Diddy's sex crimes trial is winding down – and prosecutors just made a major move
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' fate will be up to the jury soon.
After weeks of shocking and graphic testimony in the disgraced mogul's sex crimes trial in NYC, prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday – and Combs actually got a break.
In a letter to judge Arun Subramanian, lawyers for the U.S. government narrowed the racketeering conspiracy charges, abandoning the claims of arson and kidnapping that stemmed from an alleged years-old beef with fellow rapper Kid Cudi.
'Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to (i) attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, (ii) attempted arson under California law, and (iii) aiding and abetting sex trafficking,' the letter partially read. 'The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary.'
Veteran trial lawyer Mark Zauderer told Forbes a possible reason for the prosecutors' 'tactical' move: They have 'not likely proven to the jury's satisfaction' how the attempted arson and kidnapping allegations bolster Comb's racketeering charge.
READ MORE: The eyebrow raising things found in Diddy's hotel room the day of his arrest
As for how the original charges came to be: Back in May, former Diddy assistant Capricorn Clark testified that her boss kidnapped her at gunpoint in December 2011 after Combs learned Cudi was dating his on-off again girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Clark said Diddy forced her to drive over to the hip hopper's Beverly Hills home while she waited in the car.
She called Ventura as Combs and an associate entered the home of the 'Pursuit of Happiness' singer, who wasn't there. By the time Cudi found out what was happening and returned home, he claimed on the stand, his love rival was gone and his place was left in disarray.
Weeks later, Cudi's Porsche was set on fire in his driveway, a scenario that star witness Ventura testified Combs threatened doing; no suspect was ever arrested.
Meanwhile, Combs did not take the stand as his defense team began their closing arguments. Jury deliberations could start as soon as Monday.
Among the other charges the 55 year old Harlem native still faces are possession with intent to supply, transportation to engage in prostitution, bribery and witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all.
READ MORE: Diddy had requirements for his 'freak-off' guests: report
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Yahoo
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Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial: From Cassie Ventura to Kid Cudi, what key witnesses said in their testimony ahead of closing arguments
Closing arguments are set for Thursday in the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts, including sex trafficking racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison. The prosecution rested its case on Tuesday afternoon after presenting over a month of graphic testimony from nearly three dozen witnesses. The defense rested without calling anyone — including Combs — to the witness stand. Here are some of the key people who testified for the government over the course of the six-week trial, and what they said. Testifying for more than 20 hours during the trial's first week, Ventura, Combs's former girlfriend, told the court that her decade-long relationship with Combs was frequently marked by violence and physical abuse, describing in detail the drug-fueled "freak offs" that would take days to recover from. Jurors were also shown a 2016 surveillance video of Combs hitting, kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel. 'I am not a rag doll,' Ventura wrote to Combs in a text message following the assault. 'I am someone's child.' The defense team presented hundreds of other text messages between Ventura and Combs from throughout their relationship in an attempt to show that Ventura was a consensual participant in the "freak offs," sometimes even planning them herself. His lawyers argued that while Combs may have committed domestic violence and had an unconventional sex life, he is not guilty of the sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy charges alleged by the prosecution. A former security officer at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, Garcia testified that Combs paid him $100,000 in cash and made him sign a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for the surveillance footage of the assault. At a private meeting at a Los Angeles high-rise building a few days after the incident, Garcia testified that he handed Combs a USB drive with the footage. 'Eddy, my angel, I knew you could help,' Combs told Garcia, according to the former security guard. Combs left the room and returned with $100,000 in a brown paper bag, ran the cash through a money counter and handed it to him while warning him not to make any big purchases, Garcia told the court. Also see: Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial, as seen through courtroom sketches Cassie Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, testified about what she witnessed during her daughter's relationship of over a decade with Combs. She recounted an email Cassie sent to her in December 2011 saying that Combs was threatening to release an explicit video of her after he learned she was dating Kid Cudi. "I was physically sick," Regina Ventura said. "I did not understand it; the sex tape threw me. He was trying to hurt my daughter." Around the same time, Regina Ventura said Combs contacted her saying he wanted to recoup $20,000 he had spent on Cassie. Regina Ventura said she was scared for her daughter's safety and that the family took out a home equity loan to pay Combs. She said the money was wired back to her without explanation several days later. Regina Ventura testified that the same month, Cassie showed her bruises from an alleged beating she took from Combs. Regina took photos of her bruises, which were shown in court. "She was bruised, and I wanted to make sure we memorialize it," Regina Ventura explained. The defense did not cross-examine Regina Ventura, and she was dismissed. Testifying under a pseudonym, a former assistant 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. She also said he threatened to tell Ventura that they had slept together. She recalled that a few months into her employment, she was with Combs celebrating his 40th birthday in a hotel penthouse. He served her shots of vodka before kissing her and putting his hand up her skirt. 