Here's why Obama was briefly mentioned during Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial
According to prominent news media outlets publishing live updates from the trial, Obama's name did briefly come up during testimony on the morning of May 20 — specifically with a witness telling prosecutors that Combs' personal security once possessed Obama-shaped ecstasy pills. However, users shared inaccurate reporting about the testimony, alleging the witness instead said a "drug dealer" for Combs met with former presidents, including Obama.
Snopes contacted a representative for Obama to request comment about the trial and the inaccurate reporting, and will update this story if we receive any statements.
On May 20, The New York Times reported that David James, a former personal assistant to Combs, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik the music mogul's security personnel would carry a Louis Vuitton bag at all times filled with pills and cash, including an ecstasy pill shaped like Obama's face. USA Today, The Washington Post and other credible news outlets also reported the detail about the Obama-shaped ecstasy pills.
New York Post reporter Priscilla DeGregory, who was inside the Manhattan federal court, published a transcript (archived) of the exchange on the Post's live-update blog (archived):
Sean "Diddy" Combs took drugs "every day" — including sometimes downing Obama-shaped ecstasy pills, his ex-personal assistant told jurors Tuesday.
"There were various pills but one was in the form of a former president's face," Combs' one-time personal assistant David James said in Manhattan federal court of the types of ecstasy pills he saw his boss take.
"Which former president?" prosecutor Christy Slavik asked.
"President Obama," James responded.
James was named by the prosecution's star witness, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, as the Bad Boy Records founder's "trusted assistant" who helped set up "freak-offs" — depraved, drug-fueled sex romps that form the backbone of the case against Combs.
During James' testimony, a journalist for Inner City Press, also reporting from the court, published in a thread of posts (archived) on X that James had mentioned a "drug dealer" for Combs named "One Stop" (or "One-stop"). In the thread's next post, Inner City Press transcribed further testimony, possibly giving the appearance James said "One Stop" also met with former presidents, including Obama. Inner City Press has since deleted that latter post, but not before other users captured screenshots.
Numerous users on Facebook (archived), X (archived) and YouTube (archived) shared the unfounded information with screenshots of Inner City Press' deleted post.
Snopes located no further credible reports of any such testimony about James saying a drug dealer named "One Stop" met with other presidents, including Obama, nor did we find an archived link for Inner City Press' removed post.
In a direct message on X, Snopes asked Inner City Press if they deleted the post because their reporter misheard and/or misstated the comment about the Obama-shaped ecstasy pills. In response, Inner City Press founder Matthew Russell Lee indicated the quick-moving nature of live testimony led to a reporting mistake.
"The testimony is fast and furious in this trial: David James was being asked about all the people Combs met with, CEOs of beverage conglomerates, etc, and then the question quickly turned to pills (like today, pills with impression of Tesla on it)," Lee said, referencing testimony about Tesla-stamped pills. "In any event, took that tweet down."
Lee added that modern court proceedings could benefit from offering video or audio-only feeds, saying in part, "Accurate but also fast reporting of court proceedings is important. It would be better if Federal courts allowed cameras and audio (some do have audio lines these days in civil cases, including some of the immigration / deportation habeas corpus proceedings). Inner City Press pushed for as much transparency as possible." Combs' trial does not feature any live audio or video.
Combs faces charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, all centered on so-called "freak-off" parties — alleged sexual marathons involving drug use and coercion. Combs pleaded not guilty; if convicted, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Cohen, Luc, and Jonathan Stempel. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Trafficking; Judge Denies Bail." Reuters, 18 Sept. 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sean-diddy-combs-criminal-charges-expected-be-unveiled-ny-after-arrest-2024-09-17/.
"Ex-Assistant, Psychologist and Special Agent Testified in Sean Combs's Case." The Washington Post, 21 May 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/05/21/diddy-trial-live-updates-sean-combs-witness-testimony/.
