Featured Image Credit: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs
Topics: Cassie Ventura, Court, Diddy, Sex Trafficking, US News, Crime
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Cassie Ventura, Court, Diddy, Sex Trafficking, US News, Crime
After six weeks of testimony, the prosecutors in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking case have rested their case against him.
The music mogul faces charges including racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.
He was arrested last September while in New York and has remained in prison since.
The 55-year-old is notorious for throwing 'freak-offs' - sex parties where women were allegedly forced to have intercourse with male sex workers while Combs watched and pleasured himself.
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Combs has denied all charges against him, and claims all sexual activity was consensual.
The trial heard from 34 witnesses, including Diddy's ex-partner Cassie Ventura, Kid Cudi, and Diddy's former employees, as well as hotel managers and workers.
Yet on Tuesday (June 24), Combs refused to speak out in court as his legal team defended him.
The brief hearing lasted less than an hour, and the defense didn't call on any witnesses, either.
Addressing District Judge Arun Subramian around an hour after the prosecution rested their case, as reported by ABC News, Diddy said of his refusal to speak out: "That is my decision with my lawyers," before seemingly attempted to charm the judge.
"How are you feeling today?" Judge Arun Subramian asked, as Combs replied: "I'm doing great, how are you, your honor?" before adding: "I want to tell you thank you. You're doing an excellent job."
So, exactly how did Diddy's legal team defend him, with neither him taking to the stand nor calling up their own witnesses to give testimony?
Well, they highlighted loving messages exchanged between Ventura and Combs in 2012, where Ventura claimed she still loved him and would be his 'lil freak'.
They also read law-enforcement interview notes that indicated certain witnesses’ accounts had changed from their initial statements.
And let's not forget, Combs' legal team also spent days cross-examining the prosecution’s witnesses, attempting to cast doubt over the alleged victims’ testimony. Immediately after resting their case, Diddy's legal team asked Judge Subramanian to grant a 'judgment of acquittal' - suggesting the prosecution’s evidence at its strongest, is still not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, so the case should end now.
Judge Subramanian didn’t rule on that motion right away. That’s standard; in federal criminal trials, motions for acquittal, often called Rule 29 motions, are typically made first after the prosecution rests, and again after the defense finishes.
Judges usually hold off on deciding until they’ve heard closing arguments and seen all the evidence. That way, they can consider the full picture before deciding whether any reasonable jury could legally convict.
On Thursday (June 26), the jury is due to return to court to hear closing statements.
That means deliberations - when the jury retires to discuss the arguments heard and aim to reach a unanimous verdict - could take place as soon as Friday (June 27).
Deliberations could take anywhere between a few hours to a few weeks, so it's not yet known when we can expect a verdict.
If found guilty across all charges, Combs could face life in prison.