Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo defended self-help guru Keith Raniere in a similar sex-trafficking case. Here's what it could mean.

Sean “Diddy” Combs will have the support of his family as opening statements in his sex-trafficking trial are set to begin Monday in downtown Manhattan.

But why would Combs' defense concede that his relationship with Ventura was violent at all? Levenson thinks that the defense is trying to reframe this "mutual violence" as a consensual part of the sexual relationship – a strategy she saw in the case of former Dodger's player Trevor Bauer.

Diddy's sex trafficking trial is underway, and both the prosecution and defense present strategies that could make or break the case.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura is sworn in as a prosecution witness at his sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, May 13, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. She said Combs was nice, playful and romantic, and he brought her home.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense attorney Anna Estevao asked Cassie to read a text she sent to Combs years ago ... Cassie read it out in court, "I love you, smiley face, I'll fly anywhere for you, I love you,

Combs' trial on federal sex crime charges is scheduled to begin with jury selection on May 5. At a status conference in Manhattan federal court on Friday, April 25, Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, suggested that his client was a "swinger," according to Reuters and ABC News .