Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie could be called to testify as a star witness in his upcoming trial despite reportedly agreeing to an NDA, a top lawyer has predicted.
The artist, whose real name is Cassie Ventura, has been praised for her bravery in recent months as she was seen as the trigger for criminal action to be taken against Diddy based on a November 2023 lawsuit.
Although Cassie settled her lawsuit shortly after announcing it, it led to a wave of new allegations against Diddy that resulted in his indictment in New York last month on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking.
Lawyer Lou Shapiro joined the Daily Mail's hit podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to dissect the legal ramifications of Diddy's fall from grace.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie (pictured together in 2015) could be called to testify as a star witness in his upcoming trial despite reportedly agreeing to an NDA
Shapiro explained that while Cassie may have signed an NDA to keep quiet about her deal with Diddy, that has no bearing on the lawsuits filed against him by the Southern District of New York.
“Interestingly, people can't come to an agreement or approve their ability to testify as a witness in a criminal case,” he told host Marjorie Hernandez, editor of the Daily Mail's West Coast News.
'In the NDAs, you agree to say that if I am subpoenaed in a civil matter, I will not testify against it. If the U.S. Attorney's Office or U.S. Attorney's Office subpoenas that person, it will void an NDA.
'The NDA is saying: I promise I will not speak out against you in another case. But that doesn't stop the government from doing what it's going to do. And if the government forces something, I have no choice.
In her lawsuit, Cassie alleged that Diddy brutally beat and sexually abused her for more than a decade during their tumultuous relationship.
Cassie, who dated Diddy on and off for years before they split in 2018, alleged that the rapper brutally beat and sexually abused her throughout their relationship in a shocking lawsuit.
Lawyer Lou Shapiro joined the Daily Mail's hit podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to dissect the legal ramifications of Diddy's fall from grace.
According to the truly shocking report, Diddy allegedly forced her to take multiple drugs and repeatedly beat her. She also alleged that he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and recorded it.
She alleged that every aspect of her life was “controlled by Mr. Combs or his management companies” in her complaint, including access to all of her medical records.
In the year since Cassie's lawsuit, Diddy has seen his media empire crumble as he now faces decades behind bars.
Also joining Hernandez in the episode was Greg Kading, a former LAPD detective who investigated Diddy's alleged ties to the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, and who recently said the rapper's “true nature” was revealing itself to the world. see.
Kading explained why a change in New York law several years ago led alleged victims to revive decades-old sexual assault allegations against Diddy after Cassie Ventura went public with her allegations.
“One of the things that contributed to this was that New York, a year and a half ago or about a year and a half ago, a year and a half ago, had kind of a moratorium on the statute of limitations on domestic violence and domestic abuse,” he said. . he said.
Legal experts said that while Cassie may have signed an NDA when she settled her lawsuit, this will not protect Diddy in his criminal case as a subpoena nullifies the NDA
Greg Kading, one of the detectives assigned to Tupac's murder, joined DailyMail.com's podcast The Trial of Diddy this week to discuss the rap mogul's fall from grace
'And it allowed people who would otherwise be outside the statute to come forward and make criminal charges so that something previously looked at would not have been considered just because the statute of limitations had run out.
'So they opened up this one-year window so people could come in and say, 'Hey, even though the bylaws are out of date, this happened to me five years ago.''
'And once the first person walked through the door and made their accusations against Puffy, it empowered all these other people to start speaking out.
“And that's what we see a lot of times, especially in criminal investigations, is that people are reluctant to be the first ones through a door. But when the door has already been opened by someone else, it is much more comfortable or they are much more willing to go through an open door than a closed one.
'So now a kind of snowball effect has been created. And everyone's kind of, you know, throwing themselves onto that, that, that, that train.
Months after Cassie's lawsuit sent shockwaves through the industry, CNN released footage from a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 showing Diddy repeatedly assaulting Cassie in a hallway.
Months after Cassie's lawsuit, footage emerged showing Diddy violently attacking her in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Shapiro said the footage could be damning in Diddy's trial, as he said it “appears like he's not showing any remorse or compassion for another human being” in the clip
With prosecutors likely to turn to video in their case, Shapiro said Cassie's potential testimony could be damaging to the rapper.
'It's a very disturbing video. When you watch it, you can't believe someone would do that to another human being,” he said.
'That old story, don't hit someone when they're down – they're already on the ground and it looks like they're not showing any remorse or compassion for another human being.
'It's really hard to watch. And if it's difficult for me as a lawyer, where I see a lot of these videos in my profession, unfortunately, I can't imagine what, you know, the jurors would think of such a video. Shocking to the core.
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