Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial live updates: Jury resumes deliberations after reaching verdict on 4 of 5 counts

Yahoo

3 days ago

The jury in the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs resumed deliberations Wednesday after saying it has reached a verdict on four of the five counts against the hip-hop mogul.
The 12-member panel sent a note on Tuesday afternoon informing Judge Arun Subramanian that it had come to an agreement on counts two, three, four and five — which include sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution — but was unable to reach a verdict on count one: racketeering conspiracy.
'We have reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5," the note read. "We are unable to reach a verdict on count 1 as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.'
Subramanian told the jury to 'keep an open mind' as it continues deliberating the case.
Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called 'freak offs" and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to control his victims.
'The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said during last week's closing arguments. 'It's time to hold him accountable. It's time for justice. And it's time to find him guilty.'
Marc Agnifilo, Combs's lead defense attorney, argued that Combs is a 'swinger' and a drug abuser guilty of past domestic violence, but not the 'leader of a criminal enterprise' as prosecutors have portrayed him.
'He did not do the things he's charged with,' Agnifilo told jurors. 'He did what he did. But he's going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn't do.'
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including ABC News, the Associated Press, CNN, NBC News, the New York Times and USA Today.
The 12-member panel resumed its deliberations on Wednesday morning, a day after informing Judge Arun Subramanian that it had reached a consensus on all but one of the charges against Combs.
Combs hugged his attorneys and waved to people in the gallery as he entered the courtroom.
He was then escorted back to his holding cell to await the verdict.
The jury said late Tuesday afternoon that it had reached a verdict on four of the five counts Combs is facing, but was stuck on one: racketeering conspiracy.
The charge is based on a 1970 federal law — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO — that was originally used to combat organized crime but has since been applied more broadly.
Federal prosecutors argued that Combs was the "leader of a criminal" enterprise, coerced women to participate in drug-fueled sexual encounters called "freak offs" and used his business empire to carry out crimes, including kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking and interstate transportation for prostitution and drug distribution.
To convict Combs on the racketeering charge, jurors must determine that he was a willful member of the criminal enterprise; that there was an agreement — whether spoken or unspoken — by Combs and at least one other person to participate in the criminal enterprise; and that he or a coconspirator knowingly committed at least two of the underlying crimes as part of the criminal conspiracy.
Prosecutors did not charge a coconspirator in this case, but jurors have been instructed not to take that into account when weighing the racketeering charge against Combs.
The jury is expected to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. ET.
The 12-member panel informed Judge Arun Subramanian on Tuesday afternoon that it had reached a verdict on four of five counts, including sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, but was unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.
Subramanian told jurors to 'keep an open mind' as they deliberate.
There is no timetable for a verdict. The jury concluded its deliberations around 5 p.m. ET on Monday and Tuesday.
The jury sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian on Tuesday afternoon saying it had reached a verdict on four of five counts.
The 12-member panel said it had come to an agreement "on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5"— which include sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution — but was unable to reach a verdict on count one, racketeering conspiracy, because 'we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.'
Combs huddled with his lawyers, who seemed to console him after receiving the note.
After conferring with both sides, Subramanian told the jury to continue deliberating the case.
Before exiting the courtroom, Combs spoke to his mother, Janice Combs, and several of his adult children who were seated behind him in the gallery.
"I'll be all right," he told his mother, tapping his chest. "Love you."
Combs has been held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
The jury sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian saying that it will finish deliberations for today and will continue tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. ET.
The group said it had reached a verdict on four of the five counts against Combs but will continue to deliberate the racketeering conspiracy charge.
After Judge Arun Subramanian, the prosecution and the defense team discussed the jury's last note about not reaching a verdict on the first count against Combs, Subramanian said he was going to tell the jury to keep deliberating.
Subramanian also said he is going to tell the group that if they're done deliberating for the day and want to pick up tomorrow instead, they can send another note to him.
When the jury entered the courtroom, Subramanin said, 'I received your note that you have reached verdicts on count 2-5 but not on count 1. I ask at this time that you keep deliberating."
The jury says it has reached a verdict on four of the five counts against Combs.
'We have reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5," its note to the judge reads. "We are unable to reach a verdict on count 1 as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.'
Here is a review of all the criminal counts the hip-hop mogul is facing, and the possible sentences for each:
Count 1: Racketeering conspiracy
If convicted, Combs faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Count 2: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion regarding Victim 1, who is Cassie Ventura
If convicted, Combs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Count 3: Transportation to engage in prostitution regarding Victim 1 and commercial sex workers
If convicted, Combs faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Count 4: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion regarding Victim 2, who is "Jane"
If convicted, Combs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Count 5: Transportation to engage in prostitution regarding Victim 2 and commercial sex workers
If convicted, Combs faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The jury has informed Judge Arun Subramanian that it has reached a verdict on four of the five counts against Combs.
'We have reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5," the note reads. "We are unable to reach a verdict on count 1 as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.'
Count 1 is the racketeering conspiracy charge.
Counts 2-5 are sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Lawyers for both the prosecution and defense told Subramanian that they want him to tell the jury to continue deliberations.
The jury has sent another note to Judge Arun Subramanian. The panel has now sent the judge six notes since deliberations began on Monday.
