For the second time, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team filed a motion to ask the judge to declare a mistrial, based on the inconsistencies found in the testimony of a prosecutorial witness.
Diddy’s attorneys pointed out to the judge that the testimony from Cassie’s friend, Bryana Bongolan, who accused Diddy of dangling her from the 17th-floor balcony of Cassie’s apartment in September 2016.
The defense punched holes in Bongolan’s testimony on cross-examination
However, the defense was able to poke holes in Bongolan’s testimony during cross-examination. During the first week of the trial, Cassie told the jury that she witnessed Diddy hanging Bongolan off the balcony. But this week, defense attorneys were able to establish that Cassie never saw this take place when she texted, “I just found out some crazy s–t,” according to the transcripts obtained by TMZ.
Diddy could not have been in town during the alleged assault
Secondly, the defense said the photo showing bruises on Bongolan, which she said were inflicted by Diddy, was from Sept. 26, 2016, when Diddy was on the East Coast. This means that Diddy could not have assaulted Bongolan on that day in Los Angeles, the defense attests, because he was not in the city at the time.
The judge shoots down the defense’s request for a mistrial
The judge ruled against Diddy’s request for a mistrial, stating that [Bongolan] did not perjure herself because she admitted that she was a regular consumer of narcotics at the time. He also pointed out that the allegedly violent episode “happened years ago,” and added, “Thank God she’s sober.”
Subsequently, since the judge refused to shut down the trial, Diddy will still face the three felony charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
