NY Trial Attorney David Schwartz, President of Gotham Government Relations ⁨@PIX11News⁩ Talking About The Diddy Verdict.

0:03
Right now at four, breaking news. A
0:05
split verdict in the Diddy sex
0:07
trafficking trial. Sean Diddy comes
0:09
acquitted of the most serious charges
0:11
but convicted of the lesser ones. In the
0:14
meantime, there's a lot to unpack in
0:15
this split verdict. So joining us now
0:18
are is our expert panel, New York trial
0:20
attorneys Dante Mills and David Schwarz.
0:23
Thank you both for both attorneys. Just
0:26
just get your quick reaction to this
0:27
verdict. Starting with you, David. I I
0:29
think it was the perfect verdict. I I've
0:31
been calling for this verdict all along.
0:33
This was not a sex trafficking case.
0:35
This was not a RICO case, but certainly
0:37
he was guilty of of of of moving of of
0:41
transferring prostitutes across state
0:44
lines, the man act for commercial
0:46
purposes. So, so certainly he was guilty
0:48
of that.
0:49
Yeah. I think what he was found guilty
0:51
of, it was pretty clear. And fairly
0:53
early on, I believe Shawn Combmes's
0:55
defense team told him, "We're gonna have
0:57
to sacrifice this charge for the other
1:00
charges." Because you saw Sean Comb's re
1:03
reaction when the verdict came out. He
1:05
said, "I love you. I'm coming home soon
1:07
to his family." So, they already walked
1:09
him through what would happen if he was
1:10
only convicted of the lesser charge. And
1:13
I think they said to save face, to save,
1:16
you know, our our our reputation, we're
1:19
gonna say yes, he used prostitutes, but
1:22
he did it as his personal pleasure. It
1:24
had nothing to do with Rico, and as long
1:26
as we get rid of those top charges,
1:28
we'll be okay.
1:29
All right. We want to also mention that
1:30
Anthony Dorenzo is also joining us.
1:32
He'll be live with us, chiming in on
1:34
this discussion. David, I want to ask
1:36
you about that more serious charge.
1:38
Rico, are you kind of surprised now that
1:40
they were hung up on this yesterday
1:41
given what we know now that with the no
1:43
guil not guilty and the sex trafficking?
1:45
You know, well, first of all, you never
1:46
know. Every jury is different and so you
1:49
don't know how many jurors were were
1:51
hung up on it could have just been a
1:52
couple. It could have been one. Uh I
1:54
would think the the majority of the
1:56
jurors, especially with the verdict
1:57
today, were not hung up on that charge
1:59
and understood that this was not the
2:01
mafia. This was not an organized
2:04
criminal enterprise. It was never from
2:06
the start. So the the prosecution
2:10
clearly overcharged this case and I
2:12
think the jury got it just right.
2:13
Yeah, that's my take on that. Was it a
2:15
waste of money? What happened here?
2:17
I don't know if it was a waste of money.
2:18
What happened is I think they prosecuted
2:19
the person. They saw this video of of
2:21
Shawn Holmes being physically abusive,
2:23
which is absolutely despicable. They
2:25
said something must be done about it.
2:27
Unfortunately, it was too late to charge
2:29
him with that. So they went on a hunt to
2:31
see what they could charge him with. And
2:33
I think that's what happened. and they
2:35
kind of lucked into the this charge of
2:37
prostitution. They tried to piece
2:39
together the other stuff, but it wasn't
2:40
enough there to really solidify it. And
2:42
what I hope happens now is that Shawn
2:45
Combmes isn't treated as if he was
2:47
guilty because he went through our
2:49
system and jurors said he didn't force
2:51
them. He didn't coers them to do
2:53
anything. He simply used prostitution
2:56
and that should be penalized a certain
2:58
way. I don't think anybody who was just
3:00
charged or found guilty of prostitution
3:02
was sent to jail for 10, 20 years. So, I
3:04
think those numbers should be off the
3:05
table. I hope the judge does a full, you
3:08
know, kind of reset and says this is
3:09
what he was charged with. Yes, but he
3:11
was only convicted of prostitution and
3:14
I'm going to penalize him just for that.
