As Diddy and the whole world hold their breath for verdict that will decide if he rots in prison... legal experts say the signs are pointing in a clear direction

Daily Mail​

02-07-2025

Jurors in Sean ' Diddy ' Combs' high-profile criminal trial are set to seal his fate on Wednesday after failing to reach a verdict on the most serious charge against him.
The eight men and four women who comprise the jury announced on Tuesday that they had already come to a consensus on whether to convict the 55-year-old rapper on charges of sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Those charges are related to claims brought by Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and another ex who remained anonymous throughout the trial, who have said they were forced to have sex with his friends at drug-fueled parties and were threatened when they refused to cooperate.
But jurors also said they were deadlocked on whether to convict the Bad Boys for Life artist on racketeering conspiracy charges - which allege that Combs ran a criminal enterprise to entrap and abuse women.
In a note to US District Judge Arun Subramanian, the jurors explained that there were those with 'unpersuadable opinions on both sides' of the issue.
Legal experts now say they can understand why jurors may still be undecided on the racketeering charge - which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
'You have to prove that there was this big mass conspiracy where you have different people doing... different criminal acts, which I'm not sure that the prosecution did a very good job of,' Guster said.
'They may not have brought all of that evidence that they needed to prove that point.'
Federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani also told ABC 7, 'It is possible that the jurors have returned a guilty verdict on prostitution and sex trafficking and they're just trying to find that criminal enterprise or criminal agreement.'
Prosecutors have sought to justify the charge by arguing that Combs' alleged physical abuse coupled with his threats to release videos from his depraved freak-off parties amounted to a pattern of coercion.
In order to convict the I'll Be Missing You singer on the serious charge, jurors must now decide whether Combs ran a criminal enterprise responsible for at least two underlying offenses.
One of those offenses could be that Combs used subordinates to carry out interstate prostitution.
'There was plenty of evidence that Combs paid the sex workers,' Rahmani explained to ABC 7. 'Really, the difference was that he thought he was paying porn stars and was making homemade pornos. Not a particularly good defense, in my opinion.'
Subramanian ultimately ordered the jury back into deliberations to reach a verdict on the final count - and legal experts now believe the jury will reach a final decision ahead of the July 4 holiday on Friday.
'These people want to go home,' lawyer and legal analyst Eric Guster told CBS News. 'They want to barbecue some chicken, not think about this case. They've been in this case for weeks. They are ready to go home.'
The trial that has captivated the world started way back on March 12, and has included more than a month of grueling testimonies and bombshell evidence - including weapons and hoards of baby oil.
Combs has denied all of the accusations - asserting that all his graphic sex acts were consensual.
It remains unclear whether jurors decided to convict the fallen musician on any of the charges, but former federal prosecutor and legal analyst Ellie Honig has argued that a line in the jury's note to Judge Subramanian suggests they will convict him on at least some of the charges.
The note says there were those 'with unpersuadable opinions on both sides' of the issue of whether to convict Combs of racketeering.
'It is hard for me to fathom, logically, Jake... that there are multiple jurors who basically say he is guilty of racketeering, but he's not guilty of all the other crimes, the other sex trafficking crimes and interstate prostitution crimes,' Honig told anchor Jake Tapper Tuesday evening.
'So honestly, that would be the conversation I'd be having right now if I was in the prosecution room. I would take some heart in that,' the lawyer said.
'I would be encouraged by that as a prosecutor, that that suggests we might have guilty verdicts on the other counts.'
Ramhani, though, said he believes Diddy will be acquitted on the sex trafficking charges due to the high bar required to prove force, fraud or coercion.
'The defense obviously made a pretty strong argument that all of this was consensual,' the lawyer told PEOPLE.
In the end, Rahmani said the case will come down to the racketeering charge.
'If the government doesn't get a RICO conviction, this will be huge loss and the most expensive prostitution trial in American history,' he wrote on social media.
What happens next
Jurors are now expected to return to federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning to iron out their verdict on the racketeering charge.
