NY Criminal Defense Attorney David Schwartz ⁨@PIX11News⁩ Talking About Diddy's Trafficking Trial

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escorts rappers and recording artists.
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Explosive testimony this week in the sex
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trafficking trial of Shaun Diddy
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Combmes. Pix 11 talking exclusively to
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an escort named the Punisher just after
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testifying he wouldn't have taken part
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in the freakoffs if he thought Diddy was
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forcing his ex Cassie Ventura. I can't
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say that any part of my experience gave
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me any cues that this was a woman in
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distress. more of a fetish type of
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scenario. Cassy's mother also
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testifying, saying Col threatened to
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release sex tapes of her daughter if she
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didn't pay him $20,000.
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And prosecutors calling Diddy's former
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assistants to the stand as they try to
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paint the picture of Diddy running a
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criminal enterprise. But will the jury
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see it that way? If someone has their
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staff aiding to bet them doing something
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that makes them a racketeering
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enterprise, negative does not.
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And that was just some of the most
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dramatic testimony this week in the
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Shaun Diddy Combmes trial. Yeah, Pix
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11's Anthony Dorenzo has been in court
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all week with us. He joins us now. But
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also joining us are New York City trial
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attorney David Schwarz and entertainment
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and lifestyle reporter Jasmine Simpkins
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who has also been covering the trial.
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Thank you all for being here. Anthony,
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let's talk start with you. What's your
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biggest takeaway from this week? Well,
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there was such a mixed bag, but of
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course, the kid cuddy testimony was what
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everyone was talking about because he
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really went to the racketeering element
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of it. And one of the predicate acts
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that you have to prove with uh the RICO
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conspiracy is that there was arson
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involved. So, he specifically talked
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about when his vehicle was blown up uh
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when he was dating Cassie back in 2011,
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2012. He also talked about the threats
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that were made. Uh he talked about
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someone that they both knew mutually
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that possibly was threatening Kid Cuddy.
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And so he talked all about these things
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that really talked really based on the
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enterprise is what prosecutors are
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trying to prove. Interesting. David,
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let's talk to you a little bit about
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this as far as the prosecution is
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concerned. We're in week two. Still a
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long way to go as far as this trial. Um,
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but do you think the prosecution has
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really landed with the charges here or
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does this present itself as being very
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much a domestic violence case?
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Like you said, it's only week three of a
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of an 8week trial, but as of this moment
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in time, they have not proven any type
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of enterprise existed. I'm sure we're
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going to be hearing evidence later on in
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the coming weeks about an enterprise,
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but right now, you know, and and the
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underlying acts that make up this this
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corruption, you don't have to prove the
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underlying acts. You just have to show
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that there was an agreement amongst the
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co-conspirators to commit the underlying
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acts. So, as of this moment in time, I
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don't see how the prosecution has proven
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their case right now. Yeah, but it is
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really, really early. Jasmine, to you,
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we're so happy to have you. Um, you've
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been covering entertainment for quite
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some time right now. You've interviewed
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Diddy and Cassie several times. Has this
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trial so far given you some context to
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some of your interactions with those
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two? Oh my gosh, I love that you use
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that word context because I remember
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being in the courtroom last week hearing
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Cassie's testimony and thinking to
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myself, "Oh my goodness, I had no idea,
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none of us had any idea what she was
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going through during that time." But to
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have interviewed her on March 4th, the
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day before the viral video that we've
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now seen in the Intercontinental Hotel,
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to know that she was undergoing such a
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dark, crazy time in her life whilst also
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promoting a film. And then just a few
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days later, I talked to her again on the
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red carpet after the incident has
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happened. And she's jovial. She's
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laughing, but her entire body is covered
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in like bronze, you know, um, looks like
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she had gotten a a severe spray tan. And
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I remember commenting to her, I was
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like, "Gosh, you look like a blond a
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bombshell, this bronze bombshell,
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because I had just seen her days
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earlier." So, just little nuggets like
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that over the years, speaking with Shawn
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numerous times, not knowing that this is
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a man that has created this amazing
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enterprise. So much much great music has
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come out of Bad Boy. I mean, he coined
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this term black excellence. To know that
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behind the scenes, behind this huge
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empire and all the great things that he
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had been doing, that he was living this
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dark, very demented almost um lifestyle.
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It just made me wonder what is going on
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in the underbelly of Hollywood and we
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think we know these celebrities and
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what's going on and we have no they
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focused a lot of time on that testimony
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surrounding the Intercontinental Hotel
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incident and the defense really was
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picking apart Cassie at that moment
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because they were bringing up her text
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messages to Shawn Combmes around that
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time where she was the one who wanted to
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freak off. They said she was the one who
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inspired that Intercontinental Hotel
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stay. Uh when ultimately she was then
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trying to flee from it because he had
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found something out. She was trying to
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leave that situation. But this was a
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period when her movie was about to come
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out. She was on the red carpet when she
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was being interviewed uh just there. And
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she told Shawn, you know, I really want
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this to be a really special time in my
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life. I want to make sure that all of
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this is going to go perfectly. And she
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said the reason why she wanted to freak
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off was to satisfy him so that she
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didn't have any problems surrounding
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that premiere. But ultimately, you can
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see how volatile the relationship was
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because they still did have a major
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incident where she had to cover herself
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up and make up. Yeah, understandable.
