Key moments from the closing arguments at Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
Two prosecutors insisted that he had coerced, threatened and sometimes viciously forced two ex-girlfriends to have sex with male sex workers to satisfy his sexual urges. They cited multiple acts of violence he carried out against them as proof that they had no say.
A defense lawyer then mocked the government's closing argument and warned that prosecutors were employing a novel approach to sex crimes that risked turning the swinger lifestyle that Combs and his girlfriends enjoyed into potential crimes for all Americans.
Combs, 55, the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges in the trial, which continues Monday when the judge will read instructions on the law to jurors before they begin deliberations.
Here are key moments from closing arguments on Thursday and Friday:
Prosecutors showed they weren't withdrawing claims against Combs
Prosecutors triggered headlines last week that they had backed off or eliminated claims of arson and kidnapping against Combs when they said they were removing instructions on the law regarding them to be given jurors on Monday in response to the judge's request to streamline the case for the jury.
'The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary,' prosecutors wrote in a letter to the judge.
But when Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik launched closings on Thursday, she gave the allegations of arson and kidnapping a starring role in her first sentences, naming them before any others.
'Over the last several weeks, you've learned a lot about Sean Combs. He's the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn't take no for an answer. And now you know about many crimes the defendant committed with members of his enterprise: Kidnapping of one of the defendant's employees; arson by trying to blow up a car; forced labor, including of an employee the defendant repeatedly sexually assaulted; bribery of a security officer to keep damning evidence against the defendant buried; and of course, the brutal crimes at the heart of this case — sex trafficking,' she said.
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