Sean "Diddy" Combs is virtually guaranteed to take the stand to defend himself against sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, according to his attorney, but legal experts say that carries profound risk.
The music mogul's defense team was unsuccessful in getting the judge to declared a mistrial over an arson investigator’s testimony about fingerprint evidence in the firebombing of rapper Kid Kudi's car, and CNN's Audie Cornish asked former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson about the likelihood that he would testify.
"I honestly don't know, and I'm saying this because he's in so much legal peril that putting him on the stand, in my opinion, would be probably a bad tactical decision," Adamson said, "because the government has so much information that they can go and cross [examine] him on if he doesn't come [across] as credible."
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Adamson said she could understand why Combs might want to tell his side of the story, but she also said that was a risky strategy because prosecutors could ask him new questions.
"If he were to go on the stand, what he would he be doing is painting the picture that this was all voluntary – he's just into kink, it's consensual," Adamson said. "So he would get to tell his side of the story, which would be very helpful. However, the government would then get to go and bring in all these documents and ask him all these questions, and if he comes off as unlikable or not, a truth teller, that could potentially really sink him, and the defense is doing the best job they possibly can."
"A lot of times when they put a defendant on the stand, it's either because the client insists upon it or it is a 'hail Mary,'" Adamson added. "They didn't get out from cross [examination] or through [presenting] their case, what they needed to, and so they have to put the defendant on the stand so they can go and piece together the story."
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