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Okay, David, we want to get back to you
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and some of these witnesses. We know
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that the defense did not even question
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Cassie's mom, but do you feel that there
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are any witnesses that we've seen so far
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that have kind of benefited either the
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prosecution or the defense?
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Well, you know, as to the arson, you
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know, the arson really fell flat because
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the there was no proof at all that shown
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that Shawn Combmes actually committed
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the arson, which is certainly one of the
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underlying crimes that they're trying to
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show. And again, they don't have to
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prove the underlying crimes, but that
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they still have to make a showing that
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there was an agreement to commit this
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underlying crime. So, a couple of
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problems there. Number one, you don't
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know if Shawn Combmes committed the
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arson. And number two, who did he have
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the agreement with to commit this arson?
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Remember, this is an enterprise. This is
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this is a criminal enterprise that
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they're trying to prove. And right now,
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the you know, it's it's falling flat at
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this moment in time. That's not to say
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that there'll be more evidence in the
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coming weeks. And Jasmine, you, as I
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mentioned, you've been covering
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entertainment for quite a bit out there
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in Los Angeles. What go back to what you
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were um leading to. What does this case
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tell you about the greater entertainment
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industry?
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As I was saying, I think it really makes
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us question a lot of us journalists. We
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think we know these celebrities that we
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talk to day in and day out and we really
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have no idea what's going on behind the
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scenes. What other lives they're
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leading? Are they living these dual
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lives like Shawn Combmes? Are there
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people on their staff, people that are
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working with them that are helping them
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cover up um this other personality, this
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other side of their life that in some
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ways and and what we're finding with him
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was extremely criminal. Um and in the
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coming weeks, I think we're going to
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finally hear from some of those folks. I
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mean they brought up his chief of staff
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assistant Christina Cororum DRock who
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was with him for a very very long time
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as his security. I've seen him with
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DRock for many years. You kind of over
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the last 10 years have seen some of the
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same faces working around him. So I
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think as this trial unfolds, we'll also
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get a chance to to hear from them and
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find out what the heck has been going
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on.
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So, we're talking about this Enterprise
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and they've been calling witnesses up to
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the to the stand that worked for Diddy
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and we're going to continue to see that
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next week. The Enterprise, of course,
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people who worked under him. And we
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heard from two assistants this past week
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who were allegedly committing crimes
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while they were working for Diddy, which
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is why one of them was said he wasn't
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going to testify unless that he was
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guaranteed immunity. Oh, wow. Because he
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was carrying large sums of cash. He was
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buying drugs for Diddy. Uh, and he was
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sitting idly by as these violent acts
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went on. So, he said he was going to
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plead the fifth unless the judge granted
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him immunity and that's what happened.
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Take us inside the courtroom. What is it
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like? What does it feel like? How quiet
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is it? Do you get to see the jurors at
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all? Yeah, I see the jurors and playing.
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So, they it depends. I think one of the
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most interesting things was at the end
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of Cassie's testimony, they all started
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to seem really bored. The all the energy
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kind of really feel felt like it was
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sucked out of the room at that point.
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She was on the stand for a combined 24
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hours, I counted. So, even she was
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feeling the weight of all of this
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testimony, but they seemed to kind of
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want to move on from that. Uh they had
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some moments of levity when Kid Cuddy
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was on the stand yesterday uh when he
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was talking about his interaction with
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Shawn on the phone and the the colorful
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language that he used with him. Uh at
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one point he called him that Marvel
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super villain and they they broke out
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into laughter. But Diddy is very very
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much an active defendant. He is working
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with his attorneys all the time,
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speaking with them, passing them notes.
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So he's he's very much involved. All
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right. Uh David to you who won the week.
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The defense won the week because of the
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presumption of innocence and and the
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prosecution has to prove guilt beyond a
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reasonable doubt. And I think everything
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right now is falling a little flat.
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Certainly they proved a domestic
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violence case. They pro they proved that
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he has done horrible things and vicious
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attacks. But that's not what this case
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is about. This case is about this
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criminal enterprise, which the statue
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was basically made when it when trying
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to prosecute the mafia way back when.
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And the fact that he put together this
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enterprise, I just don't see it yet.
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Jasmine, before we let you go, there's
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kind of been this unspoken rule in the
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entertainment industry that you don't
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talk badly about Diddy. Do you think
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after this trial that changes for many
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people? Oh god. Yeah. And I think little
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by little you're you're starting to see
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people distance themselves or at least
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come out and say, "Hey, listen. I've
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never been to a Diddy party. I've never
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seen these things. I didn't experience a
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freakoff." I think people really really
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because I mean, you've had everyone from
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Marthur Stewart to Donald Trump to Oprah
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and and and all kinds of folks in
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between who have been at these white
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parties. I mean, he kind of put the
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Hampton's on the map in terms of the
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hip-hop culture at one point in time.
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So, he's touched so many parts of the
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entertainment industry and had so many
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friends that I I feel like even more
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people are going to be making sure as
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more things come out in this trial that
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they distance themselves from him. All
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right, Jasmine and David, thank you so
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much. And we'll be right back with more
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of our coverage of Diddy's trial. Yeah.
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Up next, a look at what's happening in
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court next week. Anthony will be with
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us.