Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial live updates: Defense concludes closing argument in sex trafficking case, says he's a ‘swinger,' not a criminal

Yahoo

3 hours ago

The defense delivered its closing argument in the sex trafficking trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs on Friday, arguing the 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is a 'swinger' and a drug abuser guilty of past domestic violence, but not the 'leader of a criminal enterprise' as prosecutors portrayed him.
'He did not do the things he's charged with,' Marc Agnifilo, Combs's lead defense attorney, told jurors. 'He did what he did. But he's going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn't do.'
Agnifilo scoffed at the government's investigation into Combs, who federal prosecutors say abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called 'freak offs' with male escorts while he watched.
'They are swingers,' Agnifilo said. 'This is their lifestyle.'
He pushed back against the allegations that Combs used 'power, violence and fear,' along with kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes.
Agnifilo attacked the testimony of Cassie Ventura, Combs's former girlfriend, who told the court that he repeatedly beat her and forced her to take part in the 'freak offs.' Agnifilo said their decade-long relationship was 'complicated,' but argued it was also 'a great modern love story.'
Combs is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Judge Arun Subramanian said he will give the jury instructions on Monday before the 12-member panel begins its deliberations.
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including the New York Times, CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post.
As Marc Agnifilo started to wrap up the defense team's closing speech, he told the jury he hoped he had proved the government had "targeted" Combs in this case.
"It takes a lot of courage to acquit," Agnifilo said. "You should feel bold, you should feel the courage that you will need to call this as you see it, and I am asking you to summon that courage and to do what needs to be done and to do the right thing."
'He sits there innocent," the defense attorney continued. "Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him.'
Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the jury for a 15-minute break, during which he said it was "improper" that Agnifilo argued to the jury that the government "targeted" Combs. Subramanian said he was going to emphasize to the jury, when they returned, that their focus should be on whether the prosecution actually proved each charge with evidence.
Agnifilo spoke for 4 hours and 3 minutes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik's closing arguments yesterday lasted 4 hours and 49 minutes.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued that Combs was paying for escorts' time, not for sex.
Agnifilo referenced how the prosecution called on two men who participated in "freak offs" with Combs and Cassie Ventura to testify, and neither of them formally identified themselves as a prostitute.
"There's no evidence that there was negotiation of sex for money," Agnifilo said.
The witnesses did testify earlier on in the trial that they were paid in cash after sexual encounters with Ventura. But Agnifilo pointed out that one of the witnesses, Daniel Phillip, who testified he got paid $6,000 for having sex with Ventura in front of Combs, also said, "I didn't care if I was paid one way or another. ... I didn't ask to get paid, they gave that to me."
Christian Combs, a rapper known as King Combs and the 27-year-old son of King Combs, collaborated with Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, on a collection of new songs that dropped today.
One of the songs on the seven-track "Never Stop" EP is called "Diddy Free," which features a chorus with the lyrics, 'Ain't goin' sleep 'till we see Diddy free.'
The song is credited to King Combs and Ye, who is also listed as the executive producer.
Ye's oldest child, North West, is also featured on the EP.
Christian Combs was in court Friday to support his father. Ye made an appearance at the courthouse earlier this month.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo has begun to discuss "Jane," the woman who testified under the pseudonym and dated Combs from 2021 to 2024.
Agnifilo argued Jane did love Combs but, unlike Cassie Ventura, was more focused on what she could get out of the relationship and post on social media. Agnifilo suggested she "really likes the trappings" of fame.
Jane testified that Combs started to pay her rent in 2023 — and still does — which the prosecution described yesterday as financial coercion to get Jane to participate in "hotel nights," which is what she called "freak offs" or sexual encounters with male escorts, typically in hotel rooms.
Agnifilo argued to the jury that Combs paying her rent was a "gesture of kindness and decency." He also pointed to a hotel night in September 2023 when Jane rejected an escort who had been hired, but the escort was still paid $1,000.
'The government said they're not saying every single 'hotel night' was sex trafficking," Agnifilo said. "Well then, which ones were? And how's Sean Combs supposed to know the difference?'
Resuming his closing argument after lunch, Combs's attorney Marc Agnifilo described the videos Combs recorded of male escorts having sex with his girlfriends during "freak offs" as "homemade porn."
"He's not the only man in America making homemade porn," Agnifilo said.
Prosecutors say Combs used videos as blackmail, threatening to release the footage if he didn't get what he wanted from the women. "There is no way on this earth' his client would ever release them, Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo also argued that the drug-fueled marathon sex encounters were not as sinister as the government made them out to be.
"There is a nice quality to these evenings," he said.
