PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Despite facing a potential 20-year sentence on two lesser prostitution-related charges, Sean “Diddy” Combs walked away from his federal trial with what one legal expert calls a “major win” — though the road ahead could still get rough.
Combs was denied bond just hours after being convicted of prostitution-related offenses Wednesday.
He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s most celebrated figures behind bars for life.
“He should be out on bond,” Eiglarsh said. “Look, he was a tremendous flight risk when he was facing a life sentence, but now he’s looking at, within the guidelines, 15 to 21 months. He’d be a fool to flee.”
Eiglarsh also said he was surprised that federal prosecutors were pushing to keep Combs behind bars while awaiting sentencing. But he also pointed to the judge’s reasoning — particularly the use of a domestic violence video that wasn’t part of the charges — as key to understanding the ruling to deny bail.
“The judge saying that that video showed a propensity for violence, which I believe came to the decision of why they’re keeping him,” Eiglarsh said. “How can anyone argue with that? That’s exactly what our conclusion was, if we’re being intellectually honest. If his own lawyers saw that video and we’re being honest, they would say the same.”
“Clearly throughout this trial, we’ve seen numerous times where he shows a propensity to commit violence amongst people in the community,” he added.
When asked whether the ruling might foreshadow a harsh sentence, Eiglarsh didn’t mince words.
“Yeah, I don’t like this if I’m the defense lawyer,” he said. “The good news — here’s the good news — the only good news is every day that he’s in there, he’ll get credit towards the time that he’s ultimately sentenced to. But this sends a message to Diddy and all of us really: This judge doesn’t trust him. This judge doesn’t like him, and I think that he’s going to go harder than the lawyers had hoped.”
Combs was acquitted of more serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. Eiglarsh questioned whether those charges were ever a good fit for the evidence.
“They tried to apply a charge typically reserved for Al Capone to a guy who’s into lube and Astroglide,” he said. “It’s just very unusual and it doesn’t surprise me, man or woman, that they didn’t reach the highest burden under the law.”
He said the jurors likely didn’t believe Combs’ actions rose to the level of an organized criminal enterprise.
“This is just a music mogul and who was doing, you know, freak offs — that this was a freako, not a RICO, you know? And they overcharged, and we couldn’t get our heads around charging him with something that, you know, is reserved for Al Capone,” he said.
As for the testimony of Cassie Ventura, which formed the basis for some of the charges, Eiglarsh called her courageous and said her role shouldn’t be seen as a loss.
“This isn’t a loss for Cassie. I don’t even think it’s a loss for the government,” he said. “He (Combs) was exposed for who he was. Now he didn’t get convicted of the main charges, but she let everyone know what we’re dealing with.”
When asked if it was wise for Combs not to testify, Eiglarsh was blunt: “Oh, absolutely. The fish who kept his mouth shut never got caught.”
“What we know about Diddy beyond all doubt is that he’s violent and he’s committed acts of violence,” he said. “He would have to try to rationalize and explain his behavior, and we know that his ego is not his amigo.”
Finally, Eiglarsh praised the defense team’s decision to rest their case without calling witnesses.
“They didn’t make the mistake that most rookie lawyers do,” he said. “It’s courageous to stand there and say they didn’t prove their case.”
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3.
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To hear more of Eiglarsh’s legal analysis, watch the video at the top of this page.
