Neda Tawfiq
Appearances
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
having molly, ketamine, ecstasy pretty frequently in their sex life. And there was a moment on the stand where she actually started crying. It was the only moment she started crying and actually dabbed the tears away from her eyes with a tissue. And that's when She spoke about May 2021, and she said that was the first time that Diddy introduced the idea of these fantasies.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Now, they didn't call them freak offs. Again, these kind of drug fueled sex nights with male escorts. They called them debauchery nights or hotel nights. And she said that there was a real pattern to these nights. She would have to be dressed in lingerie. She would have to wear stripper heels. She would have cream colored light nails, her hair would be straight or up in a ponytail.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Again, they would be in mostly hotel rooms with red lights. And the escorts, again, she describes how they came from this company that Diddy had used in the past. She describes the first one being introduced to a man being extremely nervous, actually asking for the escort to use a condom. And while Diddy was reluctant at first, she testified, he eventually did use a condom.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
But she said that first night while she was exhilarated by it, she felt it was very taboo and it was exciting. She said it was like opening a Pandora's box after a while because She couldn't shut it. And she said ultimately she didn't want to do it. She started telling Diddy later that she didn't want it. But he was very dismissive of her concerns, she testified.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
He would say, fine, we don't have to do it then. You're crazy. Let's not talk about it. And she said, and yet they would still have to do it. And at a certain point, she felt pressure because he was paying her rent at about $10,000 a month.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
month so Jane on the stand describing very much the early stages of the relationship how these hotel nights played out with some graphic detail about just even the escorts ejaculating on her at the end and that being something that Diddy would expect before they themselves would be intimate and just how that made her feel especially
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
She said 90% of sexual interactions were with other men and that these hotel nights, they could last, again, as we heard from Cassie, for days. She said she would be awake over 24 hours without stopping these hotel nights.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And she spoke about how she, again, expressed she didn't want to do these things, but she would hurry them along because she felt like she just wanted to speed them up because it was inevitable that they were going to happen. And that even though she did get alone time with Diddy, it never really felt like that. It felt like their whole relationship became these hotel nights.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And Diddy received a warning from the judge about his behavior in the courtroom. Yeah, this was after the court wrapped for the morning and everyone was about to go on lunch break. And the judge said that he noticed Diddy making facial expressions at jurors during testimony.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And he said he had previously actually warned the defense that that was inappropriate, that Diddy shouldn't be trying to interact with them or make any kind of expressions, and that if he continued to do that, he would let prosecutors intervene or, in worst case scenario, even kick Diddy out of court. He said it was just completely unacceptable.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
So a warning that Mark Agnifilo, Diddy's lawyer, said he understood and that they would take care of it.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Yeah, and you know, it was interesting because the judge actually asked prosecutors directly what is the key piece of Bonna's testimony to your case. And they said this shows an element of coercion to show that Cassie and those around her felt that there were threats from Diddy. Bonna outlined first how at a photo shoot one point Diddy told her, you know, I'm the devil, I could kill you.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Also outlined how she had seen Cassie with a black guy or some bruises. a few occasions, but obviously the massive part of her testimony was what's being referred to as the balcony incident in court. Bonna says that she was sleeping at Cassie's apartment and Diddy started banging the door loudly. threw her girlfriend into the bathroom, told her to be quiet, went onto the balcony.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And as Diddy rushed in, she claims that he picked her up under her arms, dangled her over the balcony, and then threw her aggressively back onto the balcony furniture. And she says he kept screaming at her, you know what the F you did. And Vonna said, I don't know what I did. And so in court, again, just going through cross-examination of that story. And
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
What we saw from the defense was building up a timeline and showing that when Bonna says this photo of her bruises was taken by the metadata on her phone, that it actually coincided with Diddy being on tour in New York, being on the Bad Boy reunion tour, having... events at Macy's and other events with Cassie.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
So the defense trying to suggest that Bonna had been lying about this happening and really just eating into her credibility with Bonna a few times saying, I don't recall, I don't recall. Had Nicole Westmoreland, Diddy's defense lawyer, telling her, you put your civil lawsuit forward with the understanding that you had to allege sexual assault, didn't you?