'I was shocked and I froze. I couldn't even process what was happening,' she testified. In 2009 or 2010, when she was staying at Combs's home in Los Angeles, she awoke to Combs on top of her. She said Combs told her to be quiet, and 'put himself inside of me.' 'I just froze, I didn't react,' she said, adding through tears: 'It was very quick, but it felt like forever.' Also testifying under a pseudonym, another ex-girlfriend and an alleged victim of Combs tearfully recounted the harrowing sexual encounters she knew as 'hotel nights' — telling the court that she felt obligated to perform sex acts for Combs because he was paying her rent. She also testified about a brutal assault she endured before Combs ordered her to cover up her injuries and take ecstasy for an impromptu 'hotel night.' But despite the alleged abuse, Jane said that she still loves Combs, who she believes may have been exploring bisexuality by watching her have sex with other men. Clark, Combs's former assistant, testified that he repeatedly threatened her life, subjected her to lie detector tests and forced her at gunpoint to join him in an apparent plot to kill rapper Kid Cudi. Clark also told the court she witnessed Combs brutally beat Ventura at his home in Los Angeles. Clark said that she was too scared to intervene or call the police, but that she called Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, as she left the property. 'He's beating the s*** out of your daughter,' Clark recalled telling Regina Ventura. 'Please help her. I can't call the police, but you can.' She was among several former assistants who testified that part of the job involved stocking hotel rooms with supplies for his 'freak offs.' Clark said she would unpack his belongings, including baby oil, lubricant, drugs and cameras, as well as IV drips, she told the court. And she would sweep the hotel rooms after he left. Bongolan, a friend of Ventura, told the court that during an altercation with Combs in 2016, he dangled her over a 17th-story balcony at Ventura's apartment before slamming her into the balcony's furniture. Bongolan said that Combs came up from behind, picked her up and held her by her armpits over the balcony railing while repeatedly yelling, 'Do you know what the f*** you did?" She told him she had no idea what he was talking about. She said her feet dangled above the balcony railing for 10 to 15 seconds before he threw her onto the balcony furniture. Bongolan said the assault left her with bruises and neck pain and caused her to have night terrors. Photos of Bongolan's injuries were shown in court. Bongolan said she did not report the incident to police because she was scared of Combs. During cross-examination, the defense attempted to discredit Bongolan's memory of the incident while getting her to acknowledge that she did not remember some of the details surrounding the alleged attack. Bongolan admitted that she and Ventura spent most of their time together getting high. 'Yeah, we had a problem,' she testified. The rapper — whose real name is Scott Mescudi — told the court that he started dating Ventura in 2011, when she told him that she and Combs had split up. Kid Cudi testified that after Combs found out he was seeing Ventura, Combs went looking for him and broke into his home. He told the court that he was concerned for her safety and his own. "I knew Sean Combs was violent," he said. Kid Cudi also testified that his Porsche was later set on fire with a Molotov cocktail in his driveway. The rapper said he eventually confronted Combs during a meeting at a private club in Los Angeles, where Combs denied setting fire to his car. The two met again years later, and Kid Cudi said Combs told him, "Man, I just want to apologize for everything." Kid Cudi said the apology was "the last thing I was expecting to get." During cross-examination, Kid Cudi agreed that both he and Combs had discussed feeling like they'd been "played" by Ventura. Paul, a former assistant described in multiple civil lawsuits as Combs's 'drug mule,' was among the final witnesses called to testify by the prosecution. He told the court he was tasked with buying drugs — including marijuana, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy — for Combs. Combs or one of his other assistants would instruct him to obtain the drugs, which involved meeting with drug dealers with such nicknames as Guido, Baby Girl and One Stop, Paul said. Once he procured the drugs, Paul said he would give them directly to Combs or put them in Combs's Gucci bag, where they were often stored. But under cross-examination by the defense, Paul testified that handling drugs was only a minor part of his work for Combs, and that it was his understanding that the drugs were for the mogul's personal use. 'You were not some drug mule, right?' defense attorney Brian Steel asked. 'Absolutely not,' Paul replied.
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