Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial lastly neared its finish on Friday, June 27, because the protection delivered their closing argument on the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York Metropolis.
“Sean Combs has develop into one thing that’s very, very arduous to be: a self-made profitable black entrepreneur,” protection legal professional Marc Agnifilo stated of Diddy, 55, noting that quite a few witnesses praised the disgraced mogul’s influence within the leisure world. “Did they at all times like him? No method, let’s not even go there. However they liked him. They didn’t wish to depart him. Once they left him, they talked about being suicidal.”
At some point earlier, the prosecution delivered their very own closing argument, outlining how the testimony supported the particular expenses towards Diddy. He was arrested in New York in September 2024 after a grand jury indicted him on expenses of racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking by power, fraud or coercion and transportation to interact in prostitution. He subsequently pleaded not responsible to all counts.
On Thursday, June 26, Assistant U.S. Lawyer Christy Slavik claimed that drug distribution is one the extra “simple” crimes Diddy is accused of that helps the racketeering cost. She additionally referenced the previous Unhealthy Boy staff who testified over the previous six weeks, saying, “The defendant’s assistants and employees facilitated the Combs enterprise.”
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs started in New York Metropolis on Could 5 following his September 2024 arrest on expenses of intercourse trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to interact in prostitution. The method started with jury choice, which was finalized on Could 12 earlier than opening arguments began that very same day. Diddy, 55, has pleaded […]
Slavik additionally talked about the a number of kidnapping claims that have been mentioned throughout testimony in addition to the alleged firebombing of Child Cudi’s automotive. Referencing the alleged bribe Diddy and his crew provided guards on the InterContinental resort, Slavik stated, “That is the right illustration of the Combs enterprise at work.”
Agnifilo pushed again towards the racketeering cost on Friday, saying, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” He then pointed to Diddy’s eldest youngsters and his mom, Janice Combs, sitting within the courtroom, claiming their presence proves that “the person takes care of individuals.” (Diddy shared sons Quincy Brown, 34, and Christian, 27, and twin daughters D’Lila and Jessie, 18, with ex Kim Porter, who died at age 47 in 2018. He additionally shares son Justin, 31, with ex Mysa Hilton, daughter Likelihood, 18, with Sarah Chapman and daughter Love, 2, with Dana Tran.)
Agnifilo additionally repeated the protection’s central declare that freak offs weren’t legal however merely a part of Diddy’s “non-public intercourse life.” He additionally acknowledged that his shopper owns that home violence occurred in his relationship with Cassie however famous, “That’s not charged.”
Slavik, in the meantime, instructed the jury on Thursday that they want solely discover one instance of a freak off the place coercion came about so as to discover Diddy responsible. She additional argued that Cassie and different girls’s participation within the freak offs was compelled labor. “This was not for Cassie’s pleasure. This was work,” Slavik stated, referring to Cassie’s testimony in Could when she claimed that she continued taking part in freak offs whereas battling UTIs.
Because the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs kicked off in New York Metropolis, observers have been stunned to listen to the names of quite a few different celebrities talked about throughout jury choice and varied witness testimonies. When potential jurors have been questioned beginning Could 5, they have been requested about their familiarity with stars like Kanye West and former Danity Kane […]
“It’s time to carry him accountable,” Slavik stated. “To search out justice. To search out the defendant responsible.”
A lot of Agnifilo’s argument centered on the protection’s declare that the prosecution’s proof doesn’t help the fees towards Diddy. “I feel that the proof exhibits that the federal government focused Sean Combs,” he instructed the court docket. “He’s not a racketeer. He’s not a conspirator. He’s none of these issues. He’s harmless. Return him to his household who’s ready for him.”
Prosecutor Maurene Comey then delivered the federal government’s rebuttal, reminding the jury that employed escorts don’t must label themselves as prostitutes. “What issues is that the defendant meant to pay them for intercourse when transporting them over state traces,” she stated.
Comey additionally claimed that Diddy knew freak offs have been unlawful as a result of he stopped having them in resorts after Cassie filed her lawsuit towards him in November 2023. She additional pushed again on the protection’s claims that Cassie and different feminine witnesses have been in search of a payday. If that have been the case, Comey argued, Cassie (actual identify Casandra Ventura) would have “cashed her paycheck and rode the wave of optimistic media consideration” reasonably than endure days of grueling testimony. She went on to remind the jury that Cassie, 38, testified she would have given the settlement a refund to keep away from the experiences she allegedly had with Diddy.
Over the course of 4 weeks, witnesses for the prosecution within the trial towards Sean “Diddy” Combs have painted an image of a monster — an abusive determine fixated on energy and management, prepared to do no matter it takes to bend victims to his will. His ex Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, then eight months pregnant, tearfully […]
Comey concluded her rebuttal by asking the jury once more to seek out Diddy responsible. “In his thoughts, he was intouchable. A god amongst males, as [former assistant] George Kaplan put it. For 20 years, the defendant acquired away along with his crimes. Right this moment it ends on this courtroom. He’s not a god, he’s an individual. Discover him responsible.”
As soon as closing arguments completed, Decide Arun Subramanian suggested the jury “to maintain an open thoughts” till they obtain directions for deliberation on Monday, June 30.
After Diddy was taken into custody final yr, Agnifilo instructed Us Weekly in an announcement that his shopper was “an imperfect individual” however “not a legal.”
“Please reserve your judgment till you may have all of the details,” Agnifilo stated. “These are the acts of an harmless man with nothing to cover, and he appears ahead to clearing his identify in court docket.”
The next month, a choose dominated that Diddy’s trial would start in Could 2025. Whereas his authorized crew filed a movement in April requesting to delay the trial by two months to additional put together his protection amid a revised indictment, a choose denied the request.
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs started in New York Metropolis on Could 5 following his September 2024 arrest on expenses of intercourse trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to interact in prostitution. The method started with jury choice, which was finalized on Could 12 earlier than opening arguments began that very same day. Diddy, 55, has pleaded […]
The trial in the end started on schedule, with jury choice beginning on Could 5 adopted by opening statements on Could 12.
“That is Sean Combs,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Emily Johnson stated within the prosecution’s opening assertion. “However there may be one other aspect to him. A aspect that ran a legal enterprise … however he didn’t do it alone.”
Johnson claimed that Diddy’s case was “not a couple of superstar’s non-public sexual selections” and revealed that his ex-girlfriend Cassie and an nameless Jane Doe’s allegations towards him can be “the primary focuses of the trial.”
Diddy’s legal professional Teny Geragos then shared her personal opening assertion, telling the jury, “Sean Combs is a sophisticated man, however this isn’t a sophisticated case.”
INF/INSTAR Sean “Diddy” Combs has been beneath investigation for a minimum of a yr after being accused of sexual assault by a number of individuals. The rapper and music mogul, 54, made headlines in November 2023 after his ex-girlfriend Cassie accused him of sexual abuse in a bombshell lawsuit. She accused Diddy of beating her, forcing her to […]
Geragos acknowledged that Diddy had a historical past of violence, admitting, “We take full accountability that there’s home violence on this case. Home violence just isn’t intercourse trafficking.”
Whereas addressing Cassie and Jane Doe’s claims, Geragos alleged, “Each witness on this case had free option to make the alternatives they made.”
Diddy has been behind bars on the Metropolitan Detention Heart in Brooklyn, New York, since his arrest after his makes an attempt at bail have been repeatedly denied.
For those who or somebody you already know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). For those who or somebody you already know is experiencing home violence, please name the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential help. For those who or somebody you already know is a human trafficking sufferer, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.