3:16
In the meantime, let's uh let's ask uh
3:18
DLO if he's still with us. Anthony, I'm
3:20
curious about one thing. Um because
3:22
you've been there in the court from the
3:24
very beginning of this trial on May
3:26
12th. How has Diddy's demeanor evolved
3:30
over the course of those seven weeks as
3:33
you've observed him there?
3:38
I'd say that it was pretty steadfast
3:40
throughout. He had the same demeanor of,
3:42
as I said before, being the CEO of his
3:45
legal team. He was very active in his
3:47
defense. He was not one to sit back and
3:50
keep his mouth shut. He was talking
3:52
constantly with his attorneys, passing
3:55
notes when there was testimony. There's
3:57
cross-examination. He was jogging
3:59
memories of his attorneys, giving them
4:02
suggestions of of different avenues to
4:04
explore with the witnesses on the stand.
4:06
He was constantly reading the evidence.
4:09
Uh he has glasses now. And we remarked
4:12
about what his his appearance looks like
4:13
in court, an older man. Uh he was really
4:17
always very much in tune with what was
4:20
going on. There were sometimes, however,
4:22
he got admonished by the judge because
4:24
he was a little bit too into it. uh
4:26
looking at the jury at times nodding
4:29
vigorously. He was one if he did not
4:31
agree or he did agree with something.
4:33
It's something that you very much knew
4:35
right off the bat how he was feeling.
4:37
His body language all along really told
4:39
the story.
4:41
Dante, I want to go back to something
4:42
you touched on just moments ago in
4:44
regards to moving forward. Your hope
4:46
that Diddy is only penalized for what he
4:49
is convicted of. How does that play into
4:51
whether or not he may receive bail now
4:53
versus before? Well, it plays into it
4:56
because he's char Well, he was found
4:59
guilty of prostitution and the judge
5:01
when the prosecutors came and said he
5:04
should be held in jail without bond
5:06
while he awaits sentencing, the judge
5:08
challenged the prosecution and said,
5:10
"Well, I need you to come back to me
5:11
with some some evidence or some proof
5:13
that people before who were only found
5:15
guilty of prosecution prostitution was
5:18
denied bond." That generally doesn't
5:20
happen. We're only talking about
5:22
prostitution here, which is nonviolent
5:24
crime. We can say yes, he was charged
5:26
with force and coercion, but he was
5:27
found not guilty on that kind of stuff.
5:29
So, will he just be treated for what he
5:31
was found guilty of is the question.
5:33
It's also interesting. I want to know if
5:35
he's going to speak at his sentencing
5:37
because he did not speak uh it looks
5:40
like he wanted to, but he didn't speak
5:41
at the trial sentencing. He has the
5:43
right to speak without being
5:44
cross-examined. So, we'll see if he
5:46
takes the stand, if he gives a
5:48
statement, if he apologizes, what his
5:50
demeanor is, then I think that's going
5:52
to be the next interesting thing.
5:53
He did speak briefly at the end,
5:55
thanking the judge for his hard work,
5:57
but not to the jury at all. But be you
5:59
think that he might speak today for this
6:02
for this hearing, but I think he'll be
6:04
prepped and ready to speak for his
6:05
sentencing.
6:06
Does he walk today? Look, the difference
6:08
in the federal system is to grant some
6:10
sort of bail package and and clearly it
6:14
it's a prostitution case. This is not a
6:15
murder case. So, I think the bail
6:18
package that the defense proposed is
6:20
very reasonable. And I believe the judge
6:23
will grant bail.
6:24
And how quickly do you suspect that
6:26
decision will take place?
6:27
Well, the judge said he'll let the he'll
6:28
let them know today. I don't think it's
6:29
fair to have somebody kind of just
6:30
hanging on. He said he'll let them know
6:31
today. I think the judge has a good idea
6:33
based on all the experience and these
6:36
types of cases. The judge has a good
6:38
idea of what he's going to do.
6:40
Let's go back to um to Anthony who was
6:42
out there. And Anthony, you mentioned
6:43
that uh when first got that note this
6:46
morning from uh from the jury. You
6:49
mentioned that the prosecutors had a
6:51
stoic look. What was the feeling like
6:54
inside of that courtroom for us?
