Alan Dershowitz, a former attorney for OJ Simpson, has commended Sean “Diddy” Combs’s legal team for their “smart move” in not putting the rapper on the witness stand, which he says helped avoid a more severe outcome. Combs was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted on more serious charges including racketeering and sex trafficking.
Dershowitz, who was part of Simpson’s “Dream Team” that secured his acquittal in the 1994 murders, told Fox News Digital that the decision mirrored the strategy used in Simpson’s case. “Ultimately, the smart decision was not putting OJ on the witness stand. The smart decision here was not putting Combs on the witness stand,” he said, adding that while Simpson’s team sought a complete victory, Combs’s team achieved a “partial victory, but an almost complete victory.”
Combs’s defence, led by attorney Marc Agnifilo, employed a risky strategy of “owning” the domestic violence allegations against the rapper. This approach, which involved acknowledging the misconduct while challenging the government’s broader claims of a criminal enterprise, was credited for the partial acquittal. “His legal strategy was nuanced and straightforward,” said criminal defence attorney Keith B. Johnson.
Despite the partial victory, Dershowitz criticised the judge’s decision to deny Combs bail, calling it “vindictive and wrong.” He noted that Combs was convicted of “transactional, consensual sex with two adults.” The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Domestic violence advocates expressed disappointment with the verdict. Arisha Hatch of UltraViolet called it “disastrous” for survivors but acknowledged that Combs was not allowed to walk free. “The brave survivors who stepped forward to share their stories in this trial can at least know that their abuser wasn’t allowed to walk free today,” she said.
