Sean "Diddy" Combs trial jury asks for Cassie Ventura's testimony on second day of deliberations
The jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial wanted to review some of the testimony from the hip-hop mogul's former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura during the second day of deliberations Tuesday.
The panel of eight men and four women continued deliberating the charges against Combs after not reaching a verdict on the first day of deliberations.
Judge Arun Subramanian began the day by addressing with the prosecution and defense a question posed Monday from the jury about one of the alleged racketeering acts — possession with intent to distribute drugs — which relates to the racketeering conspiracy charge Combs is facing. The jury sent a note asking for clarification on the part of the instructions addressing drug distribution.
Subramanian said he would remind jurors of the instructions he gave them on that part of the case before they started deliberating on Monday. Combs' lawyers had pushed for a more expansive response, but prosecutors argued — and Subramanian agreed — that doing so could end up confusing jurors more.
An exchange between Subramanian and Combs' defense team got a little testy as they wrangled over the response.
"Can you do what I'm asking or no?" the judge asked.
"Of course I can do what your honor is asking," one of the defense lawyers responded.
About 75 minutes into Tuesday's deliberations, the jury requested the testimony from Ventura, one of the prosecution's most important witnesses, when she gave her account of Combs allegedly beating, kicking and dragging her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 — an assault captured on now-infamous security camera footage. Combs apologized after the video surfaced.
The jury also asked to see Ventura's testimony about an incident in which she said Combs accused her of taking drugs from him and kicked her off of their yacht at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2013. On their way back to the U.S., she said, he threatened to release explicit videos of her having sex.
In addition, the jury asked for Ventura and stripper Daniel Phillip's testimony about her jumping into his lap at a New York City hotel after, as Phillip testified, he suspected Combs had been slapping and slamming her around an adjacent room.
"Her whole entire body was shaking, like she was terrified," said Phillip, who was at the hotel for a sexual encounter with Ventura sometime between 2012 and 2014.
Phillip testified that he asked Ventura why she was with Combs if he was hitting her and beating her. He said he told her she was in real danger. Ventura, he said, "basically tried to convince me that it was OK, it's OK. I'm fine, I'll be OK."
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.
The first day of deliberations saw several notes from the jury, as well as Combs and his supporters bowing their heads in prayer in the courtroom. One of the notes came not long after jurors started deliberating and raised concerns from several jurors about another member of the panel. They told the judge they thought "he cannot follow your honor's instructions."
After a discussion between the judge, attorneys for Combs and prosecutors, the judge reminded the jurors of their obligation to follow the law and sent them back to resume their deliberations, but said if more issues should arise, the foreperson should send another note.
To help them come to a verdict, jurors were provided with a laptop loaded with all of the exhibits shown in court, including text messages, photographs and videos of the sexual encounters at the heart of the case.
Five alternate jurors are also on standby in case they're needed to fill in on the main jury.
The jury will sift through seven weeks of at times graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario's propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fueled sex marathons dubbed "freak-offs" or "hotel nights." Defense lawyers argued that there was no conspiracy and that his conduct did not violate federal laws.