7:00
Well, prosecutors obviously were not
7:02
pleased with the outcome of this.
7:04
However, they still did their best to
7:05
try and sway the judge with that bail
7:08
application in their letter and in court
7:10
saying, "Yes, these are still very
7:12
serious charges. These are federal
7:13
charges that he's been convicted of."
7:15
and the way he treated people, he should
7:17
not be allowed back, especially since
7:20
when he knew he was about to be
7:21
arrested, he came here to New York and
7:23
ultimately was ready for another
7:25
freakoff, they say. Something I do want
7:27
to clarify for you uh about the
7:29
logistics of the bail hearing when we
7:31
learn what the judge decides at 5:00.
7:34
From there, it takes only about a half
7:36
hour if he's granted bail for Diddy to
7:38
sign that paperwork. Since the
7:40
guaranters are already in the building,
7:42
it won't take long at all. The Diddy
7:45
team tells me that the attorneys will
7:46
definitely be speaking outside of the
7:48
courthouse after that process. And if
7:51
Diddy is granted bail, he himself will
7:54
appear at the podium as well.
7:57
David, that's interesting.
7:58
Yeah, David, can we ask you about that?
8:00
If he is granted bail, what could the
8:02
conditions look like as far as his
8:03
release?
8:04
Well, they they could limit uh where
8:06
he's going to be. I think he wants to be
8:08
in the state of Florida at his mansion
8:10
in Florida. They could take his
8:11
passport. They could um they could tell
8:14
him, you know, you have to live a very
8:16
law-abiding life. No drugs, no alcohol,
8:19
no freakoffs, none of this nonsense. So,
8:22
uh they could put there there there's
8:25
there's they're very liberal with what
8:27
bail conditions there could be, but I
8:29
think whatever the bail conditions are,
8:31
he's he's going to go along with it.
8:33
They can test to see if you've had
8:34
alcohol or drugs. They can't test to see
8:36
if you had a free butud.
8:40
What the judge is going to consider is
8:42
is he a threat to society if he gets out
8:45
right now. The prosecution is going to
8:46
say, well, maybe he may try and
8:48
influence some witnesses, but that part
8:49
of the case is over. And then the other
8:51
aspect is will he show up or will he try
8:53
to flee? And because now he doesn't have
8:56
a mandatory minimum sentence, he'll
8:58
probably be in jail for a shorter time.
8:59
The likelihood of that is slim to none.
9:01
So, he's facing a myriad myriad of
9:03
lawsuits right now from a number of
9:05
different people. What does today's
9:07
verdict do to many of those cases?
9:09
I think it makes those cases weaker
9:11
because the jury here, although they
9:13
only considered two people, right,
9:15
Cassie Vento and Jane, the jury here
9:17
said there was no force or coercion. And
9:20
although he committed the crime of
9:22
prostitution, which is technically
9:24
illegal, everybody was willing
9:25
participants. So, you can't sue someone
9:28
civily for something you willingly
9:29
participated in. So, I think this kind
9:31
of emboldens his defense against those
9:33
civil cases.
9:34
I'm going to push back a little. We have
9:35
to disagree on something, right? So, so
9:38
that in in a civil case, it's a much
9:40
lower standard, right? It's just
9:41
prepoundonderance of the evidence. It's
9:43
just this balancing. So, clearly they
9:45
didn't have proof beyond a reasonable
9:47
doubt, which is the standard in a
9:48
criminal case. So, a civil case much
9:51
lower standard. There's definitely um
9:54
causes of action here that have been
9:56
brought in the civil arena and I think
9:58
it'll be an easier time to to show him
10:02
to show that he's liable for a civil
10:04
case rather than convicted on a criminal
10:06
case.
10:06
All right, gentlemen. We're going to
10:08
have to leave it there. Dante, David,
10:09
thank you guys for this process as well
10:12
as DLO. It's all the the D did D did D
10:14
did D did D did D did D did D did D did
10:14
D did Dy do Dante David?
10:18
We need to change our name.
10:19
I know exactly. Thank you guys all for
10:21
being here and your analysis.