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 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 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.”
Combs kneels on floor, appearing to pray
As court was adjourned, Sean Combs got down from his chair and kneeled on the floor, appearing to pray. Some of his lawyers hugged each other and a massive round of applause and cheers broke out in the gallery.
Marshals then escorted him out of the room to another round of applause.
Possible sentence
Each charge of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Assistant United States Attorney Maurene Ryan Comey said the government plans to pursue “significant incarceration” for Sean Combs.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said Combs should be released today.
“I am not saying it is not a serious crime. It is a crime of a vastly different nature,” he said. “I believe that a significant change in conditions is warranted.”
Defense wants Combs released today
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo is arguing for Sean Combs to be released today.
“He should be released on appropriate conditions. … He should be able to return to his home,” he said.
Agnifilo said Combs would be willing to put up a $1 million cash bond that is cosigned by three financially reasonable people. Combs nodded his head as the argument was made.
“He has been acquitted of very serious charges,” he said. “It is my proposal he be permitted to walk out of the courtroom.”
“I am not saying it is not a serious crime. It is a crime of a vastly different nature,” he said. “I believe that a significant change in conditions is warranted.”
According to Agnifilo, Combs’ plane is currently in Hawaii and he does not have access to it.
Assistant United States Attorney Maurene Ryan Comey said the government opposes releasing Combs on bond.
She said he has committed a “litany of crimes” while incarcerated and shows “no respect” for the law.
“There is no reason to believe he would do anything different if he released now,” she said, arguing he poses a “danger” and will “flee from justice.”
“They reflect yearslong conduct that involves the hiring of the escorts but also physical abuse,” she said of the conviction, arguing Agnifilo underplayed the seriousness of the allegations.
The lawyers have until 1 p.m. to file letters on releasing Combs. They will reconvene in the afternoon.
When the judge mentioned Combs not wanting to go to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Combs vigorously shook his head and made prayer hands at the judge.
“You are going to have to cool your heels in the courthouse for a while,” the judge told Combs.
Combs found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution
The jury found Sean Combs not guilty of racketeering conspiracy (count 1).
The jury found Combs guilty of count 3 — transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura) and guilty of count 5 — transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym “Jane”).
He was not guilty of counts 2 and 4, which were both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and “Jane.”
Combs made praying hands to the jury as they stood to leave.
When the verdict was read, Combs appeared relieved and briefly put his hands in the air.
Combs found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy
The jury found Sean Combs not guilty of racketeering conspiracy (count 1).
Sean Combs enters courtroom
“We have reached a verdict on all counts,” the jury wrote in a note at 9:52 a.m.
Sean Combs has entered the courtroom and took his seat next to his lawyers.
He briefly smiled toward his family and made praying hands as he walked to his seat. He is wearing a light-colored sweater over a collared shirt. The back of his shirt is slightly untucked.
The judge has not yet taken the bench and the jury hasn’t come into the courtroom.
Jury reaches a verdict
The jury has reached a verdict.
The verdict comes more than 14 hours since deliberations began on Monday.
The lawyers are beginning to file into the courtroom. Prosecutors just took their seats in the first row of the courtroom.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers were briefly huddled in the courtroom but just walked out through the door that leads to the area where Combs has been waiting during deliberations.
A few of Combs’ family are in the gallery but the majority have not arrived.
The judge and the jury are not in the courtroom. Nothing has been read in open court since the deliberations began for the day.
Combs greets family and leaves courtroom after deliberations begin
After sitting in the courtroom for about thirty minutes – spending much of that time reading a book and jotting down notes – Sean Combs has departed the courtroom. He has spent most of the deliberations in a separate location.
Before leaving, Combs approached his family, who were seated in the first few rows of the gallery. The family members locked hands briefly and shared a moment with Combs, who stood on the other side of the well. His family applauded for him as he walked out of the courtroom. Combs hugged attorney Brian Steel as he exited.
Most of Combs’ family has left the courtroom as well.
We are now 14 hours into deliberations.
Deliberations resume as jury debates verdict on racketeering conspiracy charge
Deliberations have resumed this morning in the sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Combs is seated alone at the defense counsel table this morning, flipping through a large book and appearing to take notes. The first three tables in the courtroom – normally filled by prosecutors and defense attorneys during the bulk of the trial – are empty except for Combs. His lawyers are huddled together on the side of the courtroom.
In a cliffhanger ending on Tuesday, the jury reported that they had reached a verdict on four of the criminal counts against Combs – two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution – but were unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge. The outcome of the four verdicts reached on the sex trafficking and prostitution charges were not announced in court.
“We are unable to reach a verdict on Count One, as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides,” the foreman wrote in a note sent to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.
To convict on the racketeering conspiracy charge, the jurors were previously instructed that they need to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Combs worked with at least one other person to commit two underlying crimes. Prosecutors allege those underlying crimes – known as “predicates” or “racketeering acts” – include kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for the purposes of prostitution, and drug distribution.
“What the government must prove is that there was a mutual understanding, either spoken or unspoken, between two or more people to cooperate with each other to accomplish the unlawful object,” Subramanian told the jury on Monday during his instructions on the law prior to the start of deliberations.
After the jury reported their impasse Tuesday, Subramanian urged them to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy count.
“Again, your verdict must be unanimous, but you are not bound to surrender your honest convictions concerning the effect or weight of the evidence for the mere purpose of returning a verdict or solely because of the opinion of other jurors,” he told the jury. “Each of you must make your own decision about the proper outcome of this case based on your consideration of the evidence and your discussions with your fellow jurors. No juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict.”
Since the jury got the case on Monday they have deliberated for more than 13 hours.
