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The Downfall Of Diddy | The Case Against Sean 'Puffy P Diddy' Combs
Diddy Sentencing Breakdown: Prosecutor Explains What’s Really at Stake
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- [00:01]
Narrator
This is the story of the 1. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. This is the story of the 1. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [01:00]
Tony Bruski
This is Hidden Killers Lie with Tony Bruski, Stacy Cole and Todd Michaels. Let's go on to Diddy. It's a case. It's no longer about guilt. That part's done. What happens next is where the real weight comes in. Federal prosecutors won over a decade behind bars. The defense, just over a year. And the judge, well, he's about to decide how much of Diddy's past gets to show up in the future. Eric Faddis, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor with us to break down what that sentencing really means as we're on the eve of it. You may be listening or watching this after the sentencing has been done, so keep that in mind. But we're gonna talk about the possibilities here of what could be going on with our judicial system when you have power, fame, and federal law, law all colliding. Let's start there. The government wants over 11 years for Diddy. Diddy's team wants about 14 months. How does a federal judge begin to split the difference in a case like this? Eric?
- [02:08]
Eric Faddis
Yeah, Tony. I mean, clearly there is really a chasm between what the prosecutors want and sends and what the defense wants. That's not uncommon. The judge is gonna look at a number of factors. They're just gonna look at the seriousness of the convictions, not necessarily the charges, especially the charges on which he wasn't convicted. They're going to look the judge going to look at the relative lack of criminal history. You know, defense is arguing, hey, Diddy has made serious contributions to the community. That's something the judge can look at and, and very significantly, the judge is going to consider the victim's position. My understanding is Cassie has submitted a letter talking about how this traumatized her and how she's afraid of things in the future. Judges give great weight to what victim say and what their position is at sentencing. So he's gonna have to balance all of those considerations and come to a number.
- [03:01]
Tony Bruski
Is he gonna be considering people beyond the individuals in this case? I mean, I know may not be supposed to be doing that, but I'm wondering, you know, he's a human being. Will they be doing that? Because you have a lot of other people who have made accusations, who have civil suits. There's, you know, there's. There's a plethora. I mean, just look at all the people who came out against Diddy, this process, in all of these documentaries, all these people who have said pretty horrible things about Diddy. And if he's a free man and he has ungodly amounts of money still, there's a lot of things he could do to those people if he were to be vindictive. Of course, that would certainly. I would think there'll be a tight eye on that. You can't just have carte blanche to go and go after your enemies. But people have done it. There's passive ways of doing it that could be somewhat legal. There's a lot of fear that is out there for anyone who's interacted with Diddy and has spoken out against Diddy and their interactions or exposed Diddy for what he has done or has allegedly done in the past. How much weight is the judge gonna be giving all of that as a collective, including Cassie Ventura's victim impact statement, which she went on, and that was a very powerful letter talking about her fear and the trauma that she still endures to this day after having been with Diddy. And a warning to the court as well, saying he's going to keep offending.
- [04:38]
Eric Faddis
You know, certainly the judge can consider the level of dangerousness that the defendant poses to the public in deciding what the sentence should be. Like you said, we have that letter from Cassie where she said, hey, I'm afraid something's gonna happen, like he could hurt me or somebod else. You know, I bet Diddy behind bars was fuming when these hundred plus accusers came forward. And he's in a little box just sort of twiddling his thumbs with not much efficacy. So is there a concern that if he were released, he would wreak vengeance upon these folks? Surely that is a concern that Being said, the judge should not consider sort of unproven civil allegations, especially when lawsuits are ongoing. The judge would be wrong, I think, to say, hey, there's 100 people plus who came forward accusing him of stuff, so he must be a super bad dude. I'm going to lock him up for a long time. I think that that would be unjust. But other jurists might disagree.
- [05:34]
Tony Bruski
Yeah, I mean, the prosecution wants the court to apply a cross reference for sex abuse, but he wasn't convicted for sex abuse. I mean, how is that even on the table?
