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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs should prepare himself for a long trial process that may result in a minimum of 15 years in prison and most certainly will hurt his reputation, a former federal and state prosecutor forewarned.
Disturbing and shocking revelations that Combs ran a “criminal enterprise” that aided him in engaging in violent sex crimes were laid out in a three-count criminal indictment that was unveiled in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday.
Elie Honig, an attorney with experience trialing “complex international sex trafficking rings” and who worked in the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, said his review of the indictment wasn’t great for Combs.
“Given what I know about the SDNY and its racketeering and sex trafficking prosecutions – the outlook for Combs is bleak,” Honig wrote in an op-ed for Intelligencer on Wednesday.
Although prosecutors did not provide extremely specific details about their evidence in the indictment, Honig said the allegations they’ve made in the indictment, letter to the judge requesting Combs remain jailed and U.S. attorney’s press conference indicate the prosecution has “valuable” backing.
He said prosecutors’ reference to “dozens of victims and witnesses” means the defense team will have a “tough” time undermining each one.
Honig said prosecutors likely will use a public video of Combs physically assaulting an individual which could support their allegation that physical violence was a core aspect of the racketeering charge.
“Racketeering (or ‘RICO’) charges are a cheat code of sorts for prosecutors,” Honig said.
Racketeering charges, such as the one brought against Combs, are notoriously difficult to beat because they are complex and have multiple aspects that the prosecution often has the upper hand in.
Federal prosecutors allege Combs used those around him to create a “criminal enterprise” that continuously enabled his alleged criminal behavior – like coercing women to participate in his so-called “Freak Offs.”
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, asserts that his client is an “innocent man with nothing to hide.” During the arraignment, Agnifilo indicated that the charges brought against Combs stemmed from nothing more than a consensual but strained relationship due to infidelity.
Honig said the stakes for Combs are “enormous” given that he will have to wait in jail until his trial.
“The federal lockups in New York City... are hot, filthy, overcrowded, and brutal,” Honig wrote.
Diddy will remain in a New York City jail for the foreseeable future after a judge again rejected his request for bail.
Although the case is in its early stages and nowhere near trial-ready, Honig said he can “already see the defense taking shape… ‘He’s a sex freak, but he’s not a criminal.’”
He warned that it “won’t be pretty” if Combs’s team crafts that argument because they would be shifting the blame to the women and excusing his behavior as perverted but legal. Honig caveated that there is no certainty the defense will use this argument, or that it would win, but that it may be something Combs’ attorneys invoke.
Honig believes strongly that the charges will go to trial given Combs has “too much to lose, reputationally” and he possesses the financial means to pay defense attorneys.
“It’s a sad truth that it’s wildly expensive for any defendant to pay his lawyers to go to trial,” Honig said adding that he knows attorneys that charge half a million to take cases to jury trial.
Combs has an estimated net worth of $400 million, according to Forbes. On Tuesday, he unsuccessfully offered a bail package of $50 million to remain under house arrest.
Should a jury find Combs guilty of, at a minimum sex trafficking, he is still looking at at least 15 years in prison.
“There’s precious little in-between here. Either Combs beats the case, or else he’ll be behind bars until he’s nearly 70 years old, at least,” Honig said.
