The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs started in New York Metropolis on Might 5 following his September 2024 arrest on expenses of intercourse trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to have interaction in prostitution.
The method started with jury choice, which was finalized on Might 12 earlier than opening arguments began that very same day. Diddy, 55, has pleaded not responsible to all expenses and denied the allegations towards him.
The music mogul appeared in court docket as jury choice began, sporting a sweater over a white collared shirt with grey pants, per the Associated Press. (Decide Arun Subramanian beforehand mentioned that Diddy may put on informal clothes throughout the trial slightly than his jail uniform.)
Earlier than voir dire (preliminary juror examinations) started, Diddy turned down a plea deal, which could have shortened his potential jail sentence if he agreed to plead responsible. When the decide requested him on Might 1 if he rejected the prosecution’s provide, Diddy replied, “Sure, I do.”
Diddy was arrested final yr after quite a few accusers got here ahead with allegations of sexual assault. In November 2023, his ex-girlfriend Cassie filed a lawsuit towards him, alleging that he sexually and bodily abused her throughout their relationship, which lasted on and off from 2007 to 2018. Diddy denied her claims, and the duo settled out of court docket in the future later.
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura is one step nearer to testifying towards Sean “Diddy” Combs in his upcoming trial. In line with Folks, Cassie is ready to testify within the rap mogul’s federal trial that’s anticipated to kick off on Might 5. She will even be utilizing her title to take action. Prosecutors said in a movement […]
In Might 2024, CNN printed a surveillance video from 2016 that confirmed Diddy kicking and grabbing Cassie, now 38, in a lodge. The rapper later apologized in an Instagram video, saying, “My conduct on that video is inexcusable. I take full accountability for my actions in that video. “I used to be disgusted then once I did it. I’m disgusted now. … I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m really sorry.”
In April, prosecutors filed a movement saying that the particular person talked about within the indictment underneath the alias “Sufferer-1” could be testifying underneath her personal title. A number of retailers reported on the time that “Sufferer-1” is Cassie, however she has not publicly confirmed her involvement within the trial.
Preserve scrolling for day by day updates from contained in the courtroom:
Might 5
As jury choice started, the decide opened with a joke about Diddy’s quite a few nicknames and quipped that the listing of potential jurors is so long as the famously in depth Lord of the Rings novels.
Us Weekly can affirm a number of potential jurors mentioned that they had seen information experiences concerning the CNN video that confirmed Diddy hitting Cassie in 2016 whereas they had been nonetheless relationship. One lady described a nonetheless picture from the video as “damning proof” and was faraway from consideration.
Prosecutors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing lawsuit have denied deliberately leaking footage of the disgraced rapper bodily assaulting his now-ex Cassie in 2016. In court docket paperwork filed on Wednesday, October 30, and obtained by Us Weekly, prosecutors opposed Diddy’s requests for a gag order associated to the video. “The Court docket ought to deny the Leak Movement […]
At one level, Diddy additionally requested a rest room break, per the AP, telling the decide, “I’m sorry, your honor, I’m a bit nervous at present.”
A number of celebrities had been named as individuals who is likely to be talked about through the trial, and potential jurors had been requested to say whether or not they had been conversant in them. Among the names talked about had been Michael B. Jordan, Mike Myers, Kanye West, Child Cudi and Future’s Youngster singer Michelle Williams, although it was not specified how they might be related to the proceedings.
Might 6
As jury choice continued, the decide revised his line of questioning about celebrities, asking potential jurors whether or not they “personally know” them slightly than in the event that they’re simply “acquainted” with their names.
All through the day, the decide expressed “frustration” over receiving a number of potential jurors with “clear points,” resulting in the dismissal of varied individuals for a wide range of causes that included Crohn’s illness, listening to issues and one lady who described herself as a “very delicate particular person” who as soon as fainted at a instructor citing the subject of oral intercourse.
