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Sean “Diddy” Combs is finally about to have his day in court with the world watching.
“Extra” spoke with ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire, who expects Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura to be a star witness and take the stand against him.
Despite the defense teams’ attempts to keep jurors from seeing the disturbing hotel surveillance video, which shows Cassie being dragged and kicked, the judge will allow prosecutors to use it as evidence.
Buckmire believes a lot is riding on Ventura’s testimony, noting, “She is a key witness.”
Diddy’s team plans to claim the video, initially aired by CNN, was “edited” and “manipulated.”
Buckmire commented, “They are hoping that the jurors that they will select will interpret this information of the CNN video as being doctored, not authentic and some of that should not be considered.”
Brian also explained why Combs may have rejected an earlier plea deal in his sex trafficking case, saying, “More likely than not, it’s not a real deal as what many defense attorneys will call, for example, if they said, ‘You know what, take this deal and you get to serve the next 40 years in prison,’ not really a deal. It might not be something that someone in their later years will take as a sentence because they’re not getting out until they’re 80 or 90.”
Diddy has denied all charges against him, but he is reportedly trying to beef up his defense before the trial.
It has been reported that Diddy is trying to add A$AP Rocky’s famed lawyer Joe Tacopina, who doesn’t come cheap, commanding $2,400 an hour.
We’ll have to see if Joe joins the defense team before Monday when juror selection begins.
