Live updates: Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial continues with witness

CNN

13-05-2025

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Title: Combs had "control over what I was doing over every minute of the day," Ventura says
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Cassie Ventura said Sean 'Diddy' Combs would check in on what music she was working on and he would give her 'busy work' on projects that never released.
'I think busy work, just the way I interpreted it, was just control — control over what I was doing over every minute of the day,' she testified.
Ventura said that if she didn't respond to Combs, he would call her constantly and sometimes send someone — usually his security — to her home to check on her.
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Title: Combs' mood "swung different ways quite a bit," Ventura says
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On a typical day, Cassie Ventura said she talked to Sean 'Diddy' Combs 'all day, throughout the day.' She said sometimes she wouldn't answer his calls or messages right away, and he would be an 'incessant caller' or he would have his staff call until she answered.
There were times Combs' assistants or security personnel would locate her for him in person, she said.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson asked Ventura to give an example of how Combs' moods impacted her. Ventura said Combs' mood 'swung different ways quite a bit.'
'The most complicated and the greatest examples are the abuse because I also felt at certain times when I knew it wasn't even about me and you make the wrong face and the next thing I knew, I was getting hit in the face,' Ventura said.
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Title: Ventura says she was initially "enamored" by Combs, but eventually saw "a different side of him"
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Cassie Ventura said once she started dating Sean 'Diddy' Combs, she broke ties with her management company, which also managed her former boyfriend.
After the Miami trip, she said she fell in love with Combs.
'I traveled with him everywhere. I was in studios. I was just like [his] little shadow for a little while,' she testified.
Ventura said that at this point, the relationship was 'fun,' describing it as her 'first adult, real adult relationship.' She also noted that Combs' lifestyle was 'much different' than her own.
'He had assistants at his beckon call. He could get anything done quickly. He had respect from everyone. He traveled quite a bit,' Ventura said.
Ventura testified that early on, she was 'just enamored by him.' But later on, she began to 'experience a different side of him, which was his abusive side.'
She said Combs was 'very controlling over my life and the things that I wanted to do, but there was still love there.'
'Control was everything from the way that I looked to what I was working on that day, who I was speaking to. Control was kind of an all-around thing to a certain point,' she testified.
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Title: Combs had "many girlfriends," Ventura says
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Cassie Ventura testified that became one of Sean Combs' girlfriends after the Miami trip.
'Sean Combs had many girlfriends,' Ventura said.
At the time, 'I knew that we were spending a lot of time together, one-on-one, and I really felt like we were in a monogamous relationship for a period,' she said.
Their relationship wasn't public for years, she said, because she was his artist and because of his family.
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Title: Combs was a "fun guy that also happened to have my career in his hands," Ventura says
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Cassie Ventura is detailing the early phase of her relationship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs. After he kissed her on her 21st birthday, she said Combs began inviting her to hotel rooms in New York, where he was staying while his home was being renovated.
She said they started to develop a more comfortable relationship with each other.
'I wanted to be around Sean for the same reasons as everyone else at the time — just this exciting, entertaining, fun guy that also happened to have my career in his hands,' Ventura said. 'It felt special because not a lot of people got that time with him.'
Ventura described herself as being sexually unexperienced at this time. During one of those New York visits, she said Combs performed oral sex on her and made her 'feel crazy' for not reciprocating.
'I was just so young, I didn't even have the vocabulary for some of the things that we talked about,' she testified.
'I was also still in a relationship with someone else,' she added.
Eventually, Combs, Ventura and other friends took a trip to Miami, she said. Ventura said she took ecstasy that Combs gave her while they were drinking and partying on a boat. Ventura said she and Combs had sex for the first time on this trip.
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Title: Combs called "all of the shots" in Ventura's career, she says
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Prosecutor Emily Johnson asked Cassie Ventura how Sean 'Diddy' Combs influenced her career at the time.
'He called most of the shots, well all of the shots. I had a new record, I would play it for him. He chose what was next for me basically,' Ventura said.
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Title: Ventura says she was "really confused" the first time Combs kissed her
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Cassie Ventura testified that she saw Sean 'Diddy' Combs about once a month at social outings in 2006.
In August 2007, while celebrating her 21st birthday in Las Vegas, Combs kissed her in a bathroom, Ventura said.
'I was just really confused at the time,' she said, noting that she was a 'young, new artist' who 'just didn't really know the lay of the land when it came to things like that.'
She testified that she cried and ran off.
'Did you want to kiss Sean at your 21st birthday?' Prosecutor Emily Johnson asked Ventura.
'No, not at my 21st birthday,' Ventura said.
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Title: The relationship between Combs and Ventura started platonically, she says
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Cassie Ventura testified that she signed a contract with Bad Boy Records, Sean 'Diddy' Combs' company, in early 2006.
