Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial day 27 recap: Judge signals plans to remove a juror

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14 hours ago

A day of fast-moving developments capped the sixth week of the sensational trial that threatens to send Sean "Diddy" Combs to prison for the rest of his life.
Most of the drama unfolded after the jury was sent home for the weekend as the judge overseeing the case said he was prepared to go along with prosecutors' demand to remove one of the jurors for "lack of candor" during jury selection.
Prosecutors sought to remove the juror because he allegedly made statements to a court officer suggesting he lived in New Jersey -- rather than the Bronx -- which would make him ineligible to serve on a federal jury in Manhattan. The inconsistency raised concerns about the juror's qualifications and whether he made a deliberate attempt to get himself on the jury, the judge said.
"The changing answers and inconsistency give the court worry about deception and lying, which further implicate the veracity of other answers, including to questions that go to the heart of the case," said U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian. "Removal of the juror is required in this court's view."
With the jury expected to begin deliberations later this month, Combs' defense attorneys pleaded with the judge to keep the man, a middle-aged Black man from the Bronx, on the jury over concerns about the diversity of the jury. If the man were removed, he would be replaced by a middle-aged architect from the northern New York City suburb of Westchester, making the jury slightly older and whiter.
Combs' defense team made a series of arguments objecting, among them that the "lack of candor" argument was little more than a "veiled" ploy by prosecutors to get rid of a juror who might be more sympathetic to the rap mogul.
MORE: Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Kanye West at court, says he's supporting Combs
"It is going to be a less diverse jury. That is a fact," defense attorney Xavier Donaldson said. "I don't generally play the race card. I'm not saying I'm playing it now."
Prosecutors concluded a fifth week of testimony Friday, attempting to prove Combs used his business empire, wealth and influence to orchestrate a criminal scheme. At the heart of the case are allegations that the rapper turned fashion tastemaker used his business empire-turned-criminal enterprise to coerce women into unwanted sex at drug-fueled orgies where they were told to engage with male prostitutes for Combs' gratification.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyers argue Combs never coerced or trafficked anyone for sexual purposes and that women who participated in his "polyamorous" lifestyle did so voluntarily.
Testimony is set to resume on Monday when prosecutors call their final witnesses. They could rest their case as early as Wednesday.
In a surprise appearance, Kanye West entered Manhattan federal court Friday morning, he said, to show his support for Combs. Facing controversies of his own, West, who now goes by the name Ye, has been one of the few major celebrities to offer support to Combs during the trial.
Arriving in a black Mercedes-Maybach sedan, Ye entered the public entrance of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse through a crowd of onlookers and media. He wore an all-white outfit and black sunglasses.
Like any other member of the public, Ye was required to take off his belt, empty his pockets, and surrender his electronic devices before going through a metal detector.
"He got treated no different than anybody else," a federal marshal who helped Combs through security said.
Ye ignored most of the questions from the press, including whether he plans to testify in Combs' defense case.
"Are you here in support of Mr. Combs?" an ABC News producer asked.
"Yes," West responded.
Ye was not able to enter the courtroom where the trial was taking place because he was not on the list of friends and family for Combs; instead, he watched from an empty overflow room on the 23rd floor of the courthouse. For approximately 15 minutes, West, his entourage, and Combs' son were alone in the overflow room with four court officers. He sat in the front row of the gallery immediately in front of a monitor displaying a feed of the courtroom.
West's representatives did not respond to a request for comment about his visit to court.
During testimony Friday, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Andre Lamon said Combs bought lubricant in bulk, and the jury was shown photos from Combs' Los Angeles home to show how baby oil and Astroglide, prosecutors said, he stored.
Some testimony in the case has centered on the supplies Combs would stock for his sex parties.
The jury was shown photos by prosecutors of 18 boxes of the lubricant stacked on top of one another in a garage, bottles of AstroGlide lined up neatly on shelves, in drawers and in a cigar box, interspersed with bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby oil.
Lamon said agents seized 200 bottles of baby oil and 900 bottles of AstroGlide lubricant from Sean Combs' LA home during a search in March 2024.
Lamon held up plastic bags of drugs, which he said were seized from the home. The substances included ketamine and MDMA, he testified.
The jury saw photographs of firearms agents seized from Combs' home, including a bolt-action Ruger rifle, Smith & Wesson M&P AR15-style semi-automatic rifles, a Glock pistol and a Mossberg pump-action shotgun. A separate photograph showed a 60-round drum magazine loaded with 59 rounds of green tip ammunition, meant to penetrate body armor.
Boxes containing the actual firearms were brought into the courtroom by federal agents for the jury to view. Lamon used scissors to open one of the boxes and gloves to handle the gun inside, which he displayed for the jury. He stood to show the jury how the serial number on the rifle was scratched off. On cross-examination, he testified that the weaponry was kept in a secure location.
Earlier in the trial, jurors saw similar photos of firearms, drugs, and lubricant that were seized from Combs' Miami home. Prosecutors argued that the proximity of the guns in Combs' home to items issued for the sex parties, called "freak-offs," demonstrated the coercive nature of the sexual escapades.
Jurors on Friday heard from Jonathan Perez, a fifth personal assistant to Combs to testify.
Granted immunity to protect him from being charged with crimes for anything he might say on the witness stand, Perez is the fourth witness during the trial to be granted immunity.
Like other personal assistants who have appeared, Perez testified that he purchased illegal drugs for Combs and that the rap mogul's Gucci pouch contained money and drugs, including cocaine, ketamine, molly, Adderall and Xanax.
Lawyers for Combs have acknowledged that the rapper was a flawed and complex man who abused drugs, even as they have insisted he is no criminal.
The jury saw a text from another assistant, Rob, who messaged Perez. "Yo will you locate his Gucci pouch in his bathroom," the message said. "Make sure it's in there please and if anything is out and around kind of stuff it back in I guess. LOL"
Perez responded, "I zipped it up – no residue and I didn't steal one addy."
Perez testified that he obtained drugs for Combs "a handful of times," either purchasing them or he "grabbed them from someone outside." He told the jury that he provided combs with drugs such as Xanax, mollyand cocaine.
Perez also told the jury that he communicated with Combs – and helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for an escort – in June 2024 during an evening that another witness testified about at length earlier this week.
Jane, one of Combs' ex-girlfriends, testified that Combs viciously beat her after she initiated a fight over his alleged infidelity. She told the jury that Combs then forced her to have sex with a male escort.
Perez testified that Combs called him that evening to tell Jane that Combs did not spend time with another woman in an effort to defuse the situation. Later, he said, he helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for Combs' escort.
Prosecutors have argued that Combs relied on his business empire and employees such as Perez to facilitate a criminal enterprise that he used to coerce women into sex. On questioning by Combs' attorneys, Perez testified that he set up the hotel rooms and got drugs as a personal favor to Combs that were separate from his professional responsibilities.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial day 27 recap: Judge signals plans to remove a juror originally appeared on abcnews.go.com