Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Cassie Ventura breaks down as testimony concludes
The hip-hop mogul is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.
Friday is day five in the trial of Sean Combs after the jury was seated.
Key Headlines
- Dawn Richard testifies about seeing Cassie 'attacked' by 'screaming, belligerent' Combs
- Special agent's testimony concludes as prosecution calls Danity Kane's Dawn Richard to the stand
- Special agent testifies to drugs, baby oil in Combs' hotel room at time of arrest
- Cassie Ventura, Alex Fine share statement through attorney after 4-day testimony
- Cassie Ventura concludes her testimony after 4 days
Sean Combs trial underway
The highly anticipated trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is underway. 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" and "looks forward to his day in court."
Jury selection to finish Monday
While opening arguments are still scheduled to begin Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian decided not to seat the final jury on Friday as originally planned.
Instead, worried about more juror candidates dropping out -- as two did overnight Friday -- the judge decided to seat the jury on Monday morning.
"We can get the jurors, all 43 in, at 8:30," Subramanian said in court Friday. The lawyers will do their strikes at 9 a.m. "so we can roll right into initial instructions, the swearing in of the jury and opening statements."
Who is representing Sean Combs in court?
Facing the potential of life in prison on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Sean Combs hired a high-profile team of defense lawyers for his criminal trial in New York.
With a combined 150 years of legal experience, Combs' legal team has defended everyone from alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione to disgraced financier Martin Shkreli and rapper Young Thug.
"In looking at the team ... it seems like they've got people who are experts in their own kind of general areas," said ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire. "I think the team that Diddy has put together are some heavy hitters in their own rights, and they're working together as such."