Jury done for the day
The jury sent back a note saying they plan to go home for the day.
The jury will return at 9 a.m. on Wednesday to resume deliberations.
“Make sure to keep an open mind as you continue your deliberations,” Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury before sending them home. “I wish you all a great evening.”
Combs maintained his composure when the jury was in the room.
Before the judge and jury entered, half a dozen lawyers huddled around Combs. He appeared to wipe his eyes after he grasped a copy of the jury’s note. Defense attorneys Anna Estevao and Teny Geragos stood around him with their arms wrapped around each other, while another lawyer appeared to touch Combs’ shoulders.
Judge sends jury back to deliberation room
Judge Arun Subramanian brought the jury back into the courtroom and told them to continue deliberating.
He said if they want to go home for the day and resume their deliberations in the morning, he instructed them to send back a note.
Sean Combs stood with his hands in his pockets as the jury exited.
Judge says he’ll tell jury to ‘deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement’
Judge Arun Subramanian said he plans to read back a portion of the jury instructions to encourage further deliberations. The jury is not yet in the courtroom.
Subramanian said he will read to the jury: “It is your duty as jurors to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement. Each of you must decide the case for himself or herself, but you should do so only after a consideration of the case with your fellow jurors, and you should not hesitate to change an opinion when convinced that it is erroneous. Discuss and weigh your respective opinions dispassionately, without regard to sympathy, without regard to prejudice or favor for either party, and follow my instructions on the law.”
“Again, your verdict must be unanimous, but you are not bound to surrender your honest convictions concerning the effect or weight of the evidence for the mere purpose of returning a verdict or solely because of the opinion of other jurors. Each of you must make your own decision about the proper outcome of this case based on your consideration of the evidence and your discussions with your fellow jurors. No juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict.”
No verdict being read, judge will instruct jury to keep deliberating
Judge Arun Subramanian said he will not take a partial verdict.
Once the lawyers work out the language, the judge will call the jurors into the courtroom and instruct them to keep deliberating.
Both sides asked the judge to do this, and the judge agreed.
No verdict is being read now.
It is not yet clear whether jurors will continue deliberating tonight or whether they will opt to go home for the day.
Jury reaches partial verdict
The jury has reached a partial verdict in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The jury has reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4, 5, which are: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion (for one victim); Transportation to Engage in Prostitution (for one victim); Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion (for a second victim); and Transportation to Engage in Prostitution (for a second victim).
The note said they are unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy count.
At the consent of both sides, the judge said he plans to instruct the jury to continue deliberating. They are now debating the next steps.
According to the note from the jury, there are “unpersuadable opinions” on both sides related to the racketeering conspiracy count.
Jury sends a sixth note to the court
The jury has sent a new note to the judge.
This is their sixth note since deliberations began Monday, including the first note in which they selected a foreperson. The defense attorneys and prosecutors have reconvened in the courtroom.
Jury receives requested testimony transcript after roughly three hours of court discussion
About three hours after they asked for testimony from star witness Cassie Ventura and male escort Daniel Phillip, the jury in Sean Combs sex trafficking trial received the transcripts they requested.
The delay was caused in part because of a dispute between the lawyers about how much of the testimony to include.
Defense lawyers wanted to add more – including testimony about the Ventura’s $10 million settlement with the Los Angeles InterContinental Hotel – while prosecutors advocated to send a narrower portion of the transcript. After Judge Arun Subramanian suggested sending the jury the entirety of Ventura’s testimony – prompting Combs to visibly shake his head at his lawyer – defense lawyers relented and agreed to send a shorter portion of the transcript.
Overall, the testimony the jury requested focuses on three instances that prosecutors highlighted as examples of Combs’ alleged sex trafficking of Ventura.
First, the jury requested Ventura’s testimony about being assaulted by Combs at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. She testified that she tried to leave a so-called “freak-off” sexual encounter after Combs gave her a black eye.
The jury also requested testimony given by Ventura and Phillip about an alleged instance in which Combs became violent with Ventura at a New York hotel during a “freak-off.”
The last portion of testimony requested by the jury focused on a time when Ventura traveled with Combs overseas to attend the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Parties continue to discuss transcripts to be provided to the jury
The parties are still debating which portions of the requested testimony transcripts from Cassie Ventura and male escort Daniel Phillip will be provided to the jury.
Jury asks for testimony transcripts from Cassie Ventura and male escort Daniel Phillip
The jury sent its fifth note to Judge Arun Subramanian about an hour and 15 minutes into its first full day of deliberations.
The note was a request to review the transcripts of Cassie Ventura’s testimony about the March 5, 2016 Los Angeles InterContinental Hotel incident in which Sean Combs was caught on security camera surveillance video physically attacking her.
The jury also asked for her testimony about a trip Ventura took with Combs to the Cannes Film Festival in France. Ventura testified that on the flight home, Combs showed her videos of her having sex during so-called “freak-off” encounters.
Ventura told the jury that she thought Combs “was going to embarrass me and release them.”
The jury also asked for a portion of Ventura’s testimony about “freak-offs” with Daniel Phillip, a male escort who was also a prosecution witness.
The jury further asked for Phillip’s testimony regarding an alleged “freak-off” at the Essex Hotel in New York. Phillip testified he saw Ventura “completely passed out” and “slumped over” at that time.
The lawyers are working through which portions of the transcript to send back to the jury room.
Lawyers continue to discuss latest jury note
For the last 30 minutes, the lawyers have been hunched over their laptops in the courtroom following the latest, as-yet unspecified note from the jury. Combs is on a laptop with one of his lawyers.
The judge and jury have not yet entered the room.
Credit: abcnews
