Diddy trial canceled for day after juror reports vertigo-like symptoms
Diddy trial canceled for day after juror reports vertigo-like symptoms
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Judge adjourns jury in Diddy trial due to one juror's sickness
Judge Arun Subramanian excused the jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial after a juror reported vertigo-like symptoms on the way into court.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial has unexpectedly adjourned for the day due to a juror's health.
Judge Arun Subramanian excused the jury in Combs' trial on Wednesday, June 18, after a juror reported vertigo-like symptoms on the way into court.
The trial was already scheduled to take a brief recess on June 19 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. It will resume on Friday, June 20.
Combs' former assistant Brendan Paul had been expected to testify against his ex-boss in court on June 18. The 26-year-old former Syracuse University basketball player previously faced felony charges for drug possession when he was arrested on the same day as the raids of Combs' homes, but the case was later closed.
Paul's testimony will come after prosecutors probed Combs' alleged sex-trafficking enterprise with the help of unearthed personal messages, videos and other evidence. Jurors were shown roughly 20 minutes of what appeared to be video footage created between 2012 and 2014 of Combs' "freak offs," a series of elaborate sexual performances he's been accused of orchestrating.
U.S. attorneys plan on calling two to three more witnesses, including Paul, before resting their case.
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Combs, 55, was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
In February 2024, music producer and Combs' collaborator Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. mentioned Paul in his civil lawsuit against Combs that alleged sexual assault and harassment.
A month later, on the afternoon of March 25, 2024 — the same day Combs' homes were raided in Miami and Los Angeles — Paul was arrested by local police at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Per an arrest affidavit obtained by USA TODAY at the time, Florida prosecutors leveled two felony charges of possession of a controlled substance against him, alleging he'd packed cocaine and marijuana-laced candy in his luggage.
"Brendan Paul: Works as Mr. Combs' Mule," Jones' lawsuit said, adding two photos of Paul and Combs together for reference. Jones claimed Paul allegedly "procured, transported and distributed" drugs including ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana and mushrooms. Jones also said Paul would acquire and distribute guns for Combs and "negotiate the fees the sex workers received and would ensure that the workers are paid" on Combs' behalf.
On Dec. 17, 2024, prosecutors declined to proceed with the one outstanding charge of cocaine possession, and the case was closed. Paul had "completed a pre-trial diversion course sometimes offered for first-time offenders," his attorney told USA TODAY at the time.
The videos were shown in three to four-minute increments on June 17. Jurors were all wearing earphones, and the monitors that had been used during testimony were cut off to the courtroom gallery. At one point, the gallery could hear the faint sound of heavy breathing, and the judge reminded jurors to make sure that their headphones were fully on because the microphone feed appeared to be picking up the video.
Throughout the roughly 20 minutes of footage, DeLeassa Penland, a special agent for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, looked uncomfortable on the stand and at one point appeared to close her eyes and wince.
Phone and text records unveiled June 17 showed Combs pleaded with former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine to return to the Los Angeles-area hotel where surveillance footage captured him attacking her in a hallway.
"I went and checked everything and spoke to security. Jules left so you're good and as long as you don't disturb the other guests, they'll leave you be," Ventura Fine texted him, referring to a sex worker they hired for an alleged "freak off."
"I am about to be arrested," Combs texted Ventura Fine after she left the hotel, saying police were at the building. Records showed he called her five times in 22 minutes, but there's no evidence law enforcement was involved in the incident.
Penland on June 17 provided more detail about the roles that Combs' then-chief of staff Kristina "KK" Khorram and bodyguard Damion "D-Roc" Butler played in the much-discussed 2016 incident where Combs physically assaulted Ventura Fine at a now-closed luxury hotel in Los Angeles.
The evidence showed Khorram and Butler were directly involved in responding to the incident, and Khorram spoke to the hotel security in an effort to obtain video footage of the assault. For example, Khorram texted Combs' former assistant Elie Maroun, "I'm going to ask just to cover damages" after the rapper checked out of the hotel room.
Butler also called Ventura Fine several times after she left the hotel. The next day, he texted Combs when Ventura Fine was eating breakfast, saying, "Her face don't look bad. She good."
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling case that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and later charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper has pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have video of.
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom. Sign up for our newsletter for more updates.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
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