No verdict on first day of jury deliberations at Sean 鈥楧iddy鈥� Combs鈥� sex trafficking trial
Jury deliberations got underway on Monday in Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs鈥� federal sex trafficking trial and hit a snag almost as soon as they started. But, by the end of the day, jurors indicated they were making progress weighing complex charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.
The first day of deliberations saw a flurry of notes from the jury and Combs and his supporters bowing their heads in prayer in the courtroom 鈥� but no verdict.
of eight men and four women are sifting through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the 鈥檚 propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fueled sex marathons dubbed 鈥� 鈥� or 鈥渉otel nights.鈥�
About an hour in, the foreperson reported that a juror might be having trouble following the 61 pages worth of instructions the judge had just read to them.
鈥淲e are concerned (the juror) cannot follow your honor鈥檚 instructions,鈥� the foreperson said in a note to Judge Arun Subramanian just after 12:30 p.m.
After the judge originally proposed asking the jury foreperson the nature of concerns about the fellow juror, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo suggested caution and that it was better to say less than more.
鈥淲e can always ratchet it up. We can鈥檛 ratchet it down,鈥� Agnifilo said.
Subramanian sent his response to the jury around 2 p.m., reminding the panel to deliberate and to follow his instructions on the law.
The jury sent another note about three hours later asking for clarification on the part of the instructions addressing drug distribution 鈥� an allegation included in Combs鈥� racketeering conspiracy charge.
As deliberations were happening, Combs prayed with his family and friends in the courtroom. Wearing his customary sweater and khakis, he stood facing his contingent in the audience and bowed his head with them. As they finished, they applauded, along with Combs.
Combs also showed off two books he鈥檚 reading: 鈥淭he Power of Positive Thinking,鈥� by Norman Vincent Peale and 鈥淭he Happiness Advantage,鈥� by Shawn Achor.
As he sent the jury to deliberate, Subramanian told the five alternate jurors to remain on standby at home in case they鈥檙e needed at a later point.
Jurors were provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.
Combs, 55, has to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking 鈥� relating to two of his ex-girlfriends 鈥� and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly his girlfriends and sex workers across state lines.
In closing arguments last week, federal prosecutors and Combs鈥� defense team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.
鈥淭he defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,鈥� . 鈥淗e thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.鈥�
She said that he used his 鈥渃lose inner circle and a small army of personal staff, who made it their mission to meet the defendant鈥檚 every desire, promote his power and protect his reputation at all costs.鈥�
Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo , 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about crime. It鈥檚 about money." He noted that one of Combs' accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.
鈥淗e is not a racketeer. He is not a conspirator to commit racketeering. He is none of these things. He is innocent. He sits there innocent. Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him,鈥� the lawyer told jurors.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs鈥� former girlfriends 鈥� the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura 鈥� and 鈥� ,鈥� who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said he often was violent toward them. Cassie said he forced her into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers while Jane recounted numerous 鈥渉otel nights.鈥�
Jurors also saw now-infamous of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.
Combs , and his lawyers didn鈥檛 call any witnesses in their defense case. His attorneys elected instead to challenge the accusers' credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning.
The defense has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but that the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs鈥� personal life and that he鈥檚 done nothing to warrant the charges against him.
Here are key moments from the trial:
Prosecutors showed they weren鈥檛 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.
鈥淭he Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary,鈥� prosecutors wrote in a letter to the judge.
But when Assistant U.S. 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.
鈥淥ver the last several weeks, you鈥檝e learned a lot about Sean Combs. He鈥檚 the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn鈥檛 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鈥檚 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 鈥� sex trafficking,鈥� she said.
The arson claim stemmed from evidence that Slavik said showed Combs was behind the firebombing of rapper Kid Cudi's Porsche in 2012. The kidnapping allegation also related to Cudi. Slavik said Combs kidnapped one of his employees to join him when he broke into Cudi's home after learning the rapper was dating his girlfriend.
