'Enormous victory' for Sean 'Diddy' Combs as jury acquits on trafficking, racketeering
The 55-year-old rapper and business mogul will remain in federal custody pending sentencing on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
A jury on Wednesday convicted Sean “Diddy” Combs of transportation for prostitution but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy in an overall defense win that his lawyer said gave him his life back.
Combs fell to his knees and prayed as his family and other supporters erupted in cheers after the verdict was read in a lower Manhattan courtroom about 10:20 a.m.
“This is a reminder to everyone, I hope, about the flaws in the criminal justice system, and for everyone to take a second look when the government charges people with crimes,” his lawyer Anna Estevao told reporters outside the courthouse.
“We take this as an enormous victory and win,” she said.
The two prostitution convictions relate to fights and other interstate transportation Combs arranged for sexual encounters between prostitutes and Combs’ former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane. Prosecutors emphasized in trial that commercial sex is illegal even if everyone involved consents.
The convictions each carry a maximum of 10 years in prison, but prosecutors said Combs faces 51 months to 63 months, or about four years to five years, under U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines.
His lawyers said he faces only 21 months to 27 months and asked that he be immediately released from custody on $1 million bail. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, however, said during a 5 p.m. bail hearing that the Bail Reform Act, which governs bail in federal criminal cases, mandates people be incarcerated upon conviction for transportation.
The judge said his previous findings about Combs’ danger to the community still stand and reminded Agnifilo that “you full-throatedly in your closing argument told the jury that there was violence here.
“And domestic violence is violence,” Subramanian said. “And you said that this is a case that did involve violence.”
Subramanian cited several quotes from Agnifilo’s closing, including, “If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn’t all be here having a trial, because he would have pled guilty, because he did that.”
The judge also quoted Agnifilo saying the video of Combs assaulting Ventura in 2016 is “horrible.”
“Imagine what that’s like, because it’s horrible. It’s just, we’re going to be real today. That’s horrible for Ms. Ventura and her parents. This video comes out all over the world, and there she is. It’s a terrible moment. It’s a terrible moment, and she could have said anything. I’m glad she said something, but what she said rings true not only for her but for this trial, and I most respectfully submit for all of you domestic violence is the issue, is what she said.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said Subramanian “hit the nail on he head” regarding Combs’ danger to the community.”
“He’s an extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper, who has shown no remorse and no regret for his violence toward multiple victims, not just Cassie and Jane but multiple other victims, who showed courage coming here and testifying about it. And his brazenness is unmatched,” Comey said.
She also reminded the judge Combs was under federal investigation when he continued to “abuse Jane viciously.”
“It was brutality, and it was brazen. It was also brazen for him to continue to have drugs and clearly the supplies for another act of prostitution in the hotel room where he was inviting Jane to come until he was arrested. There is nothing exceptional about this case except for his continued criminality and his willingness to violate the law,” Comey said.
Combs’ lawyers said in a filing that “it would be unjust to continue detaining Mr. Combs at the [Metropolitan Detention Center'] even one day longer, especially since … he would otherwise be entitled to serve any additional time imposed at a lower-security facility.”
“For months, the government repeatedly argued, and announced to the world, that Sean Combs was a monster who perpetrated a 20-year federal crime spree through a racketeering enterprise,” according to the filing. “By its verdict, the jury resoundingly rejected the government’s depiction of Mr. Combs.”
The judge scheduled sentencing for Oct. 3.
Combs’ lawyers asked him to expedite the hearing, so he ordered briefs and scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday.
Ventura’s lawyer Doug Wigdor filed a brief letter opposing Combs’ release that said she “believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community.”
Ventura’s lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 sparked the federal criminal investigation that led to Combs’ indictment. She testified in trial she received $20 million of the $30 million settlement, and Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo reminded jurors of that in his closing argument when he called the case against Combs a fabricated money grab.
Wigdor said Wednesday that Ventura “paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.”
“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice. We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial,” Wigdor said. “She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion. This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”
Wigdor told reporters outside the courthouse they wanted Combs convicted of racketeering, “but we’re pleased that he’s been held responsible for something which is something that hasn’t happened in his lifetime.”
“We’re hopeful that ultimately he receives a substantial sentence for what he’s done,” said Wigdor, who owns Wigdor LLP in New York City and has sexual assault lawsuits pending against many other celebrities.
Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse the verdict is “a great victory for the jury system.”
“You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had. They're not stopping. But one thing stands between all of us and a prison, and that is a jury of 12 citizens, and we had a wonderful jury. They listened to every word, and they got the situation right, or certainly right enough,” Agnifilo said.
He was joined by his co-counsel Teny Geragos, who urged reporters to better scrutinize the many lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault.
“The media got it wrong about Sean Combs every single day for nearly two years. I ask that for every time you guys see a civil lawsuit, criminal complaints or criminal indictments, you actually take a look and analyze these and see whether or not these are actually going to stand up in a court of law, because today they did not,” Geragos said. “He has not sexually assaulted anybody. Certainly hasn’t sex trafficked anybody, and the jury found that today.”
Geragos and Agnifilo were joined in trial by Estevao, appellate specialist Alexandra Shapiro and Xavier Donaldson of Manhattan as well as Brian Steel and Nicole Westmoreland of Atlanta, Georgia. Steel is the longtime lawyer of rapper Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams who became an online legend through his work in the years-long gang racketeering trial in Fulton County Superior Court last year.
Westmoreland represented one of Williams’ five codefendants. She thanked New York during the press conference and said “it’s been a pleasure being here and fighting and your district.”