Combs and attorneys from both sides have gathered inside the courtroom.
As deliberations began Monday in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, he was accused in a new civil lawsuit of drugging and raping a man, USA Today reports:
In 2021, the man, then in his 20s, alleges in the suit that he met a security guard for one of Combs's parties while stopped at a gas station in Los Angeles. The guard invited him to a party that evening, where he says he drank a glass of champagne on arrival that he later suspected had been drugged. [...]In the suit, lawyers for the man also claim that during the party, while he searched for a place to lie down, he passed out and was awoken by someone unbuttoning his pants. When he asked what was going on, a voice, which the lawsuit claims belonged to Combs, responded, "You're about to get that Diddy love."When the man protested, saying he had a wife and children, Combs allegedly told him he was going to receive a great massage, before he felt himself being undressed, covered in some form of liquid and penetrated anally, per the suit.
It's one of dozens of lawsuits that have been filed against Combs since Cassie Ventura's explosive 2023 suit accusing him of sexual assault.
In a statement to the paper, Combs's legal team said, "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor."
"We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason," Combs's legal team continued. "Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth, and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court."
Read more from USA Today: As Diddy jury deliberates, new civil suit against music mogul alleges drugging and rape
There is once again a large media presence outside the courthouse as the jury continues its deliberations.
Combs's family members, including his mother and several children, were seen coming and going, as well as a supporter who displayed a T-shirt that reads "A freako is not a R.I.C.O," a reference to the racketeering charges the hip-hop mogul is facing.
The jury requested to review Cassie Ventura's testimony about three incidents, including the 2016 assault at a Los Angeles hotel, and the events during and after her 2013 trip to the Cannes Film Festival.
Hotel assault: Ventura told the court that Combs erupted when she tried to leave a "freak off" at the InterContinental Hotel in L.A. on March 5, 2016, a violent assault that was caught on surveillance video and left her with bruises and a black eye. Combs later paid a hotel security guard $100,000 in cash for the surveillance footage. After it leaked, Combs publicly apologized for the assault. The defense did not deny it occurred, arguing that it was evidence of domestic violence and not the criminal behavior alleged by federal prosecutors.
Cannes incident: Ventura told the court that during a 2013 trip to the Cannes Film Festival in France, Combs accused her of taking drugs from him and kicked her off their yacht. Then, on a commercial flight back to the U.S., she said he pulled up explicit videos of her having sex and threatened to release them unless she agreed to another "freak off." Ventura said she felt trapped and arranged one for him upon their landing.
The jury also asked to review testimony from Ventura and Daniel Phillip, a male escort who testified that he was paid to have sex with Ventura numerous times and witnessed Combs physically abuse her at a New York City hotel years before the InterContinental assault.
Judge Arun Subramanian ordered that transcripts of testimony from Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and Daniel Phillip, a male escort, be sent to the jury.
After a lengthy discussion with lawyers from both sides, Subramanian also said the jury will get the transcripts for Ventura's testimony about the days before and after the March 5, 2016, assault at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, as well as a transcript of Ventura's testimony regarding her 2024 Instagram post in response to the release of the surveillance video. (In the post, she described the assault as "domestic violence.")
Prosecutors objected to the inclusion of her testimony about the Instagram post, but Subramanian sided with the defense, which wanted it sent to the jury.
In its latest note to the judge, the jury is asking for transcripts of testimony from Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and Daniel Phillip, a male escort.
Specifically, the jury wants to review Ventura's testimony about the 2016 assault at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, which was caught on surveillance video; her flight back from the Cannes Film Festival with Combs, during which she said he played "freak off" videos and threatened to release them; and what she told the court, if anything, about the "freak offs" she took part in with Phillip.
The panel also wants to review Phillip's testimony about a "freak off" he and Ventura had at the Essex Hotel in New York. (Phillip told the court that he witnessed Ventura "slumped over.")
Lawyers for both sides are now reviewing the transcripts to identify the corresponding excerpts so Judge Arun Subramanian can provide them to the jury.
The jury has sent another note to the judge, asking for transcripts of testimony from two witnesses: Cassie Ventura, Comb's ex-girlfriend, and Daniel Phillip, a male escort who testified he was paid to have sex with Ventura.
It is the fifth note sent to the judge by the jury since deliberations began Monday.
Such a request for transcripts is not unusual. The prosecution called 34 witnesses to testify over the course of six weeks.
Janice Combs, Sean "Diddy" Combs's mother, has been a constant presence at her son's trial. She arrived at the courthouse early Tuesday for the second day of deliberations.
Inside the courtroom, the defendant spoke briefly to his mom, who was seated in the gallery, before returning to his holding cell.
'Just relax, it's gonna be all right,' he said, according to a CNN report, adding that he loved her outfit.
Judge Arun Subramanian discussed with the prosecution and defense attorneys how to answer the jury's question about whether giving drugs to someone who asked for them qualifies as distributing controlled substances.
Subramanian sent a note to the jury saying, "In response to the jury's question, the Court refers the jury to page 37, lines 1 through 3 of its jury charge," or jury instructions.
Subramanian quoted the lines he's referencing in the jury charge in his response letter:
'The word 'distribution' means actual, constructive or attempted transfer. To distribute simply means to deliver, to pass over or to hand over something to another person, or to cause it to be delivered, passed on or handed over to another. Distribution does not require a sale.'
Judge Arun Subramanian is now on the bench.
One of the notes the jury sent to Subramanian yesterday included a question about what qualifies as the distribution of controlled substances. Subramanian said he would answer the jury's question this morning.
The jury is expected to return at 9 a.m. ET to resume its deliberations.
Late Monday, the 12-member panel sent a note asking Judge Arun Subramanian to clarify what constitutes the distribution of controlled substances.
Subramanian asked prosecutors and defense attorneys to meet and confer about how to respond to the jury's question.
The judge told the jury he would respond this morning.
There is no timetable for a decision. Subramanian told jurors that they can choose how long to deliberate each day. Yesterday, the jury stayed until 5 p.m. ET.