Sean "Diddy" Combs is dramatically shaking up his legal team by hiring one of the most-discussed defense lawyers in the business: Young Thug's livewire attorney Brian Steel. Steel has been battling prosecutors in the ongoing YSL RICO case.
On Monday, Steel filed official paperwork to represent Diddy in the Southern District of New York, entering the ring in what's set to be one of the highest-profile federal trials in recent hip-hop history. The trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges is scheduled to start on May 5. But Combs' team is already requesting a two-week delay with this new legal muscle added to the mix.
A trove of digital evidence includes more than 200,000 emails and counting that prosecutors claim the feds have not given them. That's a lot to filter through, pun very much intended, even for a battle-hardened legal team.
Steel's name has been floating around legal and hip-hop circles due to his fierce, no-nonsense defense style. While not exactly wielding a rap sheet, Young Thug did make the news this year while on trial in Georgia for refusing to disclose the source of a leak even when held in contempt by a judge.
His appointment fills the seat vacated by Anthony Ricco, who left Diddy's case in February. That leaves Steel teaming up with already established attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, a trio that means Diddy's not playing defense.
There's something poetic about this courtroom crossover: two giants of hip-hop, each confronting different but equally immense legal challenges, now linked by one tireless lawyer who never runs away from the spotlight repeat: or the pressure.
Whether this legal maneuvering will pay off is yet to be seen. Diddy is preparing for the fight of his life and surrounding himself with a team prepared to throw some heavy punches.
With May approaching and the trial now dominating, the focus isn't only on the merits of the charges or courtroom drama but also on how this newly fortified defense team intends to weather the storm ahead. Steel doesn't just defend but disrupts. And now that he's in Diddy's corner, this trial has become much more interesting.
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