- [05:44]
Eric Faddis
Right. I think that's a really important question because, you know, the judge can take a holistic view in fashioning a sentence for a defendant, can take into consideration of the defense history, that kind of thing. But the judge typ really shouldn't give weight to unproven accusations that a jury rejected in this exact same trial. You know, certainly there were some inflammatory claims by a lot of folks and it rubbed folks the wrong way, and it's unpleasant to talk about. But. But to hold that against Diddy when the jury said, hey, there's just not enough evidence to convict him, I think would be wrong. That might be an unsatisfying opinion for some folks to stomach. But. But I think that that is that it would be improper for the judge to consider, you know, sex trafficking in deciding the sentence when Diddy was acquitted.
- [06:34]
Stacy Cole
He just has so many people in a circle. And so all of these people who came out and spoke out against him, hoping for a different outcome for this trial, they must just be living in fear, because it's not just Diddy, it's everybody around him that he has paid to be part of his entourage and.
- [06:53]
Tony Bruski
Still could keep paying if, you know, like, new entourage, new folks that could jump in here, you know.
- [07:00]
Eric Faddis
Yeah, oh, sure. I mean, you look at, you know, Kid Cudi, the rapper, claims that that Diddy and or his accomplices threw a Molotov cocktail in the Kid Cudi's vehicle. And this was years ago, and this was simply for, you know, Kid Cudi being with Cassie Ventura at the time. So, my gosh, if somewh, you know, we're talking about cheating on the one hand, or maybe not even cheating, and then on the other hand, we're talking about these people who have put him in a box for over a year. That is a pretty unpleasant circumstance. He would be ten times as mad. Potentially. He has the resources to do something, but, you know, his defense is going to argue, hey, he's been through the wringer. He's just going to try to move on with his life, and he's not interested in that retribution. And the judge is going to have to see which side he believes.
- [07:48]
Stacy Cole
Would there be any protection for any of the people who spoke out against him? I mean, could they request some sort of protection from him, even though, you know, he's kind of innocent on some charges?
- [08:02]
Eric Faddis
You know, so there is likely going to be at least some prison sentence, and from there, there's going to be a parole tail after that. Parole is like probation. A person is supervised. That is almost certainly going to happen. And as a condition of parole or probation, it's not uncommon to have protection orders and to have no contact orders with not only victims, but also witnesses who kind of, you know, stuck there, put their neck on the line for this prosecution, which ultimately failed in large part. So those folks would be understandably fearful, and the judge could fashion some conditions preventing contact between Diddy and those folks.
- [08:42]
Stacy Cole
Yeah, but, you know, people break through those all the time, too, so.
- [08:46]
Eric Faddis
Sure.
- [08:48]
Tony Bruski
I mean, and I think what the public needs to remember here, he wasn't convicted of anything to do with the Cassie video. That was just pieces of evidence. That was not the crime that was being charged. There's never been. He's never been charged with anything for that crime.
- [09:03]
Stacy Cole
And. And that.
- [09:04]
Eric Faddis
That.
- [09:04]
Stacy Cole
That was so hard for the public to see. That was hard for.
- [09:07]
Tony Bruski
But that's what he remembers. That's. Everybody thinks of. I mean, and it's real. I mean, it's not like that didn't happen. So there's a lot of legal gymnastics going on. There's a phrase that the feds are using a lot here. Conduct that establishes the offense of conviction. Can you translate that for people who feel like this sounds like legal gymnastics and, you know, we're kind of hiding things under the shelves and, oh, where is it now? I mean, what does that mean? And what is going on?
- [09:35]
Eric Faddis
That, to me, seems like a phrase that they're trying to use to broadly encompass any sort of negative evidence against Diddy that they want the judge to consider. I mean, look, looking at that video, it's not a. It doesn't meet an element of interstate transportation for prostitution. It's not a constituent part of the conviction that was sustained. But I think the prosecution is saying, hey, this is part of the larger saga here. This is part of who did he is and his dangerousness. Judge, you need to consider this. Of course, defense is saying, hey, there wasn't even a charge based on this. And this is sort of Inflammatory stuff and not related to what his punishment should be for transporting someone across state lines to have sex with his girlfriend.
