The Sean Combs Trial: A Timeline of the Testimony

New York Times

3 hours ago

Sean Combs, one of America's most influential music moguls, is standing trial on federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors accuse him of leading a criminal enterprise that committed a series of crimes including kidnapping, arson and obstruction of justice. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have said all the sex at issue in the case was consensual. Read the indictment here.
The Latest:
The Jury Sees 'Freak-Off' Videos and a Juror Is Dismissed
As the trial enters its sixth week, the prosecution has highlighted key pieces of evidence to summarize its case. Among them were a trove of text messages from Kristina Khorram, Mr. Combs's former chief of staff, which prosecutors said showed that Ms. Khorram was closely involved in planning the intensive sex marathons that Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified as 'Jane' said they endured. Over the course of the trial, those events have been called 'freak-offs,' 'hotel nights' and 'wild king nights.'
Prosecutors also showed jurors brief excerpts from videos of those events, which were taken from devices that Ms. Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, provided to the government. That evidence is sealed, and was not visible to the public or the news media. Jurors watched the videos on screens, and listened on headphones; one juror, frowning, snatched the headphones off after the first clip was played.
The defense has called the footage 'powerful evidence that the sexual conduct in this case was consensual and not based on coercion.'
On Monday, the judge dismissed a juror who gave inconsistent information about where he lives, raising concerns that he had been seeking a spot on the jury of the high-profile case. Prosecutors are expected to rest this week, and the defense will then call its own witnesses, who are expected to include a former human resources manager for Mr. Combs's company and a forensic psychiatrist.
Week 1
Opening Statements and Cassie's Testimony
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