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Read ongoing updates in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The highly anticipated trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is nearing its end. Combs has been accused of sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy as part of a blockbuster federal indictment originally filed in September 2024. He later faced two additional superseding indictments. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Combs is 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.”
The jury in the Sean Combs trial has now officially begun their deliberations.
“You will now retire to decide the case,” Judge Arun Subramanian said before deliberations commenced.
The jury in Manhattan federal court is debating whether Combs is guilty of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, all of which Combs has denied.
Combs’ mother, twin daughters and sons were seated behind him in the gallery as the judge instructed jurors to base their decision “exclusively on the evidence or lack of evidence.”
The first job for jurors is to elect a foreperson and to send a note to the court indicating who that is.
The jury has been provided with portions of the trial transcript, a laptop with the evidence loaded onto it, a list of exhibits, a copy of the judge’s instructions, and a copy of the verdict sheet.
Alternate jurors are not dismissed. The judge told them that while they do not have to remain in the courthouse during deliberations, they must adhere to all of the instructions until a verdict is reached. Alternates also must provide a phone number where they can be reached in case they’re needed.
“Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your service. You may be called into service,” Subramanian told the alternates. “I’m sorry you will likely miss the experience of deliberating.”
The schedule of deliberations is largely up to the jury. Jurors may stay until 5 p.m. each day or even longer if all 12 jurors agree to stay late. All meals are provided.
A jury of eight men and four women is now deliberating five criminal counts against Sean Combs after hearing more than two hours of instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian.
Sean “Diddy” Combs embraced the members of his legal defense team this morning shortly before proceedings began in his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial.
Since jury selection began on May 5, the eight men and four women on the jury have spent 35 days in court between the selection process, testimony, and summations, with one juror replaced in the process with an alternate. Today will be the first day they can begin discussing the case among themselves.
Judge Arun Subramanian began the morning’s proceedings by instructing the jury on the law – a process known as charging the jury. The lengthy process of reading the jury charge is the last step before the jury can begin their deliberations.
“You have to decide which witnesses to believe and which facts are true,” Subramanian told the jury.
Subramanian noted that the jury could decide to fully disregard the testimony of a witness if they believe he or she intentionally provided false information on the stand.
“If you find that any witness has willfully testified falsely … you have the right to reject the testimony of that witness in its entirety,” Subramanian said. “A witness may be inaccurate or contradictory but be truthful or entirely credible in other parts of their testimony.”
Subramanian is now walking the jury through each of the counts in the indictment and what elements need to be proven for the jury to convict Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jury deliberations are set to begin today in the federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs, whom federal prosecutors have charged with leading a criminal conspiracy that allegedly trafficked women and transported prostitutes. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“Find him guilty,” assistant United States attorney Maurene Comey implored the jury during her closing arguments last week.
The defense asked jurors to “summon the courage” to acquit Combs, who conceded he could be violent, jealous and a drug user but whose lawyers argued faced a “badly, badly exaggerated” case to make him appear to be something he is not.
“They have charged personal-use drugs and threesomes as racketeering,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told the jury.
The jury is comprised of eight men and four women, aged 30-74, all of whom have a college or advanced degree. They heard more than six weeks of graphic, harrowing testimony about physical violence, degrading sex and psychological trauma.
“For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes,” Comey said. “That ends in this courtroom.”
Agnifilo said women like Combs’ former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who testified for the prosecution, may now regret participating in so-called “freak-off” sexual encounters but consented to do so at the time because that was their “lifestyle.”
Deliberations will begin after Judge Arun Subramanian instructs jurors to consider the law and the evidence.
The post Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial updates: Jury begins deliberations appeared first on ABC News.