- [10:25]
Tony Bruski
Well, obviously, they didn't throw out the conviction. They wanted that. The other day, the judge said, nope, you are. You're not throwing this out. If you're the defense attorney in this case, how do you argue for mercy when the court and the public has already heard the stories, seen the stories, watch the video of the abuse that this man doled out to Cassie on camera, and all the accusations that we have heard over the years?
- [10:57]
Eric Faddis
I think, first off, you own some of that. You say, hey, look, Diddy is a flawed person. He has made some terrible choices. He has had a negative impact on a lot of people he came across with, including people. People that loved him. And that's a problem. But that is not something for which you should be putting him in a box for 11 years. So these complicated relationships and that kind of thing, that's one thing. But what we're talking about is what should his punishment be for transporting a male escort across state lines to have sex with his girlfriend? And I would argue, if I was his counsel, that, hey, this is tantamount to a state level prostitution charge. And had we been in that forum, he would have got maybe probation, maybe nothing at all. And so, judge, you know, we need to kind of keep the focus on that for which he's been convicted and not just everything under the sun that people say is bad about Diddy.
- [11:54]
Tony Bruski
Is there gonna be appeals immediately on this? Like, let's say he does. No matter what he gets, let's say he gets five years. Let's cut the difference that. I mean, as to what you just said, in playing devil's advocate, I'm not in any way sticking up for Diddy, but let's say he gets the five years or something of that nature. If we're playing by the rules of the game. You're exactly right. If this weren't Diddy, if this were, you know, Chuck, you know, I don't know, whatever, you know, from Brooklyn, who was doing this with no fanfare, no fame, nothing. Yeah, it could very easily be nothing, but it's Diddy. And then there's these other things out here in the ether that point to him being a bad dude. But again, they had nothing to do with the charges of what he had been convicted on. So you have all of that playing here in the ether. Is it the fame? Is that playing against him in this? In terms of what his sentencing may end up being?
- [12:57]
Eric Faddis
It could be you know, I think with a lot of defendants, these prior interactions, these prior alleged bad acts are not necessarily unearthed to the court. They're not unearthed to the entire world the way that they were for Diddy and I think for the prosecution. You're arguing that, hey, his fame, his prestige, if you want to call it that, his influence only makes him more culpable. Should have. If anyone should have avoided this, it should have been him. And then on the defense side, I think you say, hey, look, he's been turned into a pariah. And there was this sensationalist, inflammatory indictment. We thought we were going to see these, you know, Caligula esque orgies and people on sexual servitude and chains. None of that happened, judge. And he cannot be punished for those accusations that were never proven. So I think the fame part can cut both ways.
- [13:54]
Tony Bruski
Go ahead, Stacy.
- [13:55]
Stacy Cole
Does his. I guess what I'm trying to ask, does his past and things like the video that we saw with Cassie, do those play a role in the sentencing, or do we have to keep them separate? I mean, do you think the judge is thinking in his head, there are these other things that we've seen that actually exist as facts, even though they didn't really pan out during the trial. Do those things get taken, you know, into account during the sentencing phase?
- [14:26]
Eric Faddis
It's a really important question because look at the allegations that he or an associate of his bombed Kid Cudi's car. Well, there was no conviction based on. On that. That's an extremely dangerous act. Somebody bombed the car. There's videos of it or pictures, rather. And so. But can we hold that against Diddy in this trial? I think the judge should be cautious about doing that. You know, on the other hand, the judge does get to consider the dangerousness of the defendant if he is let out. And that was an act of alleged retaliation. Could there be more retaliation down the line? So there's not a bright line rule as to how the judge can look at that. It's going to come down to a human sitting on that bench and having to make a really tough decision while the entire world watches.
