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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team rested their case Tuesday without calling one witness to the stand, and more than seven weeks after a jury was seated in the rapper’s federal trial for sex crimes.
The government presented 34 witnesses to the jury in an attempt to prove their case, with jurors hearing explosive testimony from Diddy’s ex-girlfriends, rapper Kid Cudi, former assistants and escorts who allegedly participated in “freak offs” arranged by the disgraced music mogul.
With closing arguments scheduled to begin Thursday following a charge conference where both sides will finalize jury instructions, former federal prosecutor Mark Chutkow believes Cassie Ventura’s testimony may be the most compelling evidence for the jury to hand down a conviction.
Chutkow told Fox News Digital that the government argued their case by planning ahead and providing enough evidence to support the charges against the Bad Boy Records founder.
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Both sides rested their cases Tuesday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial, where Cassie Ventura may prove to be the most important testimony, a legal expert told Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)
“When you look at the indictment, it’s very long. It’s a speaking indictment, and they have ticked off all of the various facts that they had presented to the jury in that indictment,” Chutkow said. “They brought in evidence of violence. They brought in evidence of guns, of drugs, of sex acts. And so they really came through with what they said that they were going to do in this case.”
Diddy was charged with racketeering conspiracy (RICO); sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution in a federal indictment unsealed Sept. 17.
“It was savvy to bring this as a racketeering case in some ways because it allowed them to bring in a lot more evidence of his bad acts that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do if this was a very narrowly tailored case,” Chutkow said. “And so in that respect, I mean, the case really rises and falls with the testimony of Cassie Ventura.”
Chuktow added, “If the jury believes it, if they believe that she really couldn’t get away from him, and she had to do the things that he had requested, then the prosecution has gone a long way toward a conviction in this case.”
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Jurors heard allegations of “freak off” parties involving male escorts and Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. The “Me & U” singer testified that drugs, including ecstasy, ketamine and cocaine, were in regular circulation during the “freak offs” for her to disassociate during the sessions.
Jurors saw photo evidence of injuries Cassie Ventura allegedly sustained. (SDNY)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office provided photo evidence of alleged abuse Cassie Ventura endured. (SDNY)
Cassie admitted that ecstasy made her feel euphoric and aroused, while ketamine would make her dissociative. She said cocaine made her heart race, mushrooms made her see things and GHB, also known as the date rape drug, made her feel drunk.
She also claimed it was commonplace for Diddy to become “physical” with her in their relationship. She defined “physical” as punishment, beatings and kicking.
Cassie testified that Diddy raped her on the living room floor in 2018, then left. At the time, she had been dating Alex Fine, who is now her husband. Cassie admitted to seeing Combs again after the alleged rape, telling the jury they had been together for 10 years and had a connection. Diddy and Cassie dated on-and-off from 2007 until 2018.
Another ex, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” told prosecutors there were times she felt coerced into hotel nights with Diddy and that he also still pays for both her legal fees and rent.
Former federal prosecutor Anthony M. Capozzolo admitted that it will be difficult to predict what the jury may decide in this case.
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“The trial seems like it will come down to one central question: Were the women coerced or did they voluntarily participate in the prodigious sexual escapades called ‘freak offs?'” Capozzolo told Fox News Digital. “It would seem that if the jury believes that Cassie Ventura and the other women were coerced, then Combs may likely face a conviction on one or more of the charges.
Cassie Ventura gave emotional testimony while on the stand for nearly a week in the Sean “Diddy” Combs federal trial. (Jane Rosenberg)
Cassie and Diddy dated for nearly a decade before ending their relationship in 2018. (Amanda Edwards)
“Given that Combs’ presented no real substantive defense in the case, his fate may depend on how well his attorneys were able to attack the credibility of the women who testified and how well the defense is able to persuade the jury that their claims of coercion are unreliable.”
He added, “Defense attorneys will certainly argue that the fact that two of the women who were described as victims did not testify is a lack of evidence the jury can consider in determining if the government proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
For the racketeering charges, Capozzolo questioned if there was an “actual agreement among the co-conspirators” to prove the necessary elements of racketeering conspiracy charges.
“In most racketeering cases, like mob cases, the government calls several co-conspirators, usually cooperators, who get on the stand and admit that they are part of a racketeering conspiracy — in that they agreed to participate in an ongoing ‘enterprise’ understanding that its purpose was to commit certain crimes,” Capozzolo said.
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“But here, none of the witnesses at trial have testified to participating in a racketeering conspiracy. And some of the people whom the government identifies as key co-conspirators have never been charged, nor have they testified, such as Combs’ former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram.”
Still, Capozzolo clarified that the government provided compelling evidence to support their case — which included testimony, videos, photos and text messages — and will likely “take great care to marshal the evidence” when closing arguments begin.
Diddy listened to testimony from an ex-girlfriend, who testified under the nickname Jane. (Jane Rosenberg)
“Even if prosecutors fail to convict on the top racketeering charge, the sex trafficking charges carry significant penalties, including a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence,” Capozzolo said. “So even a ‘compromise’ verdict, rather than a straight acquittal, may prove costly to Combs.”
A federal RICO violation can result in a 20-year sentence per charge, the U.S. Code 2421 transportation charge can carry a sentence of up to 10 years, while U.S. Code 2422 Coercion and enticement may carry a 20-year sentence. Each of the violations may also include monetary fines.
Criminal defense and civil attorney Adanté Pointer of Lawyers for the People LLC told Fox News Digital that while the prosecution may not be able to convince a jury of all charges, even one conviction will cost Diddy.
“Keep in mind, the prosecution only needs to prove a single charge about one of the several alleged victims in this case for Diddy to be facing significant prison time,” Pointer told Fox News Digital. “So essentially, the prosecution only needs to win on a single charge, while Diddy needs to run the table on all the charges to avoid prison time.”
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He added, “If the defense successfully sows seeds of doubt in a single juror’s mind, then the jury will be unable to reach a unanimous verdict, which is required to convict someone. However, he still faces a substantial challenge on the counts of transportation to engage in prostitution as it relates to the male prostitutes, since federal prosecutors have ample evidence, which appears to be mostly uncontroverted, that Diddy paid and arranged for the sex workers to fly to different locations to engage in sexual activity for money.”
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During opening statements of Diddy’s trial, which began on May 5, Teny Geragos asked the jury to consider the federal charges, not the choices of an at-times violent man.
“Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case,” Teny told the court. “This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money. This case is about voluntary adult choices made by capable adults and consensual relationships. This case is about those real-life relationships, and the government is trying to turn those relationships into a racketeering case, a prostitution case and a sex trafficking case. It will not work.”
She noted that Diddy “has a bad temper” and at times gets “so angry or so jealous that he is out of control,” but she emphasized that the “Victory” rapper was not charged with “being mean.”
“He is not charged with being a jerk. He’s charged with running a racketeering enterprise,” Teny said. “And though there was violence that you are going to hear about, you already have, that violence is not part of any RICO. That violence is not connected to sex trafficking, and that violence is not prostitution.”