She said that before she met Combs, she knew him as a 'larger than life' music entrepreneur, and she met him when she was about 19 years old.
Ventura said she had a platonic relationship with Combs in the time just after she signed with his record label. She said he looked out for her when she had a few 'rough performances.'
Prosecutor Emily Johnson then showed the jury a photo of Ventura and Combs together in 2006, the same year she signed her record deal.
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Title: Ventura says she kept broken laptops, iPads and phones out of fear material would become public
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Cassie Ventura testified that she was also afraid that the 'blackmail materials' would become public.
She said she kept broken laptops, iPads and phones because she didn't know what material was on them.
She also said, 'Sean is a really polarizing person, also very charming so it's hard to be able to decide in that moment like what you need when he's telling you what he wants.'
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Title: Ventura says she didn't know how to refuse "Freak Offs": "I just didn't feel like I had much say in it"
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Cassie Ventura recalled on the stand when Sean 'Diddy' Combs first proposed 'Freak Offs' to her. She said she remembers the feeling of her stomach falling.
'I also felt a sense of responsibility. It was him sharing something like that with me. I was confused, nervous but also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy so,' she said.
'I knew it wasn't something I wanted to be doing especially as regularly as it became, but again, I was just in love and wanted to make him happy,' she testified.
Ventura said she didn't know how to refuse 'Freak Offs.'
'It got to a point where I just didn't feel like I had much of a choice, didn't really know what 'no' could be or what 'no' could turn into,' she said.
She said Combs controlled 'a lot' of her life, from her career to the way she dressed.
'And I just didn't feel like I had much say in it at that time, being really super young, naive, total people pleaser,' Ventura said. 'I didn't know if he would be upset enough to be violent or if he would write me off and just not want to be with me at all.'
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Title: Ventura describes what a "Freak Off" entails
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Prosecutor Emily Johnson pulled up a still image of the well-known hotel surveillance footage from the InterContinental in 2016.
Cassie Ventura said the image showed her leaving after 'an encounter that we called a 'Freak Off.''
Ventura was asked how she and her former boyfriend Sean 'Diddy' Combs started doing 'Freak Offs.'
'Within the first year of our relationship, he proposed this idea, this sexual encounter that he called voyeurism where he would watch me be in intercourse with a third party, specifically with another man,' she testified.
Ventura went on to say that a 'Freak Off' would entail 'hiring an escort and setting up this experience, so that I could perform for Sean.'
She said she couldn't remember where the name 'Freak Off' came from, but she said that Combs introduced it to her.
'Eventually it became a job for me, pretty much, so I knew if it was something he wanted me to do, I had the contacts to set it up and get a hotel room and all of that, but in the beginning, Sean set it up. He was in charge,' Ventura testified.
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Title: Ventura says she suffered injuries from the abuse
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Cassie Ventura said some of their arguments would be violent and result in 'some sort of physical abuse.'
'He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,' Ventura said of her relationship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
Johnson asked, 'How frequently was shear physical with you during your relationship?'
'Too frequently,' Ventura said.
Ventura said she suffered injuries from the abuse, including knots on her forehead, busted lips, and 'bruises all over my body.'
Editor's Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with intimate partner violence, there are resources available, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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Title: Ventura testifies she was in a relationship with Combs "for a little over 10 years"
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Prosecutor Emily Johnson showed Cassie Ventura a photo of Sean 'Diddy' Combs and asked her to identify him.
When asked how she knew Combs, Ventura said, 'We were in a relationship for a little over 10 years.'
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Title: Cassie Ventura takes the stand
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Cassie Ventura, Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former girlfriend, has now taken the stand in the government's sex-trafficking case against the music mogul.
Ventura walked passed the jury box on her way to the witness stand. Prosecutor Emily Johnson will question her.
Earlier today, Ventura's attorney Douglas Wigdor said she was 'very ready' to take the stand, and told reporters she is 'confident.'
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Title: Ventura's husband enters the courtroom
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Cassie Ventura's husband, Alex Fine, just walked into the courtroom and sat next to Doug Wigdor, Ventura's attorney.
Fine is staring at Combs, who just re-entered the courtroom and sat down at the defense table. Court is still on a short break, and testimony is expected to resume soon.
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Title: Ventura's husband will be allowed to sit in court for a portion of her testimony
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Cassie Ventura's husband will be allowed to sit in the courtroom to support her for a portion of her testimony.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorney Teny Geragos said the defense may need to call Alex Fine to testify about allegations that Combs raped Ventura in the summer or fall of 2018. Ventura's husband can remain in court for her testimony until the 2018 allegations come up in her testimony, the judge ruled.
Ventura's husband was not on Comb's witness list. Judge Arun Subramanian says going forward, the defense must give the government more notice if they intend to make applications like this.
