Cassie tells Diddy trial: I’d give back $20m settlement to undo freak-offs-BBC
Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have finished questioning Cassandra Ventura after asking her about text messages exchanged between the pair
The R&B singer says she would give back the $20m legal settlement she was paid the day after she accused Combs of rape and sex trafficking – if it meant never having done a “freak off”
The defence appeared to continue their strategy of painting Ventura as an unreliable witness, mentioning a bar fight the singer was involved during 2013, our reporter Sakshi Venkatraman writes from court
Combs faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution
The 55-year-old denies all charges. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. After a dramatic, four-day testimony from Cassie Ventura came to a close, the judge and legal teams are trying to figure out which witness to hear from next.
The prosecution had planned to call Dawn Richard, a singer who was signed to Sean Combs’ label in the 2000s and last year filed a lawsuit accusing him of physical abuse and withholding her earnings. Combs’ lawyer has rejected these accusations.
The defence has some issue with this order and would rather have the prosecution call a different witness – a special agent whose full name was not mentioned.
Prosecutors say they only have 30 and 45 minutes of direct questioning planned for them, respectively.
But they would rather call Richard since she “has flown across the country” to be here for her testimony.
The court is on a short break, after which the order of the testimonies will be settled.