Almost three weeks into the sex trafficking trial of music mogul, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, and there are shocking new developments on an almost daily basis. The latest is that Diddy's defence team filed a motion for mistrial to the judge. Diddy denies all allegations and has pleaded not guilty in court.
They alleged that the prosecution presented untrue testimony, arguing that Diddy's ex-girlfriend of 10 years, Cassie Ventura, presented false information in court. Cassie told the court she had witnessed Diddy holding Bryana Bongolan over a balcony edge, but text between Cassie and one of Diddy's former employees, Kristina Khorram, suggest she did not see the incident but heard about it afterwards. She allegedly wrote, 'I just found out some crazy sh**.'
The prosecutors also submitted evidence of Bongolan's injuries from the alleged balcony incident. The metadata of the photos shows they were taken on 26 September 2016 – a date Diddy's defence team claim he was on the other side of the country.
The letter claims 'the government has presented testimony that it knew or should have known was materially false related to its allegation that Mr Combs dangled Bryana Bongolan from the balcony of Cassie Ventura's apartment in September 2016.'
'Accordingly, to avoid an unfair conviction in this case the Court should grant a mistrial,' Diddy's team added.
Did Diddy succeed in his mistrial claim?
The latest claim marks the second time Diddy's team have filed for mistrial. The judge Arun Subramanian denied Diddy's lawyers' last request and is expected to address the second one before testimony begins today.
When did Diddy's team last file for mistrial?
The first motion for mistrial was filed at the end of May after prosecutors asked the LA Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez if fingerprint evidence related to the bombing of Kid Cudi's car had been destroyed. Prosecutors also asked about who might have authorised the destruction.
Kid Cudi is one of several famous names to have come up or testified during the trial.
Diddy's lawyers argued that the line of questioning could potentially imply the idea Diddy could buy his way out of trouble. 'They were trying to plant this idea to these jurors that Mr Combs authorised this,' his defence attorney wrote.
Judge Subramanian ruled that the questions were not prejudicial.
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continues and is expected to last for eight weeks. He denies all allegations and has pleaded not guilty in court.