Diddy's legal team kicked off opening statements for his trial in court on Monday with a bold strategy. Teny Geragos, one of Sean Combs’s lawyers, led the charge, beginning by suggesting that the case is about "jealousy."
She explained, as noted by Inner City Press: "This case is about love, and jealousy and money. They are trying to turn it into a racketeering case. It will not work. You are the jury. You will evaluate the witnesses and finally the story can come out. This case isn't about what you heard on news."
Geragos then explained that Diddy will be taking "accountability" throughout the trial, but not for the crimes of which the government is accusing him. Instead, she suggested that the Bad Boy mogul can be "jealous or angry" and may be a "jerk or mean," but reaffirmed that these are not the faults for which he's on trial.
Eventually, she brought up Kim Porter as well as the hotel video of him assaulting Cassie. "His fights with Cassie were about cheating. It was a toxic relationship - they loved each other. Cassie will tell you about the jealousy of Kim Porter, then Gina. The day of the hotel hallway, jealousy was on display. Violence by the elevator bank, ten years ago. You will see it later today. What Combs did is indefensible," she said. Regardless, she reiterated: "The video is not evidence of sex trafficking."
Diddy Trial Day 1
As for the prosecution's opening statements, they came before Diddy's team spoke. Emily A. Johnson led them off, arguing that there's allegedly "another side" to Diddy. “During this trial you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes. But he didn’t do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and helped him cover them up," she said, as caught by The New York Times.
She also brought up Diddy's ex-girlfriend, Cassie. She accused Diddy of allegedly "brutally" beating her "countless times." In particular, she referenced one instance where the Bad Boy mogul learned of a relationship she was having with another man and allegedly responded violently.