Defense lawyer strikes back, belittling government's case
Attorney Marc Agnifilo in an at-times folksy presentation spared few theatrics in mocking the government's case against Combs as overreach, saying hundreds of agents poured into Combs' residences in Miami and Los Angeles to seize hundreds of bottles of baby oil and Astroglide lubricant.
鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 all worth it because they found the Astroglide. They found it in boxes, boxes of Astroglide taken off the streets. Whew, I feel better already,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he streets of America are safe from the Astroglide!鈥�
From the start, Agnifilo portrayed prosecutors as unjustly targeting Combs after a former girlfriend of nearly 11 years 鈥� 鈥� sued him in November 2023. She testified for four days in the trial's first week.
The lawsuit was settled for $20 million the next day but she touched off a criminal probe with her allegations of being subjected to hundreds of drug-fueled in which she alleged she was forced to perform sexually for days with male sex workers while Combs watched, filmed and directed the action.
A woman who testified under the pseudonym 鈥淛ane鈥� also testified during the trial that she experienced 鈥渉otel nights鈥� similar to 鈥渇谤别补办-辞蹿蹿蝉鈥� in a relationship with Combs from 2021 until his arrest.
Agnifilo maintained the prosecution was an unjust attack on a prominent and wildly successful Black entrepreneur.
鈥淭hey took Astroglide and they took baby oil, and that ends up being the evidence in this case, because his businesses are outstanding. There鈥檚 nothing about the businesses to find. There鈥檚 nothing about the businesses to make into a criminal case,鈥� he said.
Defense personalizes the case for jurors, calling it attack on 鈥榶our bedroom鈥�
Agnifilo tried to cast the case for the jury as an attack on everyone's bedroom and the secrets of one's sex life.
鈥淭hey go into the man鈥檚 bedroom. They go into the man鈥檚 most private life. Where is the crime scene? The crime scene is your private sex life. That鈥檚 the crime scene,鈥� he said as he stood before jurors, who were largely expressionless as they took occasional notes and watched the closings.
The lawyer said it was not uncommon that Combs liked to film sexual events with his girlfriends, calling it 鈥渟ort of typical, you know, homemade porn鈥� and adding that 鈥淚 don't think by any stretch of the imagination this is the only man in America making homemade porn.鈥�
Still, he said, investigators "take yellow crime scene tape, figuratively, and they wrap it around his bedroom. Crime scene 鈥� your bedroom, your hotel rooms, where you go with your girlfriends. Crime scenes. A lot of yellow tape.鈥�
Then, he gave a nod to the 50th anniversary of the movie 鈥淛aws,鈥� resurrecting a classic line from Hollywood history when he said: 鈥淲e need a bigger roll of crime scene tape, because that鈥檚 just not going to be enough.鈥�
Judge agrees defense went too far saying prosecutors targeted Combs
Just after Agnifilo told jurors that it 鈥渢akes a lot of courage to acquit,鈥� he ripped the government's case a final time in stark terms, saying the trial was 鈥渧ery different" from any other trial.
鈥淚 think that the evidence shows, and you can conclude, that the government targeted Sean Combs,鈥� he said, noting that nobody complained to the government to instigate a probe, but investigators instead began their work a day after Cassie filed her lawsuit.
After the jury left the room at the conclusion of Agnifilo's four-hour summation, his statement about targeting drew an outcry from the prosecutor, Slavik.
When the jury returned, Judge Arun Subramanian noted the remark Agnifilo had made about targeting Combs and told jurors that 鈥渢he decision of the government to investigate an individual or the decision of a grand jury to indict an individual is none of your concern.鈥�
In rebuttal, prosecutor tells jurors that Combs is 鈥榥ot a god鈥�
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey got the final word with a rebuttal presentation to jurors, telling them: 鈥淭he defendant is not a god.鈥�
She said that Combs in his mind 鈥渨as untouchable." She noted that one former personal assistant even described him as a 鈥済od among men.鈥�
鈥淔or 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes. That ends in this courtroom,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e is a person. And in this courtroom, he stands equal before the law. Overwhelming evidence proves his guilt. It is time to hold him accountable. Find him guilty.鈥