Diddy Trial: Judge Urged To Limit Cassie Ventura Testimony As Mistrial Concerns Emerge
Diddy is facing fresh heat in court as federal prosecutors slammed his legal team for what they described as a drawn-out and inefficient cross-examination of Cassie Ventura, warning that the delay could lead to “harassing the witness at best and a mistrial at worst.”
In a sharply worded letter sent overnight to Judge Arun Subramanian, the government urged the court to cap the defense’s questioning of Ventura by the end of the day Friday (May 16), citing her advanced pregnancy and the defense’s alleged stalling tactics.
Ventura, who is eight months pregnant, has already spent three and a half days on the witness stand, beginning on Tuesday (May 13).
The judge had previously signaled that the defense would be given a day and a half to cross-examine her, matching the time prosecutors used during direct examination. But prosecutors now say the defense appears to be stretching the process unnecessarily.
“The inefficiency of today’s proceedings appears to have been a filibuster,” the letter stated.
Cassie Ventura Takes Stand
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According to the filing, Diddy’s attorneys waited until the night of Wednesday (May 14) to dump more than 400 potential exhibits on the government—documents they intended to use during Ventura’s testimony. Prosecutors argued this last-minute move “appeared to be a strategic choice… that delayed the Government’s ability to lodge objections and predictably and significantly delayed the proceedings.”
They also accused the defense of wasting time by “asking questions that appeared to be solely related to the numerous civil lawsuits against the defendant and not related to allegations in this case,” and having Ventura read “long text message chains… before asking few if any substantive questions about the exhibits.”
The government emphasized that the defense had months to prepare, noting they had access to Ventura’s communications for at least five months and her Jencks Act material for nearly two months.
Prosecutors reminded the court that Diddy’s team had previously agreed to wrap up their questioning by Friday (May 16), and that they had been aware for weeks that Ventura needed to finish her testimony this week due to her pregnancy.
Judge Subramanian has not yet ruled on the request.