Steel thanked “you all for being here and writing truthfully about a man wrongly charged with most of the crimes.”
“We all must remember that allegations are nothing,” Steel said.
Shapiro thanked Combs “for the privilege of this opportunity to help him clear his name.”
“With the Southern District coming after him, guns blazing, it really is a testament to the fact that when you get a fair trial and a jury of your peers listens to the evidence, they will do the right thing,” Shapiro said.
Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon recorded video of jurors leaving in a black government van as Combs’ supporters cheered. “Way to go! Way to go!” a woman yelled.
One juror waved.
Before dismissing them, Judge Subramanian told the jury of eight men and four women, “If you do speak to the press or anyone about the case and your involvement in it, that you respect the privacy of your fellow jurors, deliberations and views.”
“You can speak about your own views about the case, but do not speak about what your colleagues' views were or how the deliberations played out,” Subramanian said. “I will also ask that members of the media respect this principle by refraining to question jurors about the deliberations.”
A huge crowd of supporters, social media “content creators” and online streamers celebrated outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, including some who doused themselves in baby oil.
Evidence in trial included photos of hundreds of bottles of baby oil federal agents seized from Combs’ mansions and reports from hotels documenting damage to rooms from baby oil after Combs stayed there. Jurors also heard testimony that Combs wanted Ventura, Jane and the prostitutes soaked in the oil throughout their sometimes days-long sex parties.
Jurors began deliberating Monday morning after hearing closing arguments Thursday and Friday.
They indicated an early problem when they sent a note saying a juror was refusing to follow instructions, so Subramanian reminded them of their instructions and asked them to keep deliberating. Jurors said late Tuesday afternoon they’d reached a verdict on four counts but were deadlocked on the racketeering conspiracy charge. Judge Subramanian told them to continue deliberating, which they did for about an hour Wednesday morning before announcing they’d reached a verdict.
The final verdict form alleged eight predicate acts supporting the racketeering conspiracy: kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, drug distribution and transportation for purposes of prostitution.
To convict, jurors needed to find at least two proven. The acts could be the same, and prosecutors emphasized in closing argument that jurors could convict Combs of racketeering based on two occasions where he asked Jane to transport drugs.
Jurors sent a note 4:30 p.m. on Monday asking, “If a recipient wants, requests, or asks for controlled substances, and an individual hands over controlled substances to the requester, has the individual who hands over the controlled substances distributed?”
Subramaniam, a 2023 Joe Biden appointee and former Susman Godfrey LLP partner, referred them to their instructions when they returned for more deliberations at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Then at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, jurors asked to review Ventura’s testimony regarding two hotel incidents that prosecutors said were examples of her being forced into sex trafficking, including the March 2016 incident at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles in which surveillance cameras recorded Combs assaulting Ventura.
Jurors also wanted Ventura’s testimony about encounters with Daniel Phillip, an escort who testified he was paid to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched. Jurors also wanted Phillips’ testimony about a hotel encounter in which he said he heard Combs assault Ventura in another room.
Their next note at 4:05 p.m. said, “We have reached a verdict on Counts Two, Three, Four and Five. We are unable to reach a verdict on Count One, as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides.”
Subramanian told them, “I ask at this time that you keep deliberating. In doing so, I will remind you of the instructions I gave you yesterday. It is your duty as jurors to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement.
Each of you must decide the case for himself or herself, but you should do so only after a consideration of the case with your fellow jurors, and you should not hesitate to change an opinion when convinced that it is erroneous. Discuss and weigh your respective opinions dispassionately, without regard to sympathy, without regard to prejudice or favor for either party, and follow my instructions on the law.
Again, your verdict must be unanimous, but you are not bound to surrender your honest convictions concerning the effect or weight of the evidence for the mere purpose of returning a verdict or solely because of the opinion of other jurors. Each of you must make your own decision about the proper outcome of this case based on your consideration of the evidence and your discussions with your fellow jurors. No juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict.”
I’ve said before that Combs appeared destined to be convicted of transportation just based on the fact that it’s illegal even if it’s consensual. His lawyers tried to argue he paid the escorts for their time, not for sex, but prosecutors’ evidence included a text exchange between Combs and a representative of the escort company Cowboys 4 Angels in which Combs says he won’t pay the $600 they say he owes because, “LOL. He couldn’t even perform.”
“I’m confused. Our agency provides time and companionship. You’re paying for the gentleman’s time,” Bridget Kreshover of Cowboys 4 Angels replied.
Combs replied, “He’s lucky he got that, but all good. You will have by tomorrow.”
Kreshover replied, “It doesn’t matter what happens on an appointment. You could go skydiving or dancing. The cost of the time is the same.”
She later told Combs, “Our agency has to dot every I and cross every T to make sure we stay within a specific guideline to be clear about what the agency offers and sells.”
The judge scheduled a hearing on the request to expedite sentencing for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, to take place remotely online. I will continue to follow his case and will have more trial analysis later this week.
Previous articles:
June 29 Diddy trial jury has hundreds of hours of 'date night' or 'freak off' videos in evidence
June 16 Juror in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial dismissed over conflicting statements
June 9 Ex-girlfriend testifies about alleged post-raid sex trafficking by Sean 'Diddy' Combs
June 1 After graphic testimony, Diddy's defense asks alleged victim Mia about public praise
May 28 Capricorn Clark testifies about Diddy's gunpoint quest to kill Kid Cudi
May 23 Rapper Kid Cudi testifies in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial about 2012 Porsche torching
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