Because the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs kicked off in New York Metropolis, observers had been stunned to listen to the names of quite a few different celebrities talked about throughout jury choice. When potential jurors had been questioned beginning Monday, Might 5, they had been requested about their familiarity with stars like Kanye West and former Danity Kane member Daybreak Richard. […]
Might 7
Throughout jury choice, one potential juror defined the idea of doom-scrolling to the decide, who replied, “I don’t actually use social media.”
Might 9
Agnifilo mentioned in court docket that the protection staff plans to say Cassie was abusive towards Diddy throughout their relationship. “I believe we’re in all probability going to check with that as home violence,” he informed the court docket. The decide then indicated that he would determine on Might 12 whether or not allegations of home violence will probably be admissible through the trial.
Cassie’s lawyer didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Might 12
After the jury was finalized, either side delivered their opening statements, which revealed that allegations by Cassie and an unnamed Jane Doe would be the focus of the case. “That is Sean Combs,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Emily Johnson started. “However there may be one other facet to him. A facet that ran a felony enterprise … however he didn’t do it alone.”
The prosecution alleged that Diddy as soon as “brutally” beat Cassie after allegedly discovering out she’d been seeing one other man and threatened her with movies of her having intercourse with different males. “That’s not the one time he kidnapped somebody,” Johnson continued. “That’s not the primary girlfriend he sexually assaulted.”
Johnson went on to say that Diddy’s bodyguards and chief of employees “dedicated crimes collectively, they usually coated up these crimes,” including, “This case shouldn’t be a few superstar’s personal sexual decisions.”
She later addressed Diddy’s now-infamous freak offs, claiming they occurred as typically as as soon as every week “and befell over a number of days at a time.” In line with Johnson, Cassie as soon as overdosed at a freak off the place a intercourse employee urinated in her mouth. “She tried the primary freak off as a result of she beloved the defendant and wished to make him comfortable,” the lawyer continued. Jane Doe, in the meantime, allegedly believed the freak off she attended was a “one-time wild night time.”
Opening statements have begun in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial, and arguments by either side revealed that allegations made by Cassie and an unnamed Jane Doe would be the major focus of the trial. “That is Sean Combs,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Emily Johnson started on Monday, Might 12, after the jury was finalized. “However […]
After Johnson’s assertion, Diddy’s lawyer Teny Geragos offered the protection’s opening argument, saying, “Sean Combs is a sophisticated man, however this isn’t a sophisticated case.”
Geragos claimed no witness will be capable of again up the federal government’s racketeering expenses as a result of there was no racketeering conspiracy, however she admitted that her shopper has a historical past of violence.
“Sean Combs had a mood, and when he took medication, he would get violent. My shopper shouldn’t be happy with that,” she mentioned. “We take full accountability that there’s home violence on this case. Home violence shouldn’t be intercourse trafficking.”
She added that the jury will hear about Diddy’s “love of child oil” earlier than saying, “However is {that a} federal crime? No.”
Geragos additionally addressed Cassie and Jane Doe’s allegations, claiming, “Each witness on this case had free option to make the alternatives they made.”
After opening statements, two completely different witnesses testified. The primary, Israel Florez, a former safety guard on the InterContinental Resort in L.A., claimed he’s the one who responded to a name concerning the alleged incident between Cassie and Diddy that was captured on surveillance video in 2016 and printed by CNN in 2024. Florez testified that he discovered Diddy in a “devilish state,” whereas Cassie allegedly seemed “scared.”
The second witness, Daniel Phillip, claimed he was employed to have intercourse with Cassie on a number of events whereas Diddy watched. Phillip claimed that he was paid anyplace from $700 to $5,000 or $6,000 to be intimate with Cassie whereas Diddy was current and “at all times sitting in a nook masturbating.”
Phillip additionally claimed that Diddy recorded these alleged sexual encounters on his cellphone “a few times” and took a photograph of Phillip’s driver’s license. “It’s only for insurance coverage, simply in case,” Phillip alleged Diddy informed him, including, “I understood it to [mean] that he was threatening me.”
Should you or somebody you understand has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Should you or somebody you understand is experiencing home violence, please name the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential help. Should you or somebody you understand is a human trafficking sufferer, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.