The lawyer of disgraced music mogul Sean âDiddyâ Combs has claimed that he remains positive after being indicted last week on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faces a multitude of lawsuits surrounding allegations of assault and sexual misconduct, including a fresh claim from a woman who accuses him of drugging, raping and physically abusing her over the course of four years.
His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, is interviewed in the new TMZ documentary The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment, in which he spoke about his clientâs state of mind.
âHis state of mind is actually remarkable positive,â he claimed. âI spend several hours with him every day… His resolve is strong. Heâs engaged.â
He continued: âHeâs focused on his defence… he [has] come to terms with the fact that this is where he is for now.â
Agnifilo said that he is working on setting a trial date for as soon as possible.
Homeland Security Investigation agents load a box into a car at the entrance of Sean âDiddyâ Combs’s home at Star Island in Miami Beach on 25 March 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
In the same documentary, Agnifilo addressed the shocking video of Combs abusing his then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, which was caught on a hotel security camera in 2016.
âItâs hard to watch for anyone,â he said. âThat being said, it is not evidence of sex trafficking. There was a certain level of toxicity and drug use in the 10-year relationship between Mr Combs and the woman that he was in love with.â
Agnifilo claimed that the âdifficultiesâ in Combsâs relationship with Ventura were related to the mogulâs belief that she âwas cheating on himâ.
â[The video is] not related to the charge,â he said.
Cassie (left) and Sean âDiddyâ Combs at the 2017 Met Gala (Getty Images)
In May, Combs posted an Instagram video apologising over the incident, calling his bejaviour âinexcusableâ and saying he took âfull responsibilityâ for his actions.
He said the attack was âone of the darkest times in my lifeâ, adding that he was âf***ed upâ and âdisgustedâ by his actions. He did not mention Ventura by name in his apology video.
His latest accuser, identified only as Jane Doe, said in the suit that she met Diddy in the fall of 2020 âat an overseas location.â Diddy paid for the woman to be there, and the two began seeing each other âregularlyâ after that, according to the suit.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Diddy would fly Doe to his homes in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, using âcoercive and harassing language to compel her to comply,â the lawsuit stated.
âDefendant Combs and his agents and employees not only used language and tactics to force Jane Doe to act against her will: she was also unwillingly drugged with alcohol unknown substances.â
Diddy has been hit by multiple lawsuits accusing him of assault and sexual misconduct (Getty Images)
Earlier this week, Agnifilo offered a bizarre explanation for why 1,000 bottles of baby oil were found during raids on Combsâs home.
âI donât think it was 1,000. I think it was a lot,â he told The New York Post, before suggesting that the rapper simply likes to stock up on his essentials.
âI mean there is a Costco right down the street. I think Americans buy in bulk, as we know.â
He added: âWe canât get so puritanical in this country to think that somehow sex is a bad thing because if it was there would be no more people.â
Combs is being held behind bars in Brooklynâs Metropolitan Detention Centre following his arrest on 16 September. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was denied bail twice.