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Read ongoing updates in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.
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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."
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.
Following comments from Sean Combs' large defense team, attorney Marc Agnifilo said they will not be talking about the bail decision because it's still a "pending, unresolved matter."
"The one thing I'm going to leave with this we are not nearly done fighting. We are just getting started," he said. "To win this and to defeat the prosecutors from the Southern District of New York takes effort from beginning to end."
"Today was a major, major step in the right direction. But we fight on and we're going to win and we're not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family," he continued.
Sean Combs' defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told reporters today is a "great day" while speaking outside the courthouse following the bail hearing.
"Today is a win," Agnifilo said. "Today is a victory of all victories for Sean Combs."
Agnifilo said the jury was "wonderful."
"They listened to every word, and they got the situation right, or certainly right enough," he said. "They acquitted him of the sex trafficking, which he was absolutely innocent of. They acquitted him of the racketeering conspiracy that he was absolutely innocent of."
After defense attorneys asked for a more expedited sentencing, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian agreed to move up the sentencing date from October. He did not set a new date for the sentencing itself.
For now, he set a remote conference for July 8 at 2 p.m. to hear arguments about next steps for pre-sentence process, including Combs' interview with the court's probation department.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian again denied the request to release Combs.
Sean Combs briefly tried to raise his hand to speak in court. The judge seemed to ignore the move and instead asked Assistant United States Attorney Maurene Comey to respond to the defense arguments.
"He is extremely violent with an extraordinary temper who has shown no remorse and no regret," said Comey. "His brazenness is unmatched."
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.
