Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Adds New Lawyer 3 Days Before His Sex-Trafficking Trial Begins

• Sean “Diddy” Combs added a new attorney to his defense team days before his trial kicks off.
• Xavier R. Donaldson is a New York City-based attorney.
• Combs’ trial begins with jury selection on Monday, May 5.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has added a new attorney to his legal team just days before his sex trafficking trial is set to begin.

Xavier R. Donaldson, a New York-based attorney, filed a notice of appearance stating that he would be joining Combs’ high-powered defense team.

According to his LinkedIn, Donaldson has had his own legal practice since 2023 and previously spent 24 years at a New York City law firm. He began his career as a prosecutor in the Bronx.

Donaldson received his law degree from Howard University, where Combs studied business prior to dropping out to start his career in the music industry.

Donaldson will join a legal team headed by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, which also features Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in the Atlanta rapper’s RICO trial in Georgia.

“It’s not uncommon to add lawyers in a long and complex case like this, even on the eve of trial,” Neama Rahmani, a California trial lawyer who is not involved in the case, tells PEOPLE. “Combs has almost unlimited money and the trial will last for weeks, so the defense may need the additional firepower. Some of the lawyers may also be handling the appeal if Combs is convicted, and not the trial itself.”

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Combs’ trial is set to kick off with jury selection on Monday, May 5 in Manhattan federal court. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If convicted, Combs could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison. Previously, the Bad Boy Records founder has been denied bail by three different judges.

Combs is incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.