Days earlier than jury choice is about to begin in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial, a federal decide immediately sought affirmation from the Dangerous Boys Information founder that prosecutors put forth a plea deal and that he rebuffed it
“Sure, I did,” a glasses sporting Combs stated in court docket in Manhattan Thursday earlier than Choose Arun Subramanian. Providing a discount in time served if Combs took the deal and entered a responsible plea, the settlement put earlier than the ‘All In regards to the Benjamins’ performer appears to have been on the desk in the previous few weeks
Past that, no particulars are identified in regards to the written provide. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace for the Southern District of New York are preserving it that means. Within the authorized ether for months, the plea deal was made public in an nearly informal method by an assistant U.S. lawyer at an April 25 listening to.
doubtless life behind bars if discovered responsible on the racketeering, intercourse trafficking, transportation to interact in prostitution and extra, the not guiltily pleading 55-year-old Combs (a.okay.a .inmate 37452-054) has been held in one of many extra low-key models of Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Heart since he was arrest final September. A defendant not simply on this felony case, however in dozens and dozens of civil circumstances alleging assaults and abuse, Diddy has all the time sworn he’s harmless, and all of the interactions have been consensual.
The remainder of immediately’s listening to handled jury choice questionnaires and process, together with what is going to and won’t occur in open court docket
Decided to maintain the sometimes-wayward case on observe, Choose Subramanian as soon as once more made it clear to Combs, prosecutors and the protection Thursday that he desires jury choice to start on Could 5. A panel must be seated for opening statements on Could 12 within the Manhattan courtroom, the decide has insisted. On the finish of the lower than one hour listening to Choose Subramanian advised everybody he seemed ahead to seeing them on Monday morning.
After all, a spanner within the works of that may very well be the shortly settled ($30 million) assault and abuse go well with and extra from Sufferer-1, a.okay.a former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura
In contrast to many such high-profile circumstances and the opposite accusations in opposition to Combs, there’s visible proof of the violence and assaults Ventura says she endure from Diddy for years. Choose Subramanian dominated final week that 2016 LA lodge safety footage of the couple, that CNN aired final spring, might be proven to the jury.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allegedly bodily assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016 as proven on CNN
CNN
The video, which Combs apologized for on social media when it grew to become public, reveals a half-naked Combs chasing an escaping Ventura down a hall hitting and kicking her and dragging her again to his room the place allegedly certainly one of his so-called freak offs was taking place. Having deleted his seemingly pressured Instagram apology now, Combs and his legal professionals have tried nearly each trick within the e book to undermine or dispute the footage – footage that Combs nearly instantly purchased for $50,000 the day after the obvious assault occurred
Add to that, amongst 4 victims id’d by the feds, Ventura has stated she’s going to testify in open court docket on this trial underneath her personal title. Prosecutors allege that Combs and his aides coerced Ventura, different men and women into marathon debauched sexual encounters referred to as “freak-offs.” The classes included female and male prostitutes, drug use, threats of violence and imprisonment within the lodge rooms the place the acts have been staged and videotaped.
At asserted immediately, direct questioning of about 150 jury candidates begins on Monday morning.
Choose Subramanian intends to deliver every prospect into his courtroom, separately, to ask them about their backgrounds and potential biases, with not one of the different jury candidates current. The decide referred to as it “sequestered questioning,” designed to guard juror privateness round delicate private issues in a case coping with intercourse trafficking. Potential jurors may even be allowed to reply some questions in sidebar conferences with the decide and legal professionals, out of earshot of reporters, in the event that they contemplate the data to be too private to debate in open court docket, the decide stated.
If all goes as scheduled, it’ll take three days of sequestered questioning to whittle the sector right down to 45 jury and alternate candidates, who will then bear voir dire questioning on bias, and so on by the legal professionals for each side. The intention is to seat the 12 jurors and handful of alternates who will hear the case starting the next week. Emphasizing that “time is of the essence,” Choose Subramanian immediately puzzled aloud whether or not they can keep on schedule if sequestered questioning results in quite a lot of breaks within the motion for privateness sidebars.
Nobody in court docket Thursday might promise him it wouldn’t be a problem.
In what is going to doubtless be main tenet of the Marc Agnifilo- and Teny Geragos-led authorized staff’s method in opposition to SDNY, the protection has repeatedly complained the feds are utilizing “racist” legal guidelines in opposition to Combs and searching for to “police non-conforming sexual exercise.” Again on February 24, the protection took a swipe at “unconstitutionally broad” search warrants that had been used on Combs as a part of spring 2024 raids of his Los Angeles and Miami properties, gadgets, digital storage and extra.
After developing quick time and again in bail and preserving sure proof out of the case, this week noticed a small however important notch within the protection’s belt.
One time mini-mogul Combs obtained permission on Wednesday from the court docket to put on “non-prison clothes” throughout his six-week estimated trial.
To that, the April 30 order say that beginning subsequent week, the previous and current Sean John proprietor is allowed “as much as 5 button down shirts, as much as 5 pairs of pants, as much as 5 sweaters, as much as 5 pairs of socks, and as much as two pairs of sneakers with out laces to put on to court docket.” No point out of hair dye, so the possible jurors will see Combs with the white hair he has had since being arrested final September.
In contrast to nearly all of the previous hearings on this case, no members of Combs’ household gave the impression to be in court docket Thursday providing their help.
