Sean Combs reading self-help book during trial
The 55-year-old disgraced music mogul is in the midst of New York court hearings after he was charged with federal offences including sex trafficking and racketeering, and he has been seen carrying a self-help book titled The Magic of Believing into court.
He was spotted with the tome by journalist Emilie Hagen, who is covering Combs' ongoing trial in Brooklyn.
Writing on Instagram on Thursday (12,06.25), Emilie said she briefly spoke with Combs as he entered the courtroom and took his place at the defence table.
She said: 'He grabs the book and then he shows it to me then shows it to everyone else.
'It was The Magic Of Believing, a book about how to use the power of the mind to tap into reality, to help manifest different thoughts and actions. It's like a self-help book that I would read.'
The reporter later posted a follow-up suggesting that Combs may be 'trying to manifest his verdict' by reading the book, whose full title is The Magic Of Believing: The Classic Guide To Unlocking The Power of Your Mind.
Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, was arrested in September 2024. He has been held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ever since.
His trial formally began in May 2025.
Combs faces a number of serious federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering, stemming from a multi-agency investigation that reportedly involved surveillance, financial records and witness testimony.
Prosecutors allege Combs oversaw a criminal enterprise that exploited women and engaged in widespread criminal activity.
He has denied all charges and has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Combs could face a sentence ranging from 15 years to life in prison.
Combs' trial on Thursday (12.06.25) heard an account of an orgy with an unnamed 'famous rapper'.
His ex-girlfriend and one of his accusers – who goes by the name 'Jane' to protect her anonymity – told jurors about an alleged January 2024 trip to Las Vegas in which she claims to have partied with an unnamed rapper, his girlfriend and a male escort.
Describing the rapper's behaviour at the alleged party, she said: 'He said he'd always had a crush on me.'
The 44-year-old woman has accused Combs of forcing her into unwanted sexual encounters with male escorts during their relationship.
Her testimony is central to the federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy case against the music mogul.
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Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business Insider
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Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sean Combs' Allies Have Upped Pardon Talks. His Survivors Want to Shut Them Down
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The letter notes signees would be willing to come to the White House to make their case against a pardon in person to Trump. 'We want to tell you the unfiltered truth — free of legal obstruction, PR spin, or courtroom limitations,' the draft reads. 'These stories deserve to be heard.' Their concerns were sparked this week by renewed reports that Combs' associates have escalated efforts to gain the president's ear following Combs' acquittal on more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges earlier this month. Even before a verdict was reached, Trump publicly mulled flexing his pardon power for Combs, whom he was friendly with in the 1990s through the 2010s. The mixed verdict means Combs will most likely face more prison time after being found guilty of hiring male escorts to travel across state lines to have sex with his girlfriends as he watched and filmed the drug-fueled encounters. 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The idea was simple: strike up enough relationships in that universe, portray Combs as the kind of victim that Trump pretends to be, play up Combs and Trump's past chummy relationship, and lay the groundwork for begging for a pardon or clemency if needed. It appears that moment has arrived. In the spring, it didn't seem like the rapper had a great chance. Though Trump had spoken glowingly of Combs in the past, there wasn't much evidence to suggest this case was on the president's radar. Some senior administration officials who were aware of Diddy World's outreach campaigns thought it'd be a bad idea for Trump to rescue Combs, given the nature of the criminal charges. Indeed, there are still a number of Trump advisers who feel it would be a grave unforced error to pardon Combs around the same time that Trump and his administration are embroiled in a scandal over their handling of the investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker. However, Trump recently refused to rule out pardoning the financier's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is angling to be released from prison. And the president has seemed somewhat sympathetic to Combs' plight, saying in late May that he 'would certainly look at the facts' of the case when asked about the possibility of a pardon. 'I know people are thinking about it,' he added. 'People have been very close to asking.' Based on those comments, combined with a jury finding Combs not guilty earlier this month on the most severe charges, multiple Trump advisers saw the rapper's odds at securing clemency increase somewhat, with a growing number of people in the president's orbit at least open to the idea that Combs was 'unfairly' treated by the feds. It's not clear how likely it is that Trump would ultimately sign on to this. 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One of the sources says the offer they were privy to was in the mid-six figures. However, the sources note that at least some of these offers have come with the condition that much, if not most, of the cash wouldn't be paid out until after Combs gets pardoned by Trump. Buttering up Trump for a pardon is one of several contingency plans Combs currently has in play. On Thursday, his legal team filed a 62-page motion asking the judge to set aside his guilty verdict entirely or retry him. They made a range of arguments, including that Combs is an amateur porn director who was simply exercising his First Amendment rights to film so-called 'freak-offs' between his girlfriends and oiled male escorts. His attorneys also returned to their original claim that it's unprecedented that Combs was charged with the Mann Act prostitution and trafficking statute, which they blasted as having 'racist origins.' 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CNN
18 hours ago
- CNN
Video: The Mann Act, explained. What the law says about transportation, prostitution
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