For greater than 20 years, Sean “Diddy” Combs was generally known as one in all hip-hop’s greatest entrepreneurs, making hits for high expertise like Notorious B.I.G. and making a enterprise empire that included Bad Boy Records, a trend model, a TV community, offers with liquor corporations and a key position in actuality TV present Making The Band.
But now, U.S. prosecutors allege that for 20 years, behind the scenes, Diddy was coercing and abusing ladies with assist from a community of associates who helped silence victims by way of blackmail and violence.
Diddy has pleaded not responsible and denied the entire allegations. Jury choice for his trial begins on Monday, May 5 at a federal courthouse in Manhattan with testimony set to observe the week of May 12.
Here’s every thing you could know forward of the trial.
What he’s on trial for
Diddy faces an indictment that features descriptions of “Freak Offs,” that are outlined within the court docket doc as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”
Numerous witnesses have come ahead to accuse Diddy of terrorizing individuals into silence by choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, in keeping with prosecutors. One indictment alleges that Diddy dangled somebody from a balcony.
Although dozens of women and men have alleged in lawsuits that Diddy abused them, this trial will spotlight the claims of 4 ladies.
One of them is Diddy’s former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, whom the rapper was caught on digital camera beating and dragging down a Los Angeles resort hallway in 2016.
After CNN aired the video final yr, Diddy apologized, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
Ventura filed a lawsuit in late 2023 saying Diddy had subjected her to years of abuse, together with beatings and rape after they met in 2005.
Her lawsuit, which provided the primary public account of the “Freak Offs” described within the indictment, was settled in a day. Four months later, federal investigators raided Diddy’s properties in Los Angeles and Miami and confronted him at a non-public airport in Florida, seizing 96 digital gadgets. They additionally discovered three AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.
Diddy was indicted final September. He has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after judges dominated that he could be a menace to intimidate witnesses and victims if launched.
The 17-page indictment towards Diddy accuses him of utilizing workers to facilitate his crimes by way of acts that included kidnapping, arson and bribery.
Prosecutors will present jurors journey data, textual content messages and emails, resort data and movies to complement testimony and assist their claims about what they confer with as “Freak Off activity.”
They declare that girls have been manipulated into collaborating within the drug-fuelled sexual performances and to maintain the ladies in line, prosecutors say Diddy used a mixture of affect and violence. He provided to spice up their leisure careers in the event that they did what he requested — or minimize them off in the event that they didn’t.
The indictment acknowledged that Diddy “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
It stated he subjected his victims to violence, threats of violence, threats of monetary and reputational hurt and verbal abuse. The allegations additionally declare that he “manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.”
“On multiple occasions, Combs threw both objects and people, as well as hit, dragged, choked and shoved others,” it stated. “On one occasion, Combs dangled a victim over an apartment balcony.”
“Like the Freak Offs, these commercial sex acts involving Combs and a female victim were prearranged, sometimes lasted multiple days, were sometimes electronically recorded by Combs and often involved Combs distributing a variety of controlled substances to the victim, in part to keep the victim obedient and compliant,” the court docket paperwork alleged.
“In connection with the commercial sex acts, Combs provided the victims with, among other things, monetary payments, career opportunities, and payment of rent and housing expenses.”
The criticism towards Diddy stated he paid resort safety workers US$100,000 (almost C$145,166.32) for surveillance footage of his alleged assault of a girl, later revealed as Ventura, in March 2016.
The indictment states that “when Combs’ authority or reputation was threatened by the possibility of negative publicity or legal or law enforcement action against him,” he and his associates “pressured witnesses and victims, including through attempted bribery, to stay silent and not report what they experienced or knew to law enforcement.”
What are the fees?
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Diddy is charged with racketeering conspiracy, two prices of intercourse trafficking and two prices of transportation to have interaction in prostitution. If he’s convicted on all counts, he has the potential to stay behind bars for all times.
Diddy has continued to disclaim the entire prices the federal government has introduced towards him after his September 2024 arrest and stays incarcerated with out bail.
He rejected a plea deal from federal prosecutors on Thursday, May 1.