Finn, Natalie. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial: Usher, Michael B. Jordan and More Celebrities Who Have Been Mentioned in Court." E! Online, 20 May 2025, https://www.eonline.com/news/1417772/sean-diddy-combs-trial-michael-b-jordan-usher-more-named-in-court.
Jacobs, Shayna. "Witnesses Testify on Cassie Ventura, Freak-Offs and Combs's Star Island Mansion Raid." The Washington Post, 20 May 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/05/20/diddy-trial-live-updates-sean-combs-witness-testimony/.
Landrum Jr., Jonathan. "Diddy Faces Public Scrutiny over Alleged Sex Crimes as Questions Arise about Future of His Music." The Associated Press, 21 Sept. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/sean-combs-diddy-7ffff613c885e5010ba3cfdb0625fb5a.
Reiss, Adam, and Marlene Lenthang. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Recap: Agent Testifies about Drugs, Guns and Sex Supplies Found in Miami Home." NBC News, 21 May 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/diddy-sean-combs-trial-testimony-live-updates-rcna207379.
Ryan, Patrick, et al. "Diddy Trial Recap: Cassie's Mom Said She Wired Diddy $20K, Was Sick over Alleged Threats." USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/05/20/diddy-trial-updates-day-11/83729731007/. Accessed 21 May 2025.
Schnitzer, Kyle, Jack Morphet, Priscilla DeGregory, and Matt Troutman. "Diddy Took Drugs 'every Day' Including Obama-Shaped Ecstasy Pills, Ex-Assistant Says." New York Post, 20 May 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/05/20/us-news/diddy-took-drugs-every-day-including-obama-shaped-ecstasy-pills-ex-assistant-says/.
Schnitzer, Kyle, Jack Morphet, Priscilla DeGregory, and Kaydi Pelletier. "Diddy Trial: Live Updates from May 20." New York Post, 20 May 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/05/20/us-news/diddy-trial-live-updates-05-20-2025/.
Sisario, Ben, and Julia Jacobs. "Cassie's Mother Testifies at Sean Combs's Trial About Bruises and a Payment." The New York Times, 20 May 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/arts/music/sean-combs-diddy-trial-assistant-cassie-mother.html.
---. "Drugs, Sex, Baby Oil: The 'Freak-Offs' at the Core of Sean Combs's Troubles." The New York Times, 22 Sept. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/22/arts/music/sean-combs-diddy-freakoffs-sex-drugs.html.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump reacts to Tulsi Gabbard reveal: ‘Irrefutable proof of Obama coup'
President Donald Trump is furious with former President Barack Obama, whom he is accusing of participating in a 'coup' against him in 2016. Trump is referring of course to recent disclosures from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has released documents showing it was Obama who encouraged intelligence officials to reach stronger conclusions about Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election. According to Gabbard, the intelligence community was well aware that Russia did not hack voting machines, nor did the country have much impact on the outcome, but Trump's enemies in the Democratic Party wanted to paint him as a Russian collaborator, and so they overreached. The media, of course, followed suit, publishing headline after headline suggesting that Trump was a Russian stooge. Here is President Trump reacting to the latest news: 'We found absolute — this isn't like evidence, this is like proof, irrefutable proof, that Obama was seditious. That Obama was trying to lead a coup. And it was with Hillary Clinton and with all these other people, but Obama headed it up. And, you know, I get a kick when I hear everyone talks about people I never even heard of. […] It was Obama, he headed it up. And it says so right in the papers.' These allegations are extremely serious. Now, it's far too premature to throw around the word treason; in fact, I don't like when anybody, Democrat or Republican, starts accusing their opponents of treason. This reads less like treason to me and more like political weaponization of national intelligence for partisan purposes, which has become a recurring theme. Make no mistake: There was an effort to de-legitimize Trump's election to the presidency, and the argument was made by mainstream media mouthpieces leveraging the expertise of deep-state spymasters. Hillary Clinton and Jimmy Carter both said that Trump was an illegitimate president, in response to media reporting on Russia's meddling. This was the original 'stolen election' theory, and it's only been overshadowed because Trump's false contention that the 2016 election was stolen has subsequently received much more media coverage and much more vigorous pushback. Let me be perfectly clear: Trump should have never claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him. But he's in good company: Look at the Democrats who said the same thing about 2016! And their main theory backing that up was Russian malfeasance — something intelligence officials privately discounted, until they went to the White House and had a chat with outgoing President Barack Obama.