The court is back in session.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said he anticipates he has another hour left of his closing arguments. After he's finished, prosecutor Maurene Comey will share her rebuttal, which she says will take about 90 minutes.
Judge Arun Subramanian told the court he will give the jury instructions before they start deliberating next week instead of this afternoon.
The courtroom is taking a break for lunch. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo will continue his closing argument around 1:45 p.m. ET.
The defense is trying to establish a different narrative for the security video showing Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016.
The prosecution argued that this video footage showcases Combs hurting Ventura in the hotel hallway because she left a "freak off" and he wanted her back in the room.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo showed the video to the jury and pointed out that Combs grabs a phone from Ventura. Agnifilo argued that the fight was not over sex but because of the phone. (Agnifilo did not show any of the later security footage where Combs becomes violent with Ventura after taking the phone.)
The defense has argued throughout the trial that Combs had taken a bad batch of drugs before this incident.
"He stays in a towel in a public hallway way too long," Agnifilo pointed out, suggesting Combs was not in the right headspace.
Agnifilo then argued that once Combs got the phone, Ventura later did come back to the hotel room because it "was not a scary place." He also referenced a sexual text exchange the couple had before they met at the hotel that day.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo recounted the relationship between Sean "Diddy" Combs and Cassie Ventura, again arguing that Ventura is not a victim.
"They are swingers," Agnifilo said about the couple. He went on to say that the "sex trafficking" charge would apply if Combs had made money off of selling Ventura into prostitution but argued that it didn't happen.
'Your likes and their likes become one,' Agnifilo continued, referring to Ventura's involvement in "freak offs." "That's actually what love is, and that's what's going on with Cassie.'
"She is not clutching her pearls," he added as he read the jury some sexually explicit messages Ventura sent Combs. 'There was nothing that would say to him this was against her will."
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said his client "obviously has a drug problem," but pushed back on the prosecution's argument that Combs intended to distribute and sell the drugs.
"Distribution as part of a racketeering conspiracy, and there is no evidence of that," Agnifilo argued. "This is personal-use drugs."
Resuming his closing argument, Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo moved on to addressing allegations from "Mia," a former assistant who testified under a pseudonym. She described a harrowing and 'toxic' work environment dominated by Combs's 'unpredictable and terrifying' behavior, telling the court that he physically and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
Agnifilo argued that the sex was consensual.
'There was not any unwanted sexual contact between Mr. Combs and Mia,' Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo also denied the prosecution's assertion that Mia was a victim of "forced labor."
"Mia loved working with Sean Combs; she loved the work she did," Agnifilo argued. "Forced labor is when you want to be out of there as soon as possible.'
The defense displayed a photo Mia posted on social media showing her smiling along with several of Combs's employees.
"This is your racketeering enterprise, folks,' Agnifilo said sarcastically.
During the break when jurors were out of the room, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey told Judge Arun Subramanian that the prosecution thought the defense's arguments were too sarcastic about the government's charges against Combs.
"Respectfully, I think I'm allowed to be sarcastic," defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said.
In response to the prosecution's complaint, Judge Subramanian told Agnifilo not to question or speculate why the government was pursuing its charges against Combs, calling the situation "grossly improper."
When jurors returned to the courtroom, the judge reminded the group, "I will be instructing you on the law in this case."
Judge Arun Subramanian is back on the bench after the court took a break.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo spoke for around 94 minutes before the break. The defense said its closing argument should be around three hours long.
Judge Arun Subramanian has called for a 15-minute midmorning break. The defense will continue with its closing argument when court resumes.
After mentioning Capricorn Clark's testimony claims that she was kidnapped by Combs and taken to rapper Kid Cudi's house at gunpoint in December 2011, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo addressed the prosecution's allegations that Combs was behind Kid Cudi's Porsche catching on fire in early 2012.
Kid Cudi testified that his Porsche was set on fire with a Molotov cocktail after Combs learned that he and Cassie Ventura were dating. Prosecutor Christy Slavik reminded the jury of Kid Cudi's testimony about the Porsche yesterday and said, "Of course, the defendant was behind this."
Agnifilo argued that the small DNA profile that was found on the Molotov cocktail bottle was "consistent with a female."
'There is no evidence that he had anything to do with the Porsche,' he said.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs's lead defense lawyer, started to comb through some of the prosecution's key witnesses and their testimonies, reminding the jury members that they are allowed to question or disregard testimonies if they don't trust them.
Agnifilo brought up Capricorn Clark, whom the prosecution argued had been a victim of being kidnapped by Combs twice while working as his personal assistant.