- [15:12]
Tony Bruski
Yeah, Diddy's team is arguing, and they're going to argue that he's already served some harsh time at MDC in Brooklyn. Feds are obviously saying, no, not enough. Does that time serve there at that crumbling federal jail? Is that going to buy some goodwill at sentencing? Is there. Is there going to be some time served added or not added on, but taken into consideration and basically shaved off whatever sentence he may Get.
- [15:41]
Eric Faddis
Oh yes, in all likelihood he will receive credit for the time he has served. So you know, for example, if there was a one year prison sentence, he's already served, I think more than a year now. Yeah, in, in custody, he's going to get credit for that. If there's a three year sentence, people might say, oh gosh, well, you know, it's going to be three years. Well, no, it's going to be two years and it's probably going to be less than two years because some of that time he's not going to have do the full duration of the time. Even in the federal system there are accommodations for good time and reasons for folks to be let out, that kind of thing. So yeah, that's going to work to his advantage. His attorneys are going to say, hey, look, he has been in a box for the past year based on asking somebody to come across the state lines and have sex with his girlfriend. Enough is enough. Judge is the way defense can.
- [16:33]
Stacy Cole
Well, and that's fair that if he's already, I mean he's serving the time. So I, to me that seemed, that feels fair on the outside as a layperson. But I don't know, I just.
- [16:44]
Tony Bruski
When you consider the overall monster that, the character that, that, you know, he appears to be based on hundreds of accounts, it doesn't. But that's, that's where the reality strikes us. Very harsh. There has been some talk that Diddy might speak at his sentencing. In your experience when you, you got a it like this, get up and talk, does that ever help in terms of, of, of sentencing or, or pr.
- [17:15]
Eric Faddis
It can really help and it can really hurt. It's such a gamble because, you know, especially somebody like Diddy who's been able to kind of pop off and say whatever he wants. He had all this money, all this fame. He could, he's said controversial stuff in the past and he feels empowered to do that. You know, could he go off the rails and say something that really dam chances and sentencing? He could. On the other hand, if I was his counsel, I would encourage him to own some of the things that are not disputable and take accountability and show remorse for those things. He should come out and say, hey, look, I abused Cassie in that video. That was wrong. I laid my hands on a woman in a very violent fashion. I horribly regret that. And that had an impact on Cassie without question. And I've had negative impacts on other people too, and I'm not proud of that. I'm really sorry for that judge. And then you go into sort of the more favorable mitigation that they can talk about, like a lack of criminal history, contributions to the community, philanthropically and otherwise, and you balance out that accountability with some favorable information. That's one way to play it, but a gamble nonetheless.
- [18:28]
Tony Bruski
There are still countless civil suits against Diddy. His legal nightmares are not over yet. How do you think the future plays out in terms of that world of. Of these civil suits that are going to exist? Are some of those going to fall away because he was found not guilty on some of the more serious charges in this case? Or is this litigation just going to continue to go on and on and on? And I guess with the fact that there are a lot of those things that are out there, and it seems that some of the civil suits led to these initial charges, I mean, could we end up seeing a repeat of this on a federal level again or on a state level or something in the criminal world?
- [19:15]
Eric Faddis
You know, those civil suits, there are cases that can look really good on paper. And I think the federal prosecutors thought, hey, this case looks really good on paper. But then when you get in that gauntlet of trial, things are different. You know, things might not go how you expect. You might have one of your main witnesses not even show up like the federal government had. I think it gives the civil claimants pause because they might say, hey, look, I thought this was super solid, but we saw how something believed to be super solid played out in federal court in Diddy's favor that might have some of these claimants second guessing, hey, can I prove these charges at trial, especially the ones that are from years or more than a decade ago, where there's probably scant evidence that they can compile at this point? Perhaps it leads to more settlements of those claims. I think the advantage goes to Diddy in terms of how this case can potentially affect those civil cases.
- [20:12]
Tony Bruski
When the. When the sentence drops, what are you going to be listening for in the judge's language?