Assistant US attorney Emily Johnson said those allegations may not come up in her direct examination until tomorrow.
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Title: Combs' defense wants to bar Ventura's husband from court during her testimony
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Defense attorney Teny Geragos is making an application that Cassie Ventura's husband be barred from the courtroom for her testimony.
Geragos says that Ventura's husband may be called in Combs' defense case if certain testimony comes up when Ventura takes the stand.
Geragos says the defense will not make an application to bar any other family members of Ventura from the courtroom for her testimony.
She said Ventura's brother and mother are expected to be in the courtroom to support her.
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Title: Court is taking a short break
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Judge Arun Subramanian just dismissed the jury for a 10-minute break.
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Title: The next witness hasn't been called yet
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The parties are at side bar, the next witness hasn't been called yet.
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Title: Daniel Phillip is off the stand
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Daniel Phillip, the male revue manager, has wrapped up his testimony.
On redirect examination, Prosecutor Maurene Comey asked Phillip to recount his recollection of the moments after he watched Sean 'Diddy' Combs drag Cassie Ventura into a bedroom and then heard what he believed to be Combs beating Ventura. He said he experienced erectile dysfunction because he was shook by the altercation.
'I was completely shocked and messed up in my head, there was nothing I could do,' he said. 'She was afraid I could see she was afraid.'
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Title: Cross-examination of Phillip wraps up
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Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson is done cross-examining Daniel Phillip.
Prosecutor Maurene Comey is now questioning Phillip on redirect examination.
Comey asked Phillip in quick succession to confirm who would direct him and Cassie Ventura to rub baby oil on each other, who would direct him to have sex and who would direct Ventura to give Phillip oral sex.
Each time he answered 'Sean Combs.'
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Title: Defense attorney asks Phillip to confirm parts of his testimony from yesterday
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Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson is now reviewing parts of Daniel Phillip's testimony from yesterday, when prosecutors questioned him.
We're not hearing any new information, as Donaldson is asking Phillip to confirm details he already said on the stand yesterday.
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Title: Defense attorney asks Phillip about witnessing assault on Ventura
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Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson asked Daniel Phillip again about the time he saw Sean 'Diddy' Combs assault Cassie Ventura at her home.
Phillip confirmed that he went to Ventura's apartment after she sent him her address, and they had sex before the assault. He confirmed that she did not appear to be under the influence at the time.
Phillip said Monday that after the assault Combs pushed Phillip and Ventura to continue having sex. Donaldson challenged Phillip's trial testimony with a report from a previous law enforcement interview he gave in 2023, when he told investigators that Combs told him, 'Yo man, I'm going to need to deal with this, you need to get the f**k out.'
On the stand, Phillip said he didn't recall telling investigators that.
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Title: Phillip continues to detail sexual encounters with Ventura and Combs
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Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson asked Daniel Phillip again about the first day he had sex with Cassie Ventura in front of Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
Not long after he left the hotel room following their first sexual encounter, Ventura called him to ask if he'd come back that same day, Phillip testified.
Phillip said he agreed to return to their hotel room at the Gramercy Park Hotel, where he and Ventura again had sex 'for a few hours.' When asked, Phillip testified that Combs did not direct him and Ventura as to how they should have sex that day.
Ventura also appeared sober, Phillip testified. He said he didn't see her drink alcohol or take drugs while he was with the couple. When Donaldson asked if Ventura seemed 'in complete control of everything she was doing' during that encounter, Phillip testified, 'I cannot say that.'
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Title: Daniel Phillip back on the stand for another day of testimony
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Daniel Phillip, the male revue manager who testified yesterday that he was paid to have sex with Cassie Ventura on several occasions, is back on the stand. Defense Attorney Xavier Donaldson will continue questioning Phillip soon.
The jury is now entering the courtroom.
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Title: Judge allows messages between Combs and Ventura to be brought up
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Defense attorney Anna Estevao told the court they intend to bring up messages between Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Cassie Ventura when she was out of state and he was concerned she was cheating on him, and she told him she hadn't responded because she had gotten into a bar fight.
Estevao said the incident demonstrates that Ventura had substance abuse issues independently of her relationship with Combs.
Judge Arun Subramanian overruled prosecutors' objections and allowed the incident to come into the trial.
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Title: Why Cassie Ventura's testimony is so key to the prosecution's case, according to legal analyst
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Cassie Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, could take the stand today as day two of the trial against the embattled music mogul gets underway.
Ventura, who is also one of Combs' accusers, is expected to testify as a central witness for the prosecution about her years-long relationship with Combs, and her testimony could 'really be the key' to the government's case, according to CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rogers.