The first alleged experience was in 2004, after Clark had started working for Combs. Clark testified she had to undergo five days of lie detector tests to prove she hadn't stolen jewelry and was repeatedly told by the test administrator that if she was caught lying, "they're going to throw you in the East River."
But Agnifilo emphasized that Clark testified she went home after the lie detector tests every day.
"It's not a kidnapping," he said, before pointing out that the jurors had spent hours watching the trial for the last seven weeks. "Anyone feel kidnapped?"
The second alleged incident was in 2011. Clark testified that Combs came to her home with a gun and brought her to Kid Cudi's house, but Agnifilo emphasized that Kid Cudi testified Clark did not mention any guns when she called him and Cassie Ventura that day.
'Had Capricorn said 'gun,' Cudi would've remembered 'gun.' You're not gonna forget 'gun,'' Agnifilo argued. He also reiterated his earlier point that Clark, like most of Combs's employees, loved working for him and would willingly do anything for him. 'If he asked her to take a trip to the moon, she'd go, and he knows that. He doesn't need a gun."
Moments after conceding his client was "guilty" of assaulting Cassie Ventura, Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo called Ventura a "gangster" for using a burner phone to contact Kid Cudi while she was seeing both men.
'Cassie's keeping it gangster!' Agnifilo said. "She played them both.'
During her relationship with Kid Cudi, Ventura repeatedly lied to Combs, Agnifilo said, arguing that it showed she was "not afraid of him."
Marc Agnifilo, Combs's defense attorney, used part of his closing argument to mock the raids on Combs's homes.
In its indictment, the prosecut said that federal agents recovered guns, drugs and 'more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.'
'Boxes of Astroglide, taken off the streets, whoo! I feel better already,' Agnifilo said.
'Thank goodness for the special response team," he added. "They found the Astroglide, they found the baby oil, they found like five valium pills. Way to go, fellas.'
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued to the jury that Cassie Ventura is not part of a "one-sided, oppressive" relationship with Combs, as the prosecution argued, but ultimately the financial "winner" of the breakup.
"She is sitting somewhere in the world with $30 million," Agnifilo said. Ventura won a $20 million civil settlement from Combs after filing a lawsuit against him in November 2023, and is expecting a $10 million settlement from the owner of the InterContinental hotel where she was assaulted by Combs in 2016.
Agnifilo called Combs and Ventura's relationship 'a great modern love story,' and said that this case isn't about crime.
"We're here because of money," he said.
In his closing argument, Marc Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs is "guilty" of domestic violence, but that's not what he's been charged with.
Multiple women, including Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, testified that he beat them repeatedly. And a key piece of evidence for prosecutors was a surveillance video that showed Combs assaulting Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.
"We own the domestic violence — I hope you guys know that," Agnifilo said. 'It happened. That's not charged.
'He did not do the things he's charged with,' Agnifilo said. 'He didn't commit racketeering — he just didn't.' The lawyer added: 'He did what he did. But he's going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn't do.'
As Marc Agnifilo started to wrap up the defense team's closing speech, he told the jury he hoped he had proved the government had "targeted" Combs in this case.
"It takes a lot of courage to acquit," Agnifilo said. "You should feel bold, you should feel the courage that you will need to call this as you see it, and I am asking you to summon that courage and to do what needs to be done and to do the right thing."
'He sits there innocent," the defense attorney continued. "Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him.'
Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the jury for a 15-minute break, during which he said it was "improper" that Agnifilo argued to the jury that the government "targeted" Combs. Subramanian said he was going to emphasize to the jury, when they returned, that their focus should be on whether the prosecution actually proved each charge with evidence.
Agnifilo spoke for 4 hours and 3 minutes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik's closing arguments yesterday lasted 4 hours and 49 minutes.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued that Combs was paying for escorts' time, not for sex.
Agnifilo referenced how the prosecution called on two men who participated in "freak offs" with Combs and Cassie Ventura to testify, and neither of them formally identified themselves as a prostitute.
"There's no evidence that there was negotiation of sex for money," Agnifilo said.
The witnesses did testify earlier on in the trial that they were paid in cash after sexual encounters with Ventura. But Agnifilo pointed out that one of the witnesses, Daniel Phillip, who testified he got paid $6,000 for having sex with Ventura in front of Combs, also said, "I didn't care if I was paid one way or another. ... I didn't ask to get paid, they gave that to me."
Christian Combs, a rapper known as King Combs and the 27-year-old son of King Combs, collaborated with Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, on a collection of new songs that dropped today.
One of the songs on the seven-track "Never Stop" EP is called "Diddy Free," which features a chorus with the lyrics, 'Ain't goin' sleep 'till we see Diddy free.'
