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Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Defense closes; deliberations set for Monday

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.

Ongoing updates in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.


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."


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Sean Combs likely won’t testify in his own defense

Given that the defense said this morning that it will rest its case without calling witnesses, that likely implies that Sean Combs will not testify in his own defense.

It is likely that Judge Arun Subramanian will ask Combs at some point to formally confirm the choice.

The jury at Combs’ trial is now seeing sexually explicit videos depicting him, his former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” and a male escort.

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello, a summary witness for the government, testified that he reviewed “multiple hours” of explicit videos

Federal prosecutors said they were able to identify more than 40 arranged sexual encounters with male escorts -- referred to at various times during testimony as “freak-offs,” “hotel nights” or “wild king nights,” depending on the witness -- that allegedly took place between 2021 and 2024, including one prosecutors say happened just weeks before Combs’ arrest in September 2024. Combs has maintained that all encounters were consensual.

The jury was shown video excerpts along with travel records, hotel invoices and money transfers collected during the investigation. Federal prosecutors are hoping to convince jurors that the sexual acts depicted in the videos were the result of alleged coordinated criminal activity by Combs, his chief of staff, his assistants, his travel manager, his finance people and his bodyguards, all of which Combs has denied.


Prosecution expects to rest Tuesday; defense not calling witnesses

Federal prosecutors said Monday that they now expect to rest their case on Tuesday once special agent Joseph Cerciello of Homeland Security Investigations concludes his testimony.

The defense said it plans to rest without calling any witnesses, only submitting some evidence.

Given the revised schedule, the judge will hold a charging conference Wednesday followed by summations on Thursday.


Prosecution expected to rest their case today

Federal prosecutors in New York expect to rest their case against Sean "Diddy" Combs today, relying on the testimony of nearly three dozen witnesses and hundreds of exhibits to try to prove their contention that the hip-hop impresario ran a criminal conspiracy that trafficked women and transported prostitutes.

The final witness for the prosecution, Joseph Cerciello of Homeland Security Investigations, walked the jury through reams of travel records, hotel invoices and money transfers that prosecutors hope will convince the jury that Combs and his associates trafficked his ex-girlfriend, who testified earlier under the pseudonym “Jane.”

Combs’ former assistant, Brendan Paul, who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony, previously told the jury that he bought and carried drugs for Combs. Paul was arrested in March 2024 for cocaine possession while aboard a private plane with Combs.

“Was the cocaine yours, Mr. Paul?” prosecutor Christy Slavik asked.

“No,” Paul testified in response.

“Whose cocaine was it?” Slavik followed up.

“Mr. Combs,” Paul testified.

The drug charges against Paul were dropped last year after he completed a pre-trial intervention program.

The criminal enterprise Combs is accused of operating committed drug offenses, according to federal prosecutors. Combs has conceded that he used illicit drugs but has denied running a criminal enterprise. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the government's charges.

Paul also told the jury that Combs wanted his assistants to “move like SEAL Team Six” and anticipate his every need. He testified that it was part of his job to buy a pound of marijuana every two months and to procure a powdery mix of ketamine and molly, known as tusi, that was “dyed pink for the aesthetic.”

Paul further testified that he set up hotel rooms for so-called "freak-off" sexual encounters, which he knew as “wild king nights,” stocking items like lubricant and baby oil. The jury saw photos of the items arranged in Combs’ Los Angeles homes.

On cross-examination, Paul testified that he never noticed “Jane” being hesitant or apprehensive about participating in what she called “hotel night” sexual encounters.

Once prosecutors rest their case, defense attorneys have said their case will likely take a day or two to present.


Read updates from week 6

Click here to catch up on everything from the sixth week of the Sean Combs trial.