After asking Diddy to verify if he was of sound thoughts and never on any medication, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who’s overseeing his trial in New York, requested the rapper in regards to the plea deal.
“Have you rejected the government’s offer?” Subramanian requested him.
“Yes, your honour,” Diddy replied.
Maurene Comey, a prosecutor with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s workplace, stated the rejected deal would have allowed for lowered jail time, however different particulars of the deal weren’t shared.
What does Diddy’s authorized group say?
Diddy and his attorneys say he’s harmless. His authorized group claims that Diddy “has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
They additionally declare that any group intercourse was consensual. According to his authorized group, there was no effort to coerce individuals into issues they didn’t need to do, and nothing that occurred amounted to a legal racket.
Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, beforehand stated at a bail listening to that Diddy wrote “a very large check” to Ventura after she filed her lawsuit. Agnifilo claimed that the payout motivated others to come back ahead with “false claims.”
Agnifilo stated that Diddy was “not a perfect person” and that there had been drug use and poisonous relationships, however he underwent remedy earlier than his arrest.
He stated that Ventura and Diddy have been in a 10-year relationship that was “very loving at times” and so they typically selected to convey a 3rd individual into their intimacy.
“That was their thing,” he alleged, on April 25. “It was a sought-after, special part of their relationship.”
“There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers or whatever you will, that he thought was appropriate because it was common,” Agnifilo advised the court docket.
When prosecutors added new particulars to their indictment towards Diddy in January, including 4 years to the size of his alleged racketeering conspiracy, Agnifilio stated the submitting had “no new offenses” and claimed that the prosecutions’ principle “remains flawed.”
“The government has added the ridiculous theory that two of Mr. Combs’ former girlfriends were not girlfriends at all but were prostitutes. Mr. Combs is as committed as ever to fighting these charges and winning at trial,” Agnifilo added.
Who are Diddy’s attorneys?
Diddy’s authorized group consists of Marc Anthony Agnifilo, a legal defence lawyer, who beforehand represented NXIVM cult chief Keith Raniere and “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli.
Marc Agnifilo, legal professional for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, speaks to members of media outdoors court docket in New York, US, on Tuesday, Sep. 17, 2024.
Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg through Getty Images
His authorized group additionally consists of Teny Geragos, the daughter of defence lawyer Mark Geragos, whose purchasers have included celebrities like Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, Nicole Richie, Chris Brown and extra.
Court docs additionally record 5 different attorneys for Diddy, together with Alexandra Shapiro, Jason Driscoll, Anna Estevao and Brian Steel, who lately represented rapper Young Thug in his racketeering case in Georgia.
In February, a defence lawyer representing Diddy filed a movement to step down because the rapper’s lawyer, in keeping with authorized paperwork.
In the movement filed in New York Federal Court, Anthony Ricco notified the decide of his intent to withdraw and stated there are “sufficient reasons” protected by lawyer/consumer privilege.
“Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs,” he wrote.
He declined to enter the precise particulars as to why he was leaving Diddy’s authorized group, however he did word it adopted discussions with Agnifilo.
Ricco stated that his movement for withdrawal of counsel “will not result in a delay of the present schedule for the commencement of jury selection and trial, or the present schedules for briefing of pretrial legal issues.”
Who are the prosecutors?
There is a group of eight U.S. attorneys arguing the case for the federal government, together with Emily Johnson, Madison Smyser, Mary Slavik, Meredith Foster and Mitzi Steiner.
The prosecution group additionally consists of Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.
Who is the decide?
The decide overseeing Diddy’s trial is Judge Arun Subramanian, who grew to become the primary South Asian decide within the Southern District of New York and was nominated by former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022 and confirmed by the Senate in 2023.
Subramanian is a Columbia Law School graduate, who clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He was a companion on the Manhattan legislation agency Susman Godfrey, the place he beforehand specialised in industrial and chapter legislation.
Arun Subramanian, nominee to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, testifies throughout his Senate Judiciary Committee affirmation listening to in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc through Getty Images
Subramanian has denied the request from Diddy’s counsel to exclude the CNN safety digital camera footage of Diddy attacking Ventura.