Judge Subramanian urged the jurors to 'keep an open mind' as they continue to debate the merits of the criminal charge, but also reminded them that 'no juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict.'
With that in mind, the jurors could also go back on their decisions on the other four counts that they had already decided on, as Subramanian refused to accept a partial verdict.
'The judge... could have said "Alright, I'm going to take the verdict in open court and whatever that verdict is it cannot change,"' legal analyst Michael Bachner explained to NBC 4 New York.
'By not taking the partial verdict, the jury could theoretically go back and start reconsidering whatever they've decided in the jury room.'
However, other experts like Guster and Rahmani expect the jury will want to reach a final decision soon.
'Never underestimate the power of a three-day weekend,' Rahmani said, referencing the upcoming July 4th holiday. 'We get 12 strangers motivated to get their act together.
'They do not want to come back next week, July 7th,' he continued. 'So they're going to have all day tomorrow and probably all day Thursday to reach a verdict on that remaining count.'
If the jury can't reach a verdict on the racketeering charge
If the jury remains split on the racketeering charge, Judge Subramanian may issue an Allen charge, which encourages continued deliberations and reminds jurors of their duty to work toward a unanimous verdict in good faith.
If the panel is still unable to reach a verdict following the Allen charge, Subramanian may decide to take the panel's verdicts on the other counts and declare a hung jury or a mistrial on the racketeering charge.
If Combs is found guilty on the racketeering charge
If Combs were to be found guilty on the racketeering charge he could stand to lose much of his fortune, Kenworthey Bilz, a law professor at the University of Illinois, told ABC News.
She explained that if the prosecutors successfully proved Combs' private jet or any of his other vehicles were used to transport sex workers or clients, they could be seized by the government.
A criminal conviction would also likely lead to more civil claims against the hip hop mogul, added Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute.
Additionally, Combs would face the possibility of spending the rest of his life in federal lockup.
If Combs is acquitted
On the other hand, if Combs were to be acquitted on all of the charges he would avoid all of the financial penalties.
He would still be exposed to potential civil lawsuits, however, and may see his fortunes diminished due to his damaged reputation, Jeff Apruzzesse, a professor of the music industry at Drexel University, told ABC News.
'For a high-profile artist and performer like Diddy, reputation is currency,' he noted.
Combs could also be found guilty on some charges but not others. In that case, he would face the maximum penalty associated with the conviction.
A conviction of sex trafficking includes a minimum sentence of 15 years, and a conviction of prostitution could see Combs spend up to 10 years behind bars.
The shocking evidence that gripped America
Combs' blockbuster sex-trafficking trial has revealed troves of evidence since it started on May 5.
Jurors were shown horrific photographs of injuries Ventura allegedly sustained at the hands of the music mogul, including pictures of dark bruising on her back and lower thigh that she said came from an altercation with Diddy in Christmas 2011.
Other photos show her badly swollen lips after the infamous 2016 assault Diddy launched on her in the hallway of an LA hotel, as caught on camera.
Another image shows what Cassie described as a 'pretty significant gash' above her left eye.
She said Diddy threw her into a bed frame while she was packing to go to Drake's music festival in Canada.
Jurors also viewed five photos from Diddy's so-called 'freak-off' parties, which were blocked from public view.
One male juror's eyebrows went up as he saw the images, while a female juror swallowed hard and appeared to move her head side to side.
Yet Diddy's legal team had sought to fight back against the mounting evidence by pointing to salacious text messages from Cassie claiming the R&B singer 'loved' Combs' infamous parties.
Cassie Ventura delivers bombshell testimony
In her testimony, Ventura claimed Diddy beat her mercilessly and ordered her to have 'disgusting' sex with strangers during the multi-day 'freak off' parties.
She recounted the 'freak offs' in graphic detail, including one alleged instance where a male escort urinated in her mouth at Combs' request.
His demands left her feeling 'heavily objectified,' Ventura claimed.
But, she said, she endured them for more than a decade between 2007 and 2018 because she was in love with Combs, and because when she did try to leave, Combs would punish her.
'I just felt it was all I was good for,' she said as she broke down in tears on the first day in court.
'I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusted. I was humiliated, I didn't have those words to put together at the time, how horrible I felt. I couldn't talk to anybody about it,' she claimed.