The song is credited to King Combs and Ye, who is also listed as the executive producer.
Ye's oldest child, North West, is also featured on the EP.
Christian Combs was in court Friday to support his father. Ye made an appearance at the courthouse earlier this month.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo has begun to discuss "Jane," the woman who testified under the pseudonym and dated Combs from 2021 to 2024.
Agnifilo argued Jane did love Combs but, unlike Cassie Ventura, was more focused on what she could get out of the relationship and post on social media. Agnifilo suggested she "really likes the trappings" of fame.
Jane testified that Combs started to pay her rent in 2023 — and still does — which the prosecution described yesterday as financial coercion to get Jane to participate in "hotel nights," which is what she called "freak offs" or sexual encounters with male escorts, typically in hotel rooms.
Agnifilo argued to the jury that Combs paying her rent was a "gesture of kindness and decency." He also pointed to a hotel night in September 2023 when Jane rejected an escort who had been hired, but the escort was still paid $1,000.
'The government said they're not saying every single 'hotel night' was sex trafficking," Agnifilo said. "Well then, which ones were? And how's Sean Combs supposed to know the difference?'
Resuming his closing argument after lunch, Combs's attorney Marc Agnifilo described the videos Combs recorded of male escorts having sex with his girlfriends during "freak offs" as "homemade porn."
"He's not the only man in America making homemade porn," Agnifilo said.
Prosecutors say Combs used videos as blackmail, threatening to release the footage if he didn't get what he wanted from the women. "There is no way on this earth' his client would ever release them, Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo also argued that the drug-fueled marathon sex encounters were not as sinister as the government made them out to be.
"There is a nice quality to these evenings," he said.
The court is back in session.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said he anticipates he has another hour left of his closing arguments. After he's finished, prosecutor Maurene Comey will share her rebuttal, which she says will take about 90 minutes.
Judge Arun Subramanian told the court he will give the jury instructions before they start deliberating next week instead of this afternoon.
The courtroom is taking a break for lunch. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo will continue his closing argument around 1:45 p.m. ET.
The defense is trying to establish a different narrative for the security video showing Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016.
The prosecution argued that this video footage showcases Combs hurting Ventura in the hotel hallway because she left a "freak off" and he wanted her back in the room.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo showed the video to the jury and pointed out that Combs grabs a phone from Ventura. Agnifilo argued that the fight was not over sex but because of the phone. (Agnifilo did not show any of the later security footage where Combs becomes violent with Ventura after taking the phone.)
The defense has argued throughout the trial that Combs had taken a bad batch of drugs before this incident.
"He stays in a towel in a public hallway way too long," Agnifilo pointed out, suggesting Combs was not in the right headspace.
Agnifilo then argued that once Combs got the phone, Ventura later did come back to the hotel room because it "was not a scary place." He also referenced a sexual text exchange the couple had before they met at the hotel that day.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo recounted the relationship between Sean "Diddy" Combs and Cassie Ventura, again arguing that Ventura is not a victim.
"They are swingers," Agnifilo said about the couple. He went on to say that the "sex trafficking" charge would apply if Combs had made money off of selling Ventura into prostitution but argued that it didn't happen.
'Your likes and their likes become one,' Agnifilo continued, referring to Ventura's involvement in "freak offs." "That's actually what love is, and that's what's going on with Cassie.'
"She is not clutching her pearls," he added as he read the jury some sexually explicit messages Ventura sent Combs. 'There was nothing that would say to him this was against her will."
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said his client "obviously has a drug problem," but pushed back on the prosecution's argument that Combs intended to distribute and sell the drugs.
"Distribution as part of a racketeering conspiracy, and there is no evidence of that," Agnifilo argued. "This is personal-use drugs."
Resuming his closing argument, Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo moved on to addressing allegations from "Mia," a former assistant who testified under a pseudonym. She described a harrowing and 'toxic' work environment dominated by Combs's 'unpredictable and terrifying' behavior, telling the court that he physically and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
Agnifilo argued that the sex was consensual.
'There was not any unwanted sexual contact between Mr. Combs and Mia,' Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo also denied the prosecution's assertion that Mia was a victim of "forced labor."
"Mia loved working with Sean Combs; she loved the work she did," Agnifilo argued. "Forced labor is when you want to be out of there as soon as possible.'
The defense displayed a photo Mia posted on social media showing her smiling along with several of Combs's employees.
"This is your racketeering enterprise, folks,' Agnifilo said sarcastically.
During the break when jurors were out of the room, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey told Judge Arun Subramanian that the prosecution thought the defense's arguments were too sarcastic about the government's charges against Combs.