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Again, hammering her on this idea that she said she was sexually assaulted, then said she wasn't. Bona responded, I don't recall. And that was a common theme, her saying, I don't remember, I don't recall during cross-examination.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
That's right. He got immunity to testify and he spoke about how he was handed $100,000 in a paper bag by Diddy and asked to sign an NDA to hand over the security footage. He said he split that money with other colleagues of his in the office. He went and got himself a used car and
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
It was his understanding that the woman he spoke to on the phone after the money that was handed over was Cassie, saying that she had a movie premiere. She just wanted this all to go away. And Eddie said he was nervous. He didn't really even get to read through the whole NDA. He just quickly signed it because it had Combs Enterprises at the top.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
The defense on cross-examination did point out that the NDA didn't preclude him from speaking to law enforcement. That could be a nod to trying to fight this idea that there was obstruction of justice.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
But certainly when you look at this testimony from Eddie Garcia, it is very crucial to the government's case that this was all part of racketeering, that there were others in the company that were instrumental to covering up this alleged crime.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Yeah, that's right. The end of her cross-examination was again just kind of going over some of her flattering messages to Didi, how she stayed in touch with him and going over why she would do that if he is somebody who had traumatized her, going over a message she sent after she lost her position at Revolt. where she talks about wanting to harm herself, how her life is over.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And she explained on the stand that even though it wasn't a great job, that she has trauma from it, in the moment, it felt like it was her whole world. And that's why it was so upsetting for her. And that's why she reacted that way. But very much the cross-examination, trying to discredit her, digging into all of these messages she had sent to Diddy all along.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Neda, thank you so much for filling us in.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
Yeah, well, Jane went right to the beginning of when she met Diddy. She said she met him on a girls' trip to Miami and that they didn't get together right away, but eventually they did in 2021. And she talks about how he was extremely charming, how their first date lasted five days. At the end of it, they said started using the L word for love.
Diddy On Trial
Judge threatens to remove Diddy from courtroom
And she talks about how she was open with him, that she had a son with someone who he didn't get along with, and that she had also been with somebody who was close to him previously. But that Sean, as she called him, Diddy, said that hadn't bothered him at all. And she said that really it was Diddy who started to introduce drugs more regularly into her life.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
This was Luigi Mangione's formal arraignment on these new federal charges. So the judge read out all four of the charges, which included murder and also using interstate transport with the intent to murder. And he responded and nodded along. And then when he was asked if he understood the charges, he said yes.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
His lawyer did try to argue that there was confusion about why there was a federal case at the same time as a state case on different charges, but prosecutors quickly said it wasn't the time to discuss that. Now, I just have to add that he was brought here directly from Pennsylvania in what was a very dramatic transfer.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
Being brought here to New York made to be an example, really, paraded in front of the camera's being flanked by heavily armed law enforcement on his way to this federal courthouse.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
Well the significance here is that this federal case is really going to take precedent over the state case. Now, these are, of course, serious charges. And while he was already facing life without parole under the state charges here, he could actually also face the death penalty if prosecutors choose to pursue that.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
You know, speaking with legal experts, they also just think the federal case is a bit more straightforward because just of the wealth of evidence that has been laid out about Luigi Mangione's movements and
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
investigators feeling like they have a strong case, whereas the state case has some terrorism components that really gets into his mindset and might be a bit more difficult to prosecute just from that standpoint. So many legal experts say this federal case could be far more straightforward for a jury.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
Yeah, I should note that he didn't make a plea because this was, you know, there wasn't a need for him to do that here. It was a simple, you know, formal reading of the charges. What's going to happen next is that both prosecutors and his defense team are going to file different motions, you know, flagging any issues they see with the case.
Global News Podcast
Murder suspect Luigi Mangione faces charges in New York court
They have to exchange evidence so that his defense team can go thoroughly through that evidence. And obviously there's going to be perhaps a request for bail. That didn't happen this time around. A hearing is next happening in mid-January. We'll see if his defense team try to get him released from federal detention, though in a case like this, that might be a very hard sell to the judge.