Diddy will face trial for alleged sex trafficking, racketeering, and more in just a couple of days. But before his jury selection begins on Monday (May 5) followed by scheduled opening statements a week later on May 12, he had a couple more people to bring along to help.
According to Complex, Sean Combs' defense lawyers attended a Thursday (May 1) hearing in Manhattan federal court and announced two unnamed additions to their legal team. The next day, a document filing revealed the first name, that being Xavier R. Donaldson. The name of the second addition to the legal team remains unknown at press time.
Nevertheless, according to his LinkedIn profile, Donaldson is now independent. The new Diddy lawyer spent 20-plus years at his own firm and also worked for the Bronx's District Attorney's office prior to that. In a 2019 interview with the New York State Bar Association, Xavier R. Donaldson said he loves "complex federal cases" and expressed pride as a criminal defense attorney.
What Are Diddy's Charges?
We will see how Donaldson fits into the rest of the legal defense team and what he will be able to do for the Bad Boy mogul in his trial. Diddy's federal criminal trial hit him with five total charges, these being two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and one count of racketeering. He pleaded not guilty and denied any and all criminal accusations against him.
As for the rest of Puff's legal team, Anthony Ricco left the cohort earlier this year, but the rest either stuck around since last October or are new names. These include Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who seem to take point on many matters. Alexandra Shapiro began as an appellate lawyer but eventually joined the main group. Her firm also brought on Jason Anthony Driscoll, and separately works with Anna Maria Estevao on Combs' legal team.
Finally, there's the recently added Brian Steel, whom you likely know as the defense attorney in the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. We will see what other updates emerge about the Diddy case before it begins next week.