"Respectfully, I think I'm allowed to be sarcastic," defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said.
In response to the prosecution's complaint, Judge Subramanian told Agnifilo not to question or speculate why the government was pursuing its charges against Combs, calling the situation "grossly improper."
When jurors returned to the courtroom, the judge reminded the group, "I will be instructing you on the law in this case."
Judge Arun Subramanian is back on the bench after the court took a break.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo spoke for around 94 minutes before the break. The defense said its closing argument should be around three hours long.
Judge Arun Subramanian has called for a 15-minute midmorning break. The defense will continue with its closing argument when court resumes.
After mentioning Capricorn Clark's testimony claims that she was kidnapped by Combs and taken to rapper Kid Cudi's house at gunpoint in December 2011, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo addressed the prosecution's allegations that Combs was behind Kid Cudi's Porsche catching on fire in early 2012.
Kid Cudi testified that his Porsche was set on fire with a Molotov cocktail after Combs learned that he and Cassie Ventura were dating. Prosecutor Christy Slavik reminded the jury of Kid Cudi's testimony about the Porsche yesterday and said, "Of course, the defendant was behind this."
Agnifilo argued that the small DNA profile that was found on the Molotov cocktail bottle was "consistent with a female."
'There is no evidence that he had anything to do with the Porsche,' he said.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs's lead defense lawyer, started to comb through some of the prosecution's key witnesses and their testimonies, reminding the jury members that they are allowed to question or disregard testimonies if they don't trust them.
Agnifilo brought up Capricorn Clark, whom the prosecution argued had been a victim of being kidnapped by Combs twice while working as his personal assistant.
The first alleged experience was in 2004, after Clark had started working for Combs. Clark testified she had to undergo five days of lie detector tests to prove she hadn't stolen jewelry and was repeatedly told by the test administrator that if she was caught lying, "they're going to throw you in the East River."
But Agnifilo emphasized that Clark testified she went home after the lie detector tests every day.
"It's not a kidnapping," he said, before pointing out that the jurors had spent hours watching the trial for the last seven weeks. "Anyone feel kidnapped?"
The second alleged incident was in 2011. Clark testified that Combs came to her home with a gun and brought her to Kid Cudi's house, but Agnifilo emphasized that Kid Cudi testified Clark did not mention any guns when she called him and Cassie Ventura that day.
'Had Capricorn said 'gun,' Cudi would've remembered 'gun.' You're not gonna forget 'gun,'' Agnifilo argued. He also reiterated his earlier point that Clark, like most of Combs's employees, loved working for him and would willingly do anything for him. 'If he asked her to take a trip to the moon, she'd go, and he knows that. He doesn't need a gun."
Moments after conceding his client was "guilty" of assaulting Cassie Ventura, Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo called Ventura a "gangster" for using a burner phone to contact Kid Cudi while she was seeing both men.
'Cassie's keeping it gangster!' Agnifilo said. "She played them both.'
During her relationship with Kid Cudi, Ventura repeatedly lied to Combs, Agnifilo said, arguing that it showed she was "not afraid of him."
Marc Agnifilo, Combs's defense attorney, used part of his closing argument to mock the raids on Combs's homes.
In its indictment, the prosecut said that federal agents recovered guns, drugs and 'more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.'
'Boxes of Astroglide, taken off the streets, whoo! I feel better already,' Agnifilo said.
'Thank goodness for the special response team," he added. "They found the Astroglide, they found the baby oil, they found like five valium pills. Way to go, fellas.'
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued to the jury that Cassie Ventura is not part of a "one-sided, oppressive" relationship with Combs, as the prosecution argued, but ultimately the financial "winner" of the breakup.
"She is sitting somewhere in the world with $30 million," Agnifilo said. Ventura won a $20 million civil settlement from Combs after filing a lawsuit against him in November 2023, and is expecting a $10 million settlement from the owner of the InterContinental hotel where she was assaulted by Combs in 2016.
Agnifilo called Combs and Ventura's relationship 'a great modern love story,' and said that this case isn't about crime.
"We're here because of money," he said.
In his closing argument, Marc Agnifilo acknowledged that Combs is "guilty" of domestic violence, but that's not what he's been charged with.
Multiple women, including Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, testified that he beat them repeatedly. And a key piece of evidence for prosecutors was a surveillance video that showed Combs assaulting Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.
"We own the domestic violence — I hope you guys know that," Agnifilo said. 'It happened. That's not charged.
'He did not do the things he's charged with,' Agnifilo said. 'He didn't commit racketeering — he just didn't.' The lawyer added: 'He did what he did. But he's going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn't do.'