NEW YORK (Court TV) — Sean "Puffy" Combs' magnetic personality catapulted him to the top of the music and fashion worlds, and now he hopes it will help win him an acquittal.

Combs

The rap and clothing mogul took the stand in his own defense Thursday morning to tell jurors he is innocent of weapons possession and bribery charges. The move — risky for any defendant — promises to shift the trial's focus to Combs' credibility and away from the testimony of other witnesses.

Although Combs' defense team said his testimony is certain, they continued to hedge about whether they would call his superstar ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. Combs' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said there is still a small chance the singer-actress may follow her one-time beau to the witness stand.

In the eyes of the prosecutor, however, Combs has already said too much. Despite a gag order, the Bad Boy Entertainment CEO gave a newspaper interview Tuesday night, claiming Lopez was not testifying because he loved her too much to put her through the ordeal.

Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos was livid when court got underway Wednesday. Clutching the newspaper article, he asked Judge Charles Solomon to find Combs in contempt of court and throw him in jail for 30 days for "arrogantly and brazenly" violating the gag.

Bogdanos

"It's another instance of Mr. Combs' inability to control his impulses and follow the law," Bogdanos steamed.

The judge seemed disturbed by the accusations, saying, "I walk by a newsstand and see that [Combs] is going to testify. I'm the last one to know."

He postponed a decision, but imposed an even tougher gag, telling attorneys and defendants not to make any statements to any members of the press on any subject related to the case. At lunch, Brafman explained the judge's new order to a bank of rolling cameras set up outside the courthouse.

Combs, 31, faces weapons possession and bribery charges in connection with a December 1999 shooting at Manhattan's Club New York. Three bystanders were wounded in the incident, which allegedly was sparked by an argument the music mogul had with another clubgoer. Combs is accused of firing into the ceiling during the fight and then bribing his chauffeur to take the rap. Combs' bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, and a rap protege, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, are also defendants in the case.

Lopez, who broke off her relationship with Combs earlier this month, accompanied him to the club. Even as they admitted Lopez was not likely to testify, lawyers on both sides continued to argue and posture over who would benefit from her hypothetical testimony.

Bogdanos maintained that Combs was lying when he claimed his affection for Lopez was the reason she would not be called. The truth, he said, was that Lopez couldn't help him.

It would be "literally and figuratively impossible" for the singer's testimony to exonerate Combs, Bogdanos told the judge.

He said that during grand jury testimony, he offered Lopez three different opportunities to come to her then-boyfriend's defense, but she declined each time.

Defense lawyer Brafman took issue with this characterization of Lopez's value as a witness, arguing that the pop diva told him she watched Combs get dressed, danced closely with him and even embraced him a mere 20 seconds before shots were fired — all without noticing a gun.

Brafman

"Unless [the gun] dropped from the sky like a duck in a Groucho Marx film" it was impossible for Combs to have been in possession of a weapon, Brafman said. The lawyer added that the statement was only released to put to rest rumors leaked from an unknown source concerning Lopez's testimony.

Brafman also left the door open for Lopez to take the stand, saying he would decide Thursday afternoon, following Combs' testimony, whether to call her.

Combs will take the stand with the momentum in his favor. Two more witnesses testified Wednesday that he was unarmed when the shots rang out in Club New York, making a total of four people who told jurors Combs' hands were empty during the gunfire.

Suitt

"[Combs] went down as if to block shots," said Charles Suitt, a club patron and music executive at Universal, a rival label. "He had nothing in his hands before he fell."

Another clubgoer, Israel Ramirez, said Combs "mouthed off" during the club fight, but had no gun when the shots were fired.

Ramirez

With strong testimony from others disputing the weapons possession counts, Combs appears to be taking the stand primarily to address the bribery charge. Chauffeur Wardel Fenderson testified that his boss offered him $50,000 to take the rap for the gun, and the defense has yet to challenge that account.

The defense has said previously that, during police-station conversations with his co-defendants, Combs was "on a mission" to help police find the owner of the gun so he and Lopez could be released from police custody. On the stand, Combs could claim that he talked to Fenderson about the gun because he thought it belonged to the chauffeur and wanted him to confess.

The jury will certainly be scrutinizing Combs' account. Many defense lawyers recommend that their clients not testify for fear the verdict become a referendum on the client's likability on the stand, rather than an evaluation of all the evidence.

Combs, however, is a master of public appearance, and without uttering a word in the trial so far, he appears to have endeared himself to at least one juror. As the panel filed out of court Wednesday afternoon, one middle-aged woman turned to Combs at the defense table and flashed a broad smile.