'Sometimes prosecutors put on an FBI agent, for example, to be kind of the narrator of what happened here, but in this case, Cassie Ventura is that narrator here,' Rogers told CNN, adding that the government needs 'to show that this was not just sex — this was coercion, this was a concerted plan involving not just him but a lot of other people, including people who worked for him, to bring people across state lines for these big sex parties and that it was not voluntary.'
Rogers said other witnesses will serve the purpose of corroborating and adding to Ventura's story for the prosecution.
Ventura is referred to as 'Victim 1' in the indictment but has chosen to testify under her real name. Prosecutors claim Combs coerced her into having sex with male prostitutes during sexual performances called 'Freak Offs,' according to the indictment.
Combs' attorneys have said all sex was consensual.
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Title: Judge says he's inclined to grant media request to make video and images public
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Judge Arun Subramanian said he's inclined to grant the media's motion for public access to sexually explicit footage and images that are expected to be submitted as evidence, but he said he hasn't made a decision yet.
Attorneys for Sean 'Diddy' Combs and the prosecutors want sexually explicit videos and images sealed so that only the jury and the parties will view the material at trial.
An attorney representing a media coalition advocating for public access to the exhibits spoke in court to object to the sealing of any evidence.
The judge said he'd wait to rule until the parties file written responses to the coalition's motion on the docket.
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Title: What we know about the lawyers leading the Combs trial
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Two of the lead lawyers in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial have recognizable last names, but they stand on their own.
Teny Geragos, Diddy's attorney who delivered his opening statement, is the daughter of celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, who has been in the courtroom over the past week. He told CNN he was a 'helicopter dad' there to support his daughter (he is also a friend of Combs). Teny Geragos has spent most of her career as a defense lawyer and represented Keith Raniere, the founder of Nxivm who was convicted of sex trafficking.
Across the aisle is Maurene Comey, a senior prosecutor on the all-female trial team. Comey is the daughter of Jim Comey, the former FBI director who also served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York (the same office that investigated Combs).
Maurene Comey was a lead member of the team that successfully prosecutor Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking.
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Title: Judge is on the bench
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Judge Arun Subramanian is on the bench this morning for the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
The prosecution and defense are going to address evidentiary issues before bringing in the jury to continue witness testimony this morning.
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Title: We expect to continue hearing from Daniel Phillip first this morning
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Day two of the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial is getting underway, and first up we're expecting to hear from Daniel Phillip.
Phillip is the prosecution's second witness. He testified he was paid to have sex with Cassie Ventura on several occasions on Monday.
Today, he'll be back on the stand to continue testifying under cross-examination. Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson says he still has about an hour of cross-examination for Phillip.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on the most serious counts, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
As a reminder, here are some key takeaways from the first day of the trial.
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Title: Cassie Ventura is "very ready" to testify today, her attorney says
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Cassie Ventura's attorney said she is 'very ready' for today's proceedings in the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
'She's very ready, she's confident,' Ventura's attorney Douglas Wigdor said as he arrived to the courthouse just after 8 a.m. ET. Ventura is expected to testify today.
Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs' lead defense attorneys, was also seen arriving this morning.
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Title: Cassie Ventura could testify later today
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Cassie Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean 'Diddy' Combs and one of his accusers, could take the stand today in the government's sex-trafficking case against the music mogul.
Prosecutors indicated in court on Friday that they would call two witnesses before calling 'Victim 1,' whose testimony will take up most of the first week. So far, the prosecution has called Los Angeles Police Officer Israel Florez and Daniel Phillip, a male revue manager, who will continue on the stand this morning.
Ventura, who is pregnant with her third child and due to deliver next month, is referred to as 'Victim 1' in the indictment but has agreed to testify in her own name.
Prosecutors allege Combs coerced her into having sex with male prostitutes, according to the indictment. Combs' attorneys have said all sex was consensual.
Combs' defense team said in court they plan to argue that Ventura had a propensity for violence toward Combs during their relationship, which lasted approximately 11 years, from 2007 to 2018.
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Title: Catch up on key lines from the first day of testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial
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Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial began yesterday in New York, where he faces five counts, including one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
If convicted, he could face life in prison. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges.
Here's what to know from the opening statements and first witness testimonies:
Prosecution's opening statement: Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson said there was 'another side' to Combs, the cultural icon, who 'ran a criminal enterprise' with an inner circle of people who 'helped him commit crimes and cover them up.' Here's what else she walked through:
Defense's opening argument: Defense attorney Teny Geragos said that while Combs takes full responsibility for his violent behavior, 'domestic violence is not sex trafficking.' Here's what else Geragos said:
First witness testimony: Los Angeles Police Officer Israel Florez was a security official at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016 when he got a call saying there was 'a woman in distress.' Here's what he said on the stand:
Second witness testimony came from Daniel Phillip, who described his role as managing male strippers for women. Phillip will be back on the stand today. Here's what he said yesterday: