P. Diddy confirmed that he rejected a advocacy agreement before opening his trial for sexual traffic, racketeering and transport for prostitution.
The hip-hop magnate appeared Thursday at a hearing at the Manhattan Federal Court, where the rapper told the American district judge that he had chosen to reject the offer after examination.
When the judge asked him if he had examined it well, the co -founder of Bad Boy Records, dressed in a prisoner of fawn color, replied: “Yes, I did it”. No other details were provided on the agreement.
Sean Combs, whose real name is risking a life imprisonment if he is found guilty of the five counts who weigh on him during the trial, in particular those of racketeering and sex trafficking, for which the artist pleaded not guilty.
His lawyers argued that sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual and that there was nothing criminal that the rapper and his longtime girlfriends occasionally associate a third person with their relations as part of a “swingers” lifestyle.
The selection of the jury for the trial is underway. Residents of New York have been summoned and invited since April 28 to answer a questionnaire on what they already know about the case, as part of the efforts made to constitute a panel of 12 jurors and six substitutes capable of showing impartiality despite the strong media coverage of the case, especially with the impressive raid carried out simultaneously in two properties of P. Diddy.
The potential jurors who will have passed the head of the initial selection will return to the court on May 5 to be questioned in person. Preliminary statements are expected to start a week later on May 12.
