taking the court stand are not rare. Many legal experts had already shared the same opinion. Earlier, in an exclusive with People published on May 2, former prosecutor Neama Rahmani said that testifying in his own trial can backfire on the rapper.
Rahmani added that Diddy's testimony can make his words admissible in the court as evidence in more than 12 dozen civil lawsuits pending against him. While pointing out the victims' testimonies regarding alleged sexual and physical violence, Rahmani said,
“It will be hard for the defense to argue it was all consensual. Adults can consent to sexual activity no matter how freaky it is, but the victims may have been coerced by force or were unable to consent because they were under the influence of drugs."
Another legal expert had conveyed the same opinion in an interview with Page Six. In a May 27 exclusive, entertainment lawyer Lisa Bonner said that it is "highly unlikely" that Combs would give testimony.
“Once you take the stand, everything you’ve ever done – related to any of these alleged crimes – become fair game. You are under oath and you can go to jail for… perjury, so you want to avoid taking the stand,” Bonner said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Diddy's defense told the judge that it may rest the case in two to five days. Emphasizing this quick closure, the Associated Press reported on June 18 that it is "unlikely" that Combs will give testimony.
