JAY-Z and the Impact on Diddy’s Legal Team

Joe Tacopina, the attorney who recently represented A$AP Rocky during his gun assault trial, has revealed that his relationship with JAY-Z factored into not representing Diddy.

Tacopina sat down with The Breakfast Club and shed light on his decision to decline representing Combs amid his federal indictment on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. In his initial remarks on Combs’ case, Tacopina criticized Diddy’s legal team for making premature public statements that have already backfired.

“Well, I wouldn’t go out in the press and make pronouncements that are later disproved quickly because you tend to lose credibility,” he explained.

Tacopina continued, specifically referencing the controversy surrounding an alleged bulk purchase of baby lotion which Combs attorney Marc Agnifilo addressed in a statement that ended up being debunked as false.

“They went out and said, ‘oh, you know, he just bought them in bulk at Costco right down the block from his house’,” he said. “But first of all, it’s 1,000 bottles. No one buys 1,000 bottles of baby lotion in bulk. But that was what he said. Of course, then Costco then comes out with a statement. ‘No, we’ve never sold baby lotion in our life’. Jesus. Not one Costco store ever sold baby lotion. So boom, now it looks like somebody’s lying, right?”

When asked whether he would have taken on Diddy’s case, Tacopina made it clear that he had no interest.

“I was asked to take a look at the case… I said I would not be interested,” he said. He then elaborated on his close relationship with Roc Nation, highlighting his connections with JAY-Z and CEO Desiree Perez.

“I represent Roc Nation, a lot of people in Roc,” he said. “I’m very close with Jay and Desiree Perez, who’s the most amazing… Jay Brown, all those people are just like they really are special, special people. And they, you know, that’s sort of family to me.”

Tacopina also attempted to distance JAY-Z from Combs and made a point to stress that HOV and Diddy are not as closely connected as the public may perceive.

“I don’t think they [Beyoncé and JAY-Z] see eye to eye with P. Diddy,” he stated before addressing the numerous photos of JAY-Z and Combs together. “Okay, everyone was in pictures with P. Diddy at one time or another because they went to a party,” he said. “But when things got real years and years ago, you know… they didn’t see eye to eye.”

In addition to the clip of Tacopina laying out why he wouldn’t represent Combs, he also detailed why he believes Rocky’s former friend Relli should be charged for his conduct during the gun assault trial, which concluded earlier this month after a jury found the New York rapper not guilty on two felony gun charges.

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