When the music mogul returned to jail following his acquittal on charges that might have resulted in life in prison, he received a standing ovation from other prisoners, which his attorney claims was the best thing he could have done for Black men who are incarcerated in America.
Days after a jury cleared Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, lawyer Marc Agnifilo told The Associated Press in a weekend interview that they all agreed: We never get to see somebody who beats the government.
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Combs, 55, is still behind bars following his conviction on prostitution-related counts on Wednesday. He might spend several more years behind bars. Credit for time previously served will be applied to any punishment. That’s nearly ten months so far.
Agnifilo claimed that he informed the I’ll Be Missing You singer that he would likely be jailed on sex trafficking charges following federal investigators’ March 2024 raids on Combs’ residences in the Miami and Los Angeles areas.
During a phone conversation that was momentarily cut short by a call from Combs’ jailhouse, he recalled, “Maybe it’s your destiny in life to be the guy who wins.” They must see that there is a winner. I believe he took that personally.
The Blunt trial technique is effective.
This occurred after a trial strategy that was well-received by jurors was carried out by an experienced group of eight defense attorneys under the direction of Agnifilo. Over the course of two months, Combs successfully cross-examined around three dozen witnesses, including Combs himself, passing notes to the lawyers.
The attorneys informed the jury that Combs was a drug-addled, jealous domestic abuser who engaged in threesomes with his women and another guy to live the swinger lifestyle.
In her opening statement in May, Combs’ attorney Teny Geragos told jurors, “You might think, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend.” But that’s just not sex trafficking, she continued.
According to Agnifilo, the direct conversation was obvious.
We knew the government would try to mislead the jury into believing the violence was a part of a sex trafficking scheme because it was so obvious and obvious. In order to prevent the jurors from believing it was something it wasn’t, we had to explain what it was, he stated.
When jurors announced Tuesday that they had reached a verdict on sex trafficking and lesser prostitution-related offenses but were unable to reach a decision on the racketeering allegation, Combs and his attorneys appeared disheartened. On Wednesday, a court ruled that they must reconvene to discuss.
Agnifilo stated that nobody knew what to think. He slept on it after that.
A lawyer is awakened by a morning surprise.
At three in the morning, I text Teny and tell him, “We need to put together a bail application,” he remembered. We’re going to have a good verdict, but let’s attempt to get him out since I believe he was found guilty of prostitution.
He claimed that after determining that if jurors had found him guilty of sex trafficking, they would have found him guilty of racketeering because trafficking was a purported component of racketeering, he sort of whipped everyone into feeling better.
Combs arrived at the courthouse feeling refreshed after meeting with Agnifilo before to the hearing. The former Catholic schoolboy grinned as he prayed with his family. The jury agreed with Agnifilo’s prognosis in less than one hour.
As relatives and allies cheered, the apparently chastened Combs grinned and mouthed “thank you” to the jurors. A few fans chanted, “Dream Team! Dream Team!” as they applauded the defense team after he was led out of the room. Geragos was among the lawyers who sobbed.
Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who worked with Agnifilo as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey more than 20 years ago, said that this was a significant win for the defense and a significant setback for the prosecution. He gave credit to a fantastic defense team that consistently defeats prosecutors.
Agnifilo demonstrated the trial approach that would ultimately result in their lost bail argument. He claimed that the case against Combs was an example of what occurs when the federal government intrudes into our private lives.
Most witnesses were carefully questioned by attorneys.
Combs’ attorneys used cross-examinations that were mainly tactful but strong. Combs never gave a statement, and his attorneys did not summon any witnesses.
Combs’ defense team had a story from the start, according to Sarah Krissoff, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, and they carried it out without calling any witnesses. That is very skillful.
Ironically, two decades earlier, while serving as a federal prosecutor on an organized crime task force in New Jersey, Agnifilo broadened the application of racketeering laws, frequently utilizing them to arrest street gangs in violent cities.
“I was aware of the statute’s shortcomings,” he stated. It’s a fairly mechanical statute. You can identify the car’s weak points if you understand how it operates.
Prosecutors, he claimed, had scores of weaknesses.
He claimed that they simply didn’t have a conspiracy. They attempted to construct racketeering around personal assistants and essentially had Combs’ personal life.
On cross-examination, some personal staff had nothing but positive things to say about Combs, even after watching footage of him abusing his longterm girlfriend, Casandra Cassie Ventura.
Combs is probably going to rejoin the domestic abusers program after being released.
After being released, Combs will likely reenter a program for domestic abusers that he had just begun before to his arrest, and Agnifilo sees a long road ahead as he works on his demons.
Agnifilo, who talks to him four or five times a day, says he’s doing fine.
According to him, Combs sincerely wants to get better and acknowledges that he has imperfections just like everyone else, but he never worked on them.
In everything, he is a fiery individual. I believe that he has realized that no amount of fame or wealth can make up for his shortcomings,” he remarked. You cannot hide them.
A man slumped into violent seizures at the elevators outside the courtroom, which was Agnifilo’s last surprise after Combs’ bail was denied.
My thoughts are, “What the hell?” remembered the attorney who had received training in seizure treatment.
While Jacob Kaplan, a law partner, placed a rucksack under the man’s head and Agnifilo’s daughter took his pulse, Agnifilo straddled him, forcing him onto his side and using a foot to keep him from sliding backward.
We took care to prevent him from choking on vomit. It was insane. He said, I was concerned about him.
Rescue personnel eventually removed the man while still conscious, allowing Agnifilo to reflect on a turbulent day.
“It felt like God was punching me,” he added.