Black America Web
an hour ago
- Black America Web
LeBron James Caught Rapping 'Not Like Us' On Vacation With Jeff Bezos, X Rides For Drake
Source: George Pimentel / Getty Social media has its foot on LeBron James' neck and for once it's got nothing to do with the NBA GOAT debate. King James is trying to enjoy what may be his last NBA offseason, and that includes vacationing with friends and family, which is how he found himself in Cannes, France. The only problem is that while out grabbing dinner, he was seen vibing a bit too hard to Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us.' A hyped up James and his wife Savannah can be seen sitting next to friend Maverick Carter singing along to the now-infamous 'A minorrrr' line. To make matters worse, billionaire Jeff Bezos is seen filming the moment as his newly minted wife Lauren Sanchez dances along. It's only the latest fracture in James' relationship with Drake, because the NBA champion chose to publicly support Kendrick Lamar during the beef instead of his longtime friend. He was even spotted dancing to the diss track at Lamar's Juneteenth Pop Out concert, which immediately caused a riff with Drake, who then changed lyrics on 'Nonstop' to 'how I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron.' Then Drizzy cemented that there was no coming back from his disloyalty by covering up his James tattoo with one of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the fellow Canadian native who won this year's NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Drake has been the butt of all jokes about the beef on everything from subtle jabs, wearing a bullet-ridden hoodie to show his friends shot him in the back, and addressing the signs he missed on 'What Did I Miss?' That track even had a bar that seemingly references Bron, when Drake raps, 'I saw bro in the Pop Out with them but been d-ckriding gang since 'Headlines.'' But seeing James turn up to 'Not Like Us' on vacation has rubbed fans the wrong way, and they're suddenly looking at his broken friendship with Drake a bit differently. The Los Angeles Lakers have found new rappers to hang out with, recently appearing in Tyler, The Creator's video for Stop Playing With Me.' Which also features Drake hater Pusha T alongside his brother Malice as Clipse. See how social media is roasting King James below. LeBron James Caught Rapping 'Not Like Us' On Vacation With Jeff Bezos, X Rides For Drake was originally published on


New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Targeting Obama, Trump's Retribution Campaign Takes Another Turn
This is what Washington thought retribution would look like. When President Trump started his second term, there were deep fears among current and former Justice Department officials, legal experts and Democrats that Mr. Trump would follow through on his repeated promises to 'lock up' or otherwise pursue charges against high-profile figures like Liz Cheney, James B. Comey and former President Barack Obama. Mr. Trump quickly went after perceived enemies — but not always the anticipated ones and often not in the anticipated ways. Displaying a willingness to weaponize the federal government in ways that were as novel as they were audacious, he took on a wide variety of individuals and institutions — from law firms and universities to journalists and federal bureaucrats — that he felt had crossed him, failed to fall in line or embodied ideological values that he rejected. But on Tuesday Mr. Trump reverted to earlier form, resurfacing — in a remarkably unfiltered and aggressive rant — his grievances against Mr. Obama, prominent figures in past administrations and others he associated with what he considers a long campaign of persecution dating back to the 2016 election. Seeking to change the topic at a time when he is under bipartisan political pressure over his unwillingness to do more to release investigative files into Jeffrey Epstein, he said the time had come for his predecessors to face criminal charges. 'He's guilty,' he said of Mr. Obama. 'This was treason. This was every word you can think of.' But if his enemies list was familiar, his capacity to pursue retribution appears to be expanding. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.