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Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Combs' ex-assistant 'Mia' to continue testimony next week
The hip-hop mogul is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.
This is week three of testimony in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Latest headlines:
- Defense cross examination of 'Mia' to continue next week
- Defense focuses on 'Mia's' birthday present for Combs: 'It’s called psychological abuse'
- Trump on possible pardon for Combs: 'I would certainly look at the facts'
- Defense questions 'Mia' on attitude towards Combs in social media posts
- Defense focuses questioning on 'Mia's' positive posts with Combs: 'The good kind of crazy'
Sean Combs trial reaches an end with mixed verdict
The highly anticipated trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has reached an end.
The jury found Sean Combs not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge.
The jury found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura) and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane").
He was found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and "Jane."
Combs was accused of being the ringleader of an alleged enterprise that "abused, threatened and coerced women" into prolonged, drug-fueled sexual orgies with male prostitutes, which he called "freak-offs," and then threatened them into silence. Combs has said that all of the sex was consensual and that while his relationships sometimes involved domestic violence, he wasn't engaged in trafficking.
Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs was simply part of the swinger lifestyle and that he "vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY."
Court adjourns for the week after HSI agent testifies about computer data extractions
Testimony concluded for the week with an agent from Homeland Security Investigations who conducted data extraction from three laptop computers that belonged to Cassie Ventura.
One of the laptops allegedly included a user profile for Frank Black, an alias used by Sean Combs.
Court is now adjourned until Tuesday.
“Do not talk to anyone about the case,” Judge Arun Subramanian instructed the juror before dismissing them, telling them instead to “watch the Knicks avenge their Game One loss.”
Subramanian also told the jury that the trial is “right on schedule.”
When court resumes on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said they plan to call Combs’ former assistant, Capricorn Clark, as well as representatives from the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department.
“I think we are right on time,” prosecutor Maureen Comey said of the pace of testimony, telling the jury the government’s case would take about six weeks total to present. “I would think that we should be able to wrap this up before the Fourth of July,” Comey said.
The defense asked Judge Subramanian to allow Combs to have additional access to videoconferencing from jail. Subramanian said he has had no luck with the Bureau of Prisons. Prosecutors said they would call and ask on the judge’s behalf.
Absent videoconferencing time, the defense sought additional phone time, saying Combs is “out of minutes.”