Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy' Combs accuses witness of lying about balcony attack
Sean "Diddy" Combs speaking to his lawyers in a court sketch, before the start of the day's proceedings on June 5. PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK - A lawyer for Sean "Diddy" Combs accused a witness at his sex trafficking trial on June 5 of falsely testifying that the hip-hop mogul held her over the balcony of a Los Angeles apartment, and suggested Combs was on the East Coast at the time of the alleged attack.
Ms Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Combs' former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, testified on June 4 that Combs in September 2016 held her over the rail of the balcony at Ventura's apartment and then threw her onto the balcony's furniture, causing her bruises.
Prosecutors say the incident was among several violent acts that Combs, 55, took against Ventura and people close to her during the decade he was coercing Ventura to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers known as "freak offs."
Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Ms Bongolan had not stated the exact date of the alleged balcony attack during her testimony on June 4.
Jurors on June 4 saw a picture Ms Bongolan took of a bruise on her leg taken on Sept 26, 2016. A civil lawsuit Ms Bongolan filed against Combs in 2024 said the incident took place "on or about Sept 26, 2016."
On June 5, Combs' lawyer Nicole Westmoreland asked Ms Bongolan if she was aware that Combs performed at a concert in New Jersey on Sept 25, 2016, and attended an event in New York with Ventura the following day.
Westmoreland also showed jurors a document from the Trump International hotel in New York indicating that someone named "Frank Black" stayed there from Sept 24, 2016, through Sept 29, 2016. Previous witnesses at the trial have testified that Combs, like other celebrities, frequently used aliases when staying at hotels.
"You came in here and you lied to the ladies and gentlemen of this jury, didn't you?" Ms Westmoreland asked.
"I can't agree with you," Ms Bongolan replied.
Ms Bryana Bongolan (right) leaving court after testifying on June 4.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Under further questioning from prosecutor Madison Smyser, Ms Bongolan said she did not know the exact date of the incident because it happened 'a while ago', but said she had no doubt it took place.
'I will never forget him holding me on that balcony,' Ms Bongolan said. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
TikTok is not the reason we watch ‘slop', burnout is
Turning on a TV show or lying down and scrolling through a seemingly endless supply of videos on TikTok or Instagram has taken the place of drinking alcohol. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS Social media is often the scapegoat for just about everything wrong in modern society. The latest thing it's getting blamed for is 'slop'. Originally, the term refers to the pervasiveness of low-quality artificial intelligence-generated content that is flooding social feeds, but it has turned into a catch-all for much of today's subpar products and content. Laying all of this at the feet of social platforms is a mistake, though. Slop is not a new phenomenon. Each generation can point to moments in which the old guard decried that the latest media or gadget was brain-rotting sludge. In my lifetime, it's been everything from hip-hop and grunge music to the rise of reality television and violent video games, such as Call Of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, to the BlackBerry – which was so addictive it was nicknamed Crackberry. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine says it shot down Russian Su-35 fighter jet
FILE PHOTO: A Russian Sukhoi Su-35S jet fighter performs a flight during the Aviadarts competition, as part of the International Army Games 2021, at the Dubrovichi range outside Ryazan, Russia August 27, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File photo Ukraine says it shot down Russian Su-35 fighter jet KYIV - Ukraine's air forces shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian military said. "This morning, on June 7, 2025, as a result of a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down," the military said on the Telegram messenger. It gave no more details. Russian forces have not yet commented on the matter while Reuters could not independently verify the report. Ukraine's security agency, the SBU, conducted a large drone attack on over 40 Russian military aircraft last week, damaging or destroying tens of Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russian attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv kills three, wounds 22, mayor says
Rescuers assist an injured resident after she was released from debris of a building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova Firefighters work inside an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi Firefighters work at the site of a building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova KYIV - Russia attacked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at night with drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing at least three people and injuring 22, including a one-and-a-half-month-old baby, the city mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on Saturday. One of Ukraine's largest cities, Kharkiv is located just a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border and has been under constant Russian shelling during more than three years of war. "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war," Terekhov said on the Telegram messenger early on Saturday. Dozens of explosions were heard in the city through the night and Russian troops were striking simultaneously with missiles, drones and guided aerial bombs, he said. Multi-storey and private residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, Terekhov noted. Photos by local authorities and Reuters showed burnt and partially destroyed houses and vehicles, and of rescuers carrying those injured to safety and removing debris. Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said that one of the city's civilian industrial facilities was attacked by 40 drones, one missile and four bombs, causing a fire, adding there may still be people under the rubble. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 206 drones, 2 ballistic and 7 other missiles against Ukraine overnight. It said its air defence units shot down 87 drones while another 80 drones were lost - in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them - or they were drone simulators that did not carry warheads. Ten locations were hit, the military said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
