Diddy supporters celebrate trial verdict by spraying themselves with baby oil
Diddy was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering offences but was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
'OJ Simpson's former attorney … believes Diddy will get off on the existing guilty verdicts through a strong appeal process,' Ms Schofield told Sky News host Rita Panahi.
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Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Sean 'Diddy' Combs juror hits back at 'insulting' public reaction to verdict
A juror in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs case has hit back at the "insulting" public response to the verdict. The 55-year-old rapper was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution relating to ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified under the name 'Jane' but was acquitted on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering and a jury member has denied claims that Diddy's celebrity status influenced their decision. The unnamed juror told ABC News: "We spent over two days deliberating. Our decision was based solely on the evidence presented and how the law is stated. We would have treated any defendant in the same manner regardless of who they are. I have nothing else to say." Diddy's attorney Anna Estevao described Wednesday's (02.07.25) verdict as a "huge win" for the I'll Be Missing You hitmaker as he avoided the possibility of life in prison, although he was denied bail by US District Judge Arun Subramanian. She said outside the courtroom in Manhattan: "This is a reminder to everyone I hope of the flaws in the criminal justice system and for everybody to take a second look when the government charges people with crimes. "This is a huge win. He was acquitted of sex trafficking, acquitted of RICO conspiracy and he will sleep well at night knowing that." Diddy - who has been in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September - was convinced of flying people around the US to engage in sexual encounters and Judge Subramanian denied bail as he noted the prosecution's argument that a Mann Act violation means the detention is "mandatory". The original 1919 law prohibited interstate or foreign commerce transport of a woman or girl "or prostitution, debauchery or for any other immoral purpose". In 1986, the law was made gender-neutral, and the wording altered to change "debauchery" and "immoral purpose" to "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offence". Judge Subramanian said that "for present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden" to show "lack of danger to any person or the community" with clear and convincing evidence. He added: "Prior to the trial, the court denied bail, and sees no reason to reverse that now." Diddy could now face a combined sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, with Judge Subramanian scheduling a sentencing hearing for October 3.
Sydney Morning Herald
9 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Unannounced spot checks in childcare centres to be fast-tracked; Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' clears US Congress
Latest posts Latest posts 11.31am Discussions to make CCTV in childcare centres mandatory: Clare By Cindy Yin Education ministers will discuss whether CCTV cameras should be made mandatory in childcare centres after a childcare worker in Melbourne was charged with more than 70 alleged child sex abuse offences Asked on Sky News whether it would be made mandatory, Education Minister Jason Clare said it was one of the issues education ministers will discuss at their meeting next month. 'One of the things that having a CCTV camera in a childcare centre can do is if there's somebody who is potentially up to no good, they know the camera's there, it means it's less likely they're going to act,' he said. 'It was a recommendation out of an independent review that NSW did, and it was released last week. 'They have to be in the right places – if deterrence is going to work, how you set them up is just as critical as whether you've got them there at all,' Clare said. 10.52am Unannounced spot checks in childcare centres to be fast-tracked By Cindy Yin Education Minister Jason Clare has said unannounced spot checks will soon be able to take place in childcare centres following a childcare worker in Melbourne being charged with more than 70 alleged child sex abuse offences. Clare said the government would fast-track legislation when parliament returns on July 22 to give approximately 150 people in his department the power to perform unannounced spot checks at childcare centres. '[It] gives the sort of people who work in my department who investigate fraud in childcare centres the ability to do spot checks, unannounced visits,' Clare told Sky News. 'They won't need a warrant, they won't need the police to come with them when they're investigating fraud in childcare centres'. Another aspect of the legislation gives the government the ability to cut off funding to childcare centres persistently not meeting child safety standards. 10.23am Nvidia briefly on track to become world's most valuable company ever Chipmaker Nvidia hit a market value of $US3.92 trillion ($5.96 trillion) on Thursday (Friday AEST), briefly putting it on track to become the most valuable company in history as Wall Street doubled down on optimism about AI. Shares of the leading designer of high-end AI chips rose as much as 2.4 per cent in early trading, giving the company a higher market capitalisation than Apple's, with a record closing value of $US3.915 trillion in December 2024. The company is close to overtaking Apple's all-time record and becoming the world's most valuable company in history. Wall Street lifted following the report from the US government, which said employers added 147,000 more jobs to their payrolls last month than they cut. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs, notching a third week of gains. The Dow closed up 0.77 per cent, only 0.41 per cent away from its own record. The unexpected acceleration in hiring signals the US job market is holding up despite worries about how president Donald Trump's tariffs may hurt the economy and inflation. 9.53am Saudi defence minister met with Trump to discuss Iran de-escalation, Fox News reports Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met with US President Donald Trump and other officials at the White House on Thursday (Friday AEST) to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, Fox News reported. Talks included discussions about getting to the negotiating table with Iran and de-escalating the conflict, according to Fox News sources. Discussions also reportedly included ending the war in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages. Sources also told Fox News, 'there was progress and optimism on all fronts.' Khalid is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump says US has given Ukraine too many weapons US President Donald Trump complained that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its latest offensive. Speaking to reporters on Thursday (Friday AEST) before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa, Trump said former President Joe Biden 'emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.' Air defence missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons are among those being withheld from Ukraine. Loading Trump, who also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Friday AEST), suggested he wasn't completely cutting off US assistance to Ukraine. 'We've given so many weapons,' he said, adding that 'we are working with them and trying to help them.' Trump said he had a 'pretty long call' with Putin that 'didn't make any progress' in resolving the war, which the Republican president had promised to swiftly bring to a conclusion. 'I'm not happy about that,' he said. The Kremlin described the conversation as 'frank and constructive' — the sixth publicly disclosed chat between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House. While discussing the situation around Iran and in the broader Middle East, Putin emphasised the need to resolve all differences 'exclusively by political and diplomatic means,' said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser. The leaders agreed that Russian and U.S. officials will maintain contact on the issue, he added. 9.06am Qantas says frequent flyer information secure after hack By Chris Zappone Qantas expects to be able next week to share the details of individual customer data that was affected by the hack of a call centre platform, based on the pace of an ongoing forensic investigation, the airline has said in an update. The breaching of up to 6 million customers' data, first revealed on Wednesday, prompted a reassurance that frequent flyer accounts were secure, even as the airline reminded customers they could update passwords and PINs at any time. To date, Qantas has not been contacted by anyone claiming to have the data since the incident, which was suspected to be the work of the Scattered Spider criminal cyber group. Qantas is continuing to work with government authorities to investigate the event. Loading 'Our investigation is progressing well, with our cybersecurity teams working alongside leading external specialists to determine what information has been accessed,' Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said. 'We're finalising a process that will enable us to provide affected customers with more information about their personal information that was potentially compromised.' Next week, Qantas 'will be in a position' to tell affected customers which types of their personal data were contained in the third-party system that was accessed. 'This will confirm specific data fields for each individual, which will vary from customer to customer,' Qantas said in a statement. Qantas became the latest major airline to be hit by a cyber breach, revealing on Wednesday that hackers had accessed customers' personal information from one of its call centres. In the Friday morning update, Qantas reiterated that frequent flyer passwords, PIN numbers and log in details were not accessed or compromised, 'but customers can update these details at any time'. 8.53am Sporting stars, UK leaders pay tribute to Liverpool FC's Diogo Jota after car crash death By David Crowe Football champions and political leaders have led the stunned reaction to the sudden death of Liverpool FC star Diogo Jota in a fiery car crash in northern Spain less than two weeks after he married his long-term partner. The Portuguese champion was driving with his brother, Andre Silva, when a tyre blew out on their Lamborghini, forcing it off the road. The vehicle became engulfed in flames and the two men died at the scene. Photographs and footage published in Spanish media showed a burnt and destroyed Lamborghini by the side of the highway. The London Telegraph reported that Jota had been told to drive 10 hours to a Spanish ferry rather than fly to Britain. It said Jota had been given medical advice to avoid taking a plane back for training, but that it was unclear where he was given that advice. Thousands of fans gathered at the Liverpool club's home ground, Anfield Stadium, as champions expressed their shock at the news. Jota, 28, began playing for his country as a teenager and represented Portugal at the 2022 World Cup. He signed with Liverpool for a reported £41 million ($85 million) in 2020 and was a star forward in the club's victory in the Premier League this year. 8.34am New interstellar comet will keep a safe distance from Earth, NASA says NASA astronomers spotted an interstellar comet in Chile earlier this week and have confirmed it poses no threat to Earth. Officially, it's the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. 'These things take millions of years to go from one stellar neighbourhood to another, so this thing has likely been travelling through space for hundreds of millions of years, even billions of years,' said Paul Chodas, director of NASA's centre for near Earth object studies. 'We don't know, and so we can't predict which star it came from.' Loading The comet is 670 million kilometres from the sun, out near Jupiter, and heading in the direction of Earth at 59 kilometres per second. NASA said the comet will make its closest approach to the sun in late October, scooting between the orbits of Mars and Earth — but closer to the red planet than us, at a safe distance of 240 million kilometres. Astronomers around the world are monitoring the icy snowball, which has officially been designated as 3I/Atlas to determine its size and shape. Chodas said there have been more than 100 observations since its discovery on July 1, with preliminary reports of a tail and a cloud of gas and dust around the comet's nucleus. The comet should be visible by telescope until September, before it gets too close to the sun, and reappear in December on the other side of the sun. 8.15am 'We will back you the whole way': Nationals back PM's small business plan By Cindy Yin Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has welcomed the PM's push for businesses to drive growth in the economy instead of the government, but has criticised the move by saying it came too late. Speaking on Sky News today, the Nationals senator welcomed the shift in Labor's outlook, saying the government had 'finally woken up'. 'The government has finally woken up and realised, after spending the first three years smashing small business and our industrial base through a raft of industrial relations policies, energy policies and new regulation … They've suddenly realised that government jobs don't grow the economy.' She also said the Nationals would throw their support behind any business-first policies Labor puts forward in its second term. 'Please, prime minister and treasurer, use the huge mandate the Australian people have given you to set our country up for the future, and we will back you the whole way. We want our country to be stronger, more prosperous and more secure,' McKenzie said. 'They've got a huge mandate – it's a great opportunity to do the type of deep reform that our economy needs, and our country needs, to set us up for the next century.' 7.49am 'Government doing less': PM to deliver vision for Australia's economy By Cindy Yin Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will outline the government's immediate and long-term economic vision for Australia in a speech he will deliver at a News Corp event in Sydney later today. Albanese will say Labor, now in their second term of government, must establish an economic plan which will make it 'easier for business to create jobs, start and finish projects, invest in new technology and build new facilities'. 'Some of this involves government doing less: clearing away unnecessary or outdated regulation. Eliminating frustrating overlap between local, state and federal laws,' the prime minister will say. 'Yet value also lies in areas where government can do better. Better aligning our investments in TAFE and vocational education, to deliver the skilled workforce employers need. And making sure those vital skills can cross state borders in real time. Working to our ambitious goals in housing and renewables, by getting projects approved and built faster, while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and safety.' He will also discuss major economic and political issues affecting Australian businesses and households, with speeches from a slew of business heavyweights. 'This is not a task government can, or should, tackle alone,' Albanese will say. 'In a strong, dynamic and productive economy, government should be a driver of growth – but not the driver of growth. Facilitating private sector investment and job creation, not seeking to replace it. 'From big employers to the millions of small businesses right around Australia, our government wants you to be able to resume your rightful place as the primary source of growth in our economy.'
ABC News
16 hours ago
- ABC News
The Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial is done, but his dealings with the courts are far from over
Of the five charges Sean 'Diddy' Combs faced trial over, he was only found guilty of two — and they were the least serious ones. A relieved Combs celebrated in court and told his family he would be home soon, but the matter is not over yet. And the verdict is not the end of the road for alleged victims, with dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse which are yet to be dealt with. Here's what happens next. What was Diddy found guilty of? Two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution These were the least serious charges against Combs. What was Diddy found not guilty of? One count of racketeering conspiracy One count of Two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion One of the trafficking charges was related to Combs's ex girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura. The other trafficking charge related to another ex-girlfriend testifying under the alias of Jane. The racketeering charge was the most serious of the five and could have seen Combs imprisoned for life. Has Diddy been sentenced yet? Not yet. Combs, his legal team and the prosecution will return to court to discuss sentencing on July 8. But, at this stage, we're expecting his sentencing won't happen until October 3. Combs has been denied bail, which means he will remain behind bars at least until his sentencing date. How long has Diddy been in prison? About nine months. Combs has been in custody since his arrest in September. He has now been denied bail four times. Sean Combs remains behind bars in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. ( AP: Yuki Iwamura ) How long will Diddy go to jail for? We don't know yet. Each of the two charges he's been convicted of carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But that's the maximum — many are expecting his sentence to be much shorter than that. In fact, the prosecution pointed to sentencing guidelines that appeared to recommend a prison term of a little more than five years. But lawyers for Combs say it should be a maximum of two years. If his sentencing is held in October, he'll have already spent more than a year behind bars — a period his lawyers want to be taken off in his overall sentence. They're especially keen on this because Combs is being held at the notoriously unpleasant Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. In the post-verdict bail hearing, his lawyers argued he was entitled to serve his sentence at a lower-security jail. However, it's worth remembering that Combs turned down an offer for a plea deal ahead of the trial — which may influence the judge to consider a harsher sentence. Could there be an appeal? Yes. Combs might launch an appeal of his conviction or on the severity of his sentence once it's been handed down "The reason for an appeal is to correct legal errors," Federal Appeals, a legal assistance organisation based in New York, says on its website. "The appeals court will not decide whether the jury was right." Are there more lawsuits against Diddy? Yes. This trial was just over federal criminal charges. Combs has also been accused of sexual assault and rape in dozens of separate civil lawsuits. While the trial was about organised crime and a broader pattern of behaviour, many of the civil lawsuits contain allegations of individual assaults. He has denied those allegations. As of Thursday, New York Magazine's extensive, ongoing list tracking these lawsuits says 66 civil cases have been lodged against Combs. One of the ongoing cases is a lawsuit filed by singer Dawn Richard, who testified against Combs in the trial. She has accused him of sexual assault, gender-based physical violence and false imprisonment. Dawn Richard is one of the dozens of people who has filed a lawsuit against Sean Combs. ( Reuters: David "Dee" Delgado ) "[The] split verdict is a disappointment, but the criminal charges are different than the civil claims we filed and have been fighting against Sean Combs," her lawyer Lisa Bloom said. "We will continue to aggressively fight our case until we obtain full and complete justice for Dawn." Here's an example of some of the other civil cases against Combs: Joi Dickerson said she was a 19-year-old student at Syracuse University when she agreed to meet Combs at a restaurant in Harlem in 1991. After their date, she said Combs "intentionally drugged" her, then brought her home and sexually assaulted her. Without her knowledge, Combs videotaped the assault and later shared it with several friends in the music industry, the suit alleges. In her lawsuit, Ms Dickerson said the public exposure sent her into a "tailspin", contributing to severe depression that landed her in the hospital and forced her to drop out of college. Her legal documents notes that Ms Dickerson filed police reports in New York and New Jersey after the abuse. Filed in December 2023: Unnamed woman One woman, whose name wasn't disclosed in the court filing, accused Combs and two other men of raping her 20 years ago in a New York City recording studio when she was 17. In the lawsuit, the woman said in 2003 she was in 11th grade at a high school in Detroit when she met Harve Pierre, then the president of Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment record label, at a lounge. She said Mr Pierre flew her to New York on a private jet and took her to a recording studio, where she was given drugs and alcohol until she was incapable of consenting to sex. Then, the lawsuit said, Mr Pierre, Combs and a man she didn't know took turns raping her. The lawsuit included photographs of the woman sitting on Combs's lap that she said were taken on the night in question at the Daddy's House Recording Studio. Combs denied the allegations: "For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth." Filed in September, 2024: Thalia Graves Thalia Graves alleges that when she was 25 and dating an executive who worked for Combs in 2001, Combs and Joseph Sherman lured her to a meeting at Bad Boy Recording Studios. She said they picked her up in a four-wheel drive and during the ride gave her a drink "likely laced with a drug". According to the lawsuit, Ms Graves lost consciousness and awoke to find herself bound inside Combs's office and lounge at the studio. The two men raped her, slapped her, slammed her head against a pool table and ignored her screams and cries for help, the lawsuit alleges. She said she learned through her former boyfriend that Combs had recorded her rape, shown it to others and sold it as pornography. Ms Graves went public with her allegations, telling reporters she suffered from "flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts" at a press conference in Los Angeles. She sought a trial to determine how much she should be paid in damages and for all copies of the video to be accounted for and destroyed. The lawsuit also named several companies owned by Combs as defendants. What about Cassie's case? That's already been settled. Ms Ventura launched a civil lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of serial physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape. They settled the suit a day after Ms Ventura filed it. At the time, the terms of the settlement were only known to the respective parties, but during the trial, Ms Ventura revealed that Combs agreed to pay her $US20 million. Casandra Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against Sean Combs that was separate to his criminal charges. ( AP: Lionel Cironneau ) Ms Ventura's testimony was among the most confronting elements of the trial. She told the court about being sexually and physically assaulted by Combs, with jurors shown vision of him beating her in a Los Angeles hotel. "Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution," her lawyer said. "By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice." What is transportation to engage in prostitution? In the case of Combs, it was flying people around the country to engage in paid sexual services. It's a charge under what's known as the Mann Act, which was introduced by the US government in 1910 and named after Republican politician James Robert Mann. It's also known as the "White-Slave Traffic Act". At the time, the law prohibited the interstate or international transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose". But this was updated in 1986, when politicians replaced the "woman or girl" wording with gender neutral phrasing. They also changed the wording of "any other immoral purpose" to "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offence". Prostitution is illegal in every US state except Nevada — and is only legal in certain counties within that state, the Decriminalize Sex Work advocacy group points out. Decades ago, the broad wording of "immoral purpose" was applied to prosecute people in interracial relationships, the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institue explains. Combs's lawyers referred to this dark history when arguing against the charge. "[The law] has a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them." What is sex trafficking? It's defined as the exploitation of a person for commercial sex by the US Department of Justice: "Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronising, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion…" What's the difference between the trafficking and transportation charge? A key difference in the charges is the "by force, fraud, or coercion" wording in the trafficking charge. In the court's instructions to the jury, jurors were told the prosecution had to prove Combs: "…knew or recklessly disregarded that force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion, or any combination of such means, would be used to cause the alleged victim to engage in a commercial sex act." Sarah Krissoff, a former federal prosecutor, told Reuters the jury may have viewed Combs's conduct as evidence of toxic romantic relationships, but not sex trafficking. Combs's lawyers acknowledged he engaged in domestic violence, but argued Ms Ventura and Jane consensually took part in the sexual performances because they wanted to please him. A courtroom sketch of Sean Combs reacting after hearing the verdict. ( Reuters: Jane Rosenberg ) What does racketeering mean? Racketeering generally refers to the illegal activity of a criminal organisation — think a crime gang or a dodgy business. The law Combs was charged under was introduced in 1970 to prosecute crime gang bosses. In this case, the prosecution accused Combs of using his business, the Combs Enterprise, to violently coerce and blackmail women to perform sex acts, among other criminal acts. By charging him with racketeering, the prosecution tried to paint a broad picture of an alleged system of abuse and criminal behaviours rather than focusing on the individual alleged assaults. ABC with Wires
