Before his defense briefly presented its case, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs spoke openly in the courthouse for the first time in weeks. In week seven, Diddy finally answered the burning question that trial watchers have been asking. Will he testify? That answer is no. And amid giving confirmation, Combs also threw Judge Arun Subramanian a lil’ compliment. That came after the judge reserved his decision on a motion for acquittal on all charges.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He has remained incarcerated without bail in a federal lockup in Brooklyn after multiple judges blocked his bail appeals last year.
Today, the prosecution rested after more than six weeks of evidence presentation against the hip-hop maven. In a routine move after prosecutors rest at criminal trials, Combs’ lawyers made arguments to toss out the charges. They claimed the charges weren’t proven. Judge Arun Subramanian said he’ll rule at a later date. Later in the afternoon, the defense rested without calling any witnesses. In comparison, prosecutors have called 34 witnesses to try to prove sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that resulted in Combs’ September arrest.
However, the defense says prosecutors did not prove those charges or that Diddy’s two ex-girlfriends felt coerced into marathon sex events with male sex workers. Instead, defense lawyers say the “freak-offs” or “hotel nights” were consensual sexual encounters consistent with the swingers lifestyle.
For context, it is standard practice at federal criminal trials for the judge to directly question the defendant about whether to testify. This ensures that the defendant knows it is his decision, regardless of what his lawyers have told him. When Subramanian questioned Combs after the prosecutors rested, the judge asked him how he was doing.
“I’m doing great, your honor,” the Bad Boy Entertainment founder answered, before volunteering a compliment to the judge before another question could be posed. “I want to tell you thank you, you’re doing an excellent job,” Combs said. The judge responded, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Combs said he “thoroughly” discussed the matter with his lawyers before deciding not to testify. “That is my decision, your honor,” Combs said, adding: “That is solely my decision.” Prodded by the judge, he clarified further: “I mean, it’s my decision with my lawyers. … My decision to make. I’m making it.”
Since the trial began in early May, government witnesses have included former employees of Combs’ companies. However, most of the evidence has come from the testimony of two former girlfriends: Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and an internet personality who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”
Ventura testified for four days during the trial’s first week. The 38-year-old said she felt pressured to engage in hundreds of “freak offs” because the encounters would enable her to be intimate with Combs after performing sexually with male sex workers. He allegedly watched them slather one another with baby oil and sometimes filmed the encounters.
Meanwhile, Jane testified for six days about the sexual performances she labeled “hotel nights.” She said she was putting them into perspective after beginning therapy three months ago. She said she felt coerced into engaging in them as recently as last August, but did so because she loved and still loves Combs. Ventura was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, while Jane was frequently with him from 2021 until his arrest. The arrest canceled her plan to meet him at the New York hotel where feds took him into custody.
Defense lawyers questioned the witnesses throughout the trial to make their case for exoneration. Several of them testified reluctantly or only after they were granted immunity from any crimes they may have committed.
Combs has been active in his defense, writing notes to his lawyers and sometimes helping them decide when to stop questioning a witness. Once, the judge called him for nodding enthusiastically toward jurors during a successful stretch of cross-examination by one of his lawyers. Prosecutors complained that his gestures were a form of testifying without being subject to cross-examination. The judge warned he could exclude Diddy from his trial if it happened again.
In the past week, prosecutors and defense lawyers have shown jurors over 40 minutes of recordings Combs made of the “freak offs” or “hotel nights.” Several jurors occasionally seemed squeamish as they viewed and listened to audio of the encounters, but most did not seem to react.
In her opening statement, Geragos had called the videos “powerful evidence that the sexual conduct in this case was consensual and not based on coercion.” Closing arguments were scheduled for Thursday. Keep
Associated Press Staff Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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