- [20:19]
Eric Faddis
You know, I'm sure the judge is going to speak to the impact that. That these. That this case has had on the victims, on Cassie Ventura and the other woman. Her name escapes, escapes it, but he's going to talk about that. And I think it's probably, might even lead off with that by saying, hey, this. This is a process where you came in here and Cassie was pregnant when she did this. That would be terribly uncomfortable for her, talking about embarrassing private matters. I think the judge is going to speak to that. And then I think the judge is likely going to Also balance that by saying, hey, look, I've got a sentence based on what? This conviction is not based on him blowing up a car, not based on 100 civil suits. I've got a sentence based on he brought two prostitutes, sex workers, across state lines, and they had sex with his girlfriends at the time. That is just. They're just. They just aren't the crimes of the century.
- [21:15]
Tony Bruski
Okay, one more question, and we'll go around the circle for this one. When did he's free? Whenever that may be. What. What does the future of Diddy look like in the public eye, Eric?
- [21:28]
Eric Faddis
Oh, that's. That's a. That's a big question. You know, of course, it could be that his reputation is so impaired that he will never return to the former status that he enjoyed. Alternatively, America loves the story of redemption, and I'm not saying Diddy is necessarily deserving of that, but that could be a direction these things go. We look at Louis ck, we look at Kevin Spacey, they're starting to come back in to mainstream work, rightly or wrongly. And so folks who have been debased before because of their own actions, that's not always the final chapter here. And I'm not sure it's going to be the final chapter for Daniel.
- [22:10]
Stacy Cole
It. Stacy, I have two words for you. Chris Brown.
- [22:16]
Tony Bruski
Still going.
- [22:18]
Stacy Cole
Yep.
- [22:19]
Tony Bruski
Still going.
- [22:20]
Stacy Cole
As a woman, I. I'm repulsed by it, especially because we saw that video. I can't get that video out of my head. It's my worst nightmare. It really is. And I can't forgive him for that. I just can't. So I'm not one of his fans, and I will never be one of his fans, to quote Mommy Dearest Movie. But no, I will never be one of his fans.
- [22:44]
Tony Bruski
Todd. I don't think I have to even say anything after that statement because Chris Brown is a perfect example of somebody who did some horrible stuff, who is bigger now than he was then.
- [22:55]
Stacy Cole
Yeah. What the hell?
- [22:57]
Tony Bruski
Yeah, I'm gonna hope. I think I'm wrong. I think you guys are probably right. Ike Turner.
- [23:07]
Stacy Cole
There you go.
- [23:08]
Tony Bruski
Different time and place.
- [23:08]
Eric Faddis
Different.
- [23:09]
Tony Bruski
Different time. I think that's the difference. Different time. People didn't weren't up for forgiving or, I don't know forgiving is even the word, or just being blissfully ignorant as to what they're consuming. And I think we have too much of that and not a lot of understanding of what supporting monsters looks like and what it does because it makes me feel good right now, so. Oh, well. Yeah.
- [23:37]
Stacy Cole
Can we throw in. We've had a lot of great people in our chat today. A few that needed a flick on the nose, but I think we should end with this. Rose City just made me giggle out loud. Diddy's music was mediocre and his clothing line not fit for Walmart.
- [23:55]
Tony Bruski
I 1000% agree. You win, you win and we'll wrap on that. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section on YouTube if that's where you're watching us. If not, join us there. Just search Hidden Killers with Tony Bruski to find us and be sure to press subscribe while you are there as well so you don't miss any of the cases that we cover for you right here at the Hidden Killers Podcast and True Crime Today. Until next time for Eric Stacey Todd, I'm Tony Bruski. We'll talk again real soon.
- [24:23]
Eric Faddis
Soon.
- [24:24]
Tony Bruski
Want more on this case and others? Then press subscribe now and don't miss a moment of true crime coverage from Tony Bruski and the Hidden Killers Podcast.