Rare moment in the Diddy criminal trial ... the music mogul just spoke up in court ... telling the judge how he's feeling, thanking him for doing a good job, and confirming his decision NOT to take the stand before his defense rested their case.
00:00It took them just about a month, but the prosecution has completed all their testimony, called all their witnesses.
00:08They have rested, and now the ball is in Diddy's court.
00:12And the ball is going to be kicked to the jury because we know that the defense is not going to call any witnesses.
00:19At least that's the plan.
00:20We are doing this right now around the time of lunch, and the defense is going to come into court.
00:28And what we are told, unless something changes during lunchtime, is that they are going to rest without calling a single witness.
00:38And there are reasons for that.
00:39So here's our recon.
00:41The defense believes that they have reasonable doubt on all counts.
00:47On racketeering, they believe that this was more a showing of disorganized crime rather than organized crime.
00:57That you've got a guy who's a criminal because, you know, he beat Cassie, did all sorts of terrible things.
01:03But this was not using his entire organization to further those means.
01:10And the means usually have to be a singular purpose.
01:13Selling drugs, doing hits, doing he's a jealous, crazy, criminal boyfriend, and doing all sorts of disconnected things that have to do with being a crazy, jealous, criminal boyfriend.
01:26But that's not the underlying business.
01:28So that's their argument there.
01:29Okay.
01:30On the issue of sex trafficking without consent, they believe that it's the only kind of sex trafficking.
01:40Well, there are two.
01:41Then you've got the Mann Act.
01:42Right.
01:43Well, that's the traveling of prostitutes for the purpose.
01:46Right.
01:46But they're both kind of that issue.
01:48Well, the sex trafficking is about the people, the victim in the sex trafficking are his girlfriends.
01:54They're saying that there's reasonable doubt when it comes to consent.
02:00And again, we don't, we're not saying this is true.
02:03We're just saying this is their gamble, that they think that there is enough reasonable doubt given the various text messages Cassie and Jane sent and statements they had made that the jury would be unsure as to whether this was done forcibly or not.
02:21And Harvey, right now the defense is doing a motion to get Diddy acquitted on all these charges right now.
02:27The jury's on lunch break.
02:29His lawyers are talking to the judge explaining these, what you've just been talking about.
02:34These are the reasons why the judge should just acquit him on all charges.
02:38The prosecutors haven't made their case.
02:40Judge acquit him before this even gets to a jury.
02:42Yeah.
02:42Well, by the way, this is, that is a standard thing to do and you have to do it to preserve your right of appeal.
02:48It will be denied.
02:49It is almost always denied and it's definitely going to be denied here.
02:54So this case is going to go to the jury.
02:56Now, hold on.
02:57We have this other count.
02:58The other count.
02:59The other count.
02:59The Mann Act.
03:00Okay.
03:00That's problematic.
03:01Which is to the transportation of an individual for purpose of prostitution.
03:06Right.
03:07We had testimony from actual.
03:10For commercial purposes.
03:11Male escorts.
03:12Commercial purposes.
03:13Where you make money.
03:16Yeah.
03:16You need to.
03:17There's got to be.
03:18Eric, you want to weigh in on that?
03:19It has to be transportation across state lines for the purposes of a commercial sex act.
03:24So for prostitution, as you said.
03:26Right.
03:27And their argument here is going to be, look.
03:29No, the person.
03:30Well, hold on.
03:30You made it sound like Diddy was the one making money.
03:32Okay, let's move on.
03:33And it's not Diddy making money.
03:34No, not Diddy making money.
03:35It's the sex worker.
03:36It's the sex worker.
03:37You have to have paid for someone to come across state lines for sex.
03:38And the argument they're going to present.
03:39That's what I was getting at.
03:40You're paying the sex worker.
03:41Yes.
03:42Yes.
03:42That's the commercial.
03:43Were you that desperate to argue with someone that you just needed me to come back?
03:47You literally started the argument.
03:49I didn't start the argument.
03:49I was laying out what the charges.
03:51And this guy says, well, to make a profit.
03:53Derek.
03:53Listen, order in the court.
03:55Order in the court a little bit.
03:56Let's just explain what kind of argument they're going to make, which is that they've had these
04:00escorts on the stand and have asked them during cross-examination, were you paid to come over
04:05across state lines for sex?
04:06And the male sex workers have all said, no, I was paid for my time and discretion, which
04:11sounds like a good argument, except it would nullify all of the laws about prostitution
04:15if a prostitute could always say, you're paying me for my time.
04:18Just leave the money on the nightstand.
04:19It's not a commercial sex act.
04:21We just happen to have sex after you pay me for my time.
04:22And you're right.
04:24But here's the twist to it, that what they're going to argue is this is bedroom police.
04:30That ultimately, you're basically going into somebody's bedroom and prosecuting them for
04:37what they do, whether it's kinky or not, it's what they do.
04:40And, you know, do you put 70 homeland, again, this is their argument, 70 homeland security
04:46agents getting a search warrant, raiding his house, talking about baby oil at press conferences,
04:53and ultimately, it's about that.
04:55So, in a way, what they're asking for, there's something called jury nullification, where
05:01the jury can just say, no.
05:03Yeah, we know this is the law, but we're going to decide.
05:06And that's what they're kind of banking on here.
05:08Boy, that just seems like a big gamble.
05:11I mean, I guess, to the defense, they feel like they've made those points in cross-examination
05:17of all of the prosecution's witnesses, and there's no one for them to bring up their...
05:23Closing arguments are everything here.
05:26The prosecutor, Comey, she does amazing closing arguments.
05:31She's done it in the past with Jelaine Maxwell.
05:35And Tenny Garagos, I believe, is going to do the closing for the defense.
05:39And that's where you put the case together and sell it to the jury, because it's been
05:44very kind of disparate in the testimony.
05:47So, closing, which is going to happen Thursday, is going to be critical.
05:51Hi, I'm Kaya from Florida, and I think that him, the Diddy's team, choosing to not settle
05:58yet, was because that they are afraid of using those tactics because it is the wrong situation.
06:09I also believe that prosecutors resting their case early was a good thing, because, you
06:13know, this is such a polarizing case that it's not going to work in their favor if they're
06:19keeping up with the media and kind of, you know, trying to elongate this.
06:25So, them, you know, resting their case is a good thing, because now they are going to
06:30show that they're confident and that they're ready to advance and hopefully get the jury
