Sean Diddy Combs ex-girlfriend Cassie may be called to testify as a star witness at his upcoming trial despite reportedly agreeing to an NDA, a top lawyer has predicted.
The artist, real name Cassie Ventura, has been praised for her bravery in recent months as she was seen as the trigger for criminal action to be brought against Diddy based on a November 2023 lawsuit.
Although Cassie settled her suit soon after announcing it, it led to a wave of further allegations against Diddy that resulted in his indictment in New York last month on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking.
Attorney Lou Shapiro joined the Daily Mails hit podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to dissect the legal ramifications of Diddys fall from grace.
Sean Diddy Combs ex-girlfriend Cassie (pictured together in 2015) may be called to testify as a star witness at his upcoming trial despite reportedly agreeing to an NDA
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Shapiro explained that although Cassie may have signed an NDA not to speak on her settlement with Diddy, this has no bearing on the actions brought against him by the Southern District of New York.
So interestingly, people are unable to settle or sign off on their ability to testify as a witness in a criminal case, he told host Marjorie Hernandez, Daily Mail’s West Coast News Editor.
In NDAs, youre agreeing to say if I am subpoenaed in a civil matter, then I will not testify against. If the district attorneys office or the US attorneys office subpoenas this person, then that overrides an NDA.
The NDA is saying, I promise that I wont come out against you in another case. But that doesnt prevent the government from doing what theyre gonna do. And if the government force something, I have no choice.
In her lawsuit, Cassie claimed that Diddy brutally beat and sexually abused her for over a decade throughout their tumultuous relationship.
Cassie, who dated Diddy on and off for years before they split in 2018, claimed the rapper brutally beat her and sexually abused her throughout their relationship in a shocking lawsuit
Attorney Lou Shapiro joined the Daily Mails hit podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to dissect the legal ramifications of Diddys fall from grace
According to the truly shocking complaint, Diddy allegedly forced her to use various drugs and beat her repeatedly. She also claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and recorded.
She claimed all aspects of her life were controlled by either Mr. Combs or his management companies in her complaint, including having access to all her medical records.
In the year since Cassies lawsuit, Diddy has seen his media empire crumble as he now faces decades behind bars.
Also joining Hernandez on the episode was Greg Kading, a former LAPD detective who investigated Diddys alleged ties to the murder of Tupac Shakur in 1996, and who recently said the rappers true nature was coming out for the world to see.
Kading explained why a change to New York law several years ago has led alleged victims to revive decades-old sexual assault claims against Diddy after Cassie Ventura went public with her claims.
One of the things that contributed to this was New York a year and a half or about a year, a year and a half ago had done a kind of like a moratorium on the statute of limitations for domestic violence and domestic abuse, he said.
Legal experts said that while Cassie may have signed an NDA when she settled her lawsuit, this wont protect Diddy in his criminal case as a subpoena overrides the NDA
Greg Kading, one of the detectives assigned to Tupacs murder, joined DailyMail.coms podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to discuss the rap moguls fall from grace
And it allowed people who otherwise would have been out of statute to come forward and make criminal claims to have something looked at previously would not have been considered just because the statute of limitations had expired.
So they opened up this one year window for people to be able to come in and say, Hey, even though the statutes out of date, this happened to me five years ago.
And once that first person stepped through the door and made her allegations against Puffy, it empowered all of these other people to start coming forward.
And thats often what we see and especially in criminal investigations is that people are reluctant to be the first one to go through a door. But when the doors already been opened by someone else, its much more comfortable or theyre much more willing to go through an open door than they are a closed one.
So now its created this kind of like snowball effect. And everybodys just kind of you know, throwing themselves on that, on that, on that, on that train.
Months after Cassies lawsuit sent shockwaves through the industry, CNN released footage from a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 showing Diddy repeatedly assaulting Cassie in a hall.
Months after Cassies lawsuit, footage emerged showing Diddy viciously assaulting her in the hall of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016
Shapiro said the footage could be damning at Diddys trial, as he said it seems like hes not showing any remorse or any compassion for another human being in the clip
With prosecutors likely to draw upon the video in their case, Shapiro said Cassies potential testimony could be damning for the rapper.
Its a very disturbing video. When you watch it, you cant believe that somebody would do that to another human being, he said.
This old story, dont hit someone when theyre down - shes down already on the ground, and it seems like hes not showing any remorse or any compassion for another human being.
Its really difficult to watch. And if its difficult for me as a lawyer, where I see a lot of these videos in my profession, sadly, I cant imagine what, you know, jurors would think of such a video. Shocking to the core.
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