The ruling will enable prosecutors to indicate the jury the video, which Diddy’s attorneys beforehand claimed was altered and non-admissible within the trial.
Who goes to testify on the trial?
The federal case consists of 4 alleged victims, recognized within the indictment as “Victim-1,” “Victim-2,” Victim-3″ and “Victim-4,” in keeping with court docket paperwork considered by Global News. They are all anticipated to testify towards Diddy throughout the trial.
Ventura can also be anticipated to testify and he or she may very well be one of many 4 victims listed above.
Will the trial be televised?
No, in contrast to different current high-profile movie star trials, Diddy’s court docket case gained’t be broadcast dwell as a result of federal courtrooms don’t enable digital recordings inside. Courtroom sketch artists will function the general public’s eyes within the courtroom throughout the trial, which is anticipated to final a minimum of eight weeks.
What’s not going to be included within the trial?
Since October 2024, there have been over 120 lawsuits filed towards Diddy, alleging sexual assault, intercourse trafficking, drugging, rape, and battery amongst different prices.
Like the others, Diddy has denied all of those accusations towards him. None of those will probably be included within the federal indictment towards the rapper.
The most up-to-date lawsuit, filed on April 1 within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Diddy of participating within the drugging and sexual assault of a person. Joseph Manzaro is suing the disgraced music mogul for sexually exploiting him in a focused revenge plot in 2015, in keeping with court docket paperwork.
Diddy’s alleged offences towards Manzaro embrace human trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering racketeering and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
“Diddy orchestrated and facilitated the abuse, coercion and intimidation of (Manzaro), using his influence, wealth and power to silence and control (Manzaro) and engaged in acts of violence, sexual coercion and psychological manipulation, knowingly causing severe harm while ensuring (Manzaro) remained unable to seek justice,” the lawsuit learn.
In a press release, Diddy’s authorized group stated Manzaro’s lawsuit “demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday.”
Diddy’s previous authorized troubles
Diddy has been concerned in earlier authorized instances however that is the primary time he stands accused by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 1994, Tupac Shakur was shot in New York, and Diddy and Notorious B.I.G. have been accused of getting prior information of the assault, which they denied. Shakur was later killed in a 1996 taking pictures in Las Vegas.
In 1996, Diddy was convicted of legal mischief after he allegedly threatened a New York Post photographer with a gun. He paid a $1,000 high-quality.
In 1999, the rapper was booked and charged with two felonies towards document government Steve Stoute, who alleged that Diddy and his bodyguards beat him with their fists, a champagne bottle and a chair. Diddy publicly apologized and Stoute requested for a dismissal of the fees. He ended up pleading responsible to harassment and was sentenced to a day of anger administration courses.
(L-R) Steve Stoute, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Nasire ‘Nas’ Jones arrive at Gotha Night Club throughout Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity at Gotha Night Club on June 21, 2013 in Cannes, France.
Richard Bord/WireImage
The identical yr, Diddy was arrested on gun possession prices after he and his girlfriend on the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a taking pictures that wounded three individuals at a New York City nightclub. Witnesses advised police that he was among the many individuals taking pictures within the membership.
He was later charged with providing his driver $50,000 to say possession of the 9 mm handgun present in his automotive, however by 2001 he was acquitted. A rapper in Diddy’s entourage named Jamal “Shyne” Barrows was finally convicted within the taking pictures and served virtually 9 years in jail.
In March 2008, Diddy settled a lawsuit introduced by a person who claimed the rapper punched him after a post-Oscar social gathering outdoors a Hollywood resort in 2007.
Diddy was arrested in 2015 after a confrontation at UCLA in Los Angeles, the place one in all his sons performed soccer, after he assaulted somebody with a weight-room kettlebell. Diddy stated he was defending himself and the assault prices have been later dropped.
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If you or somebody is experiencing abuse or is concerned in an abusive state of affairs, please go to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assist. They are additionally reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
— With recordsdata from The Associated Press
