In the ongoing federal sex trafficking trial involving Sean “Diddy” Combs, the likelihood of the music mogul taking the stand seems increasingly slim. On Tuesday, his defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, informed Judge Arun Subramanian that the defense’s presentation might only require two days and, at its longest, five. This duration suggests Combs himself is unlikely to testify. Over the past six weeks, testimonies from two of Combs’s former girlfriends have taken up considerable time at the trial.
Combs, aged 55, has denied the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy leveled against him. He has been in custody at a Brooklyn federal detention center following his arrest in September at a Manhattan hotel. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey indicated that the prosecution would likely rest their case by Friday.
During earlier proceedings, Combs’s ex-girlfriends, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and another woman using a pseudonym “Jane,” gave emotional testimonies. They recounted how Combs allegedly used intimidation and financial incentives to pressure them into extended encounters involving male sex workers, which were often recorded with Combs in attendance. Both women stated they initially desired to be with Combs.
On Tuesday, the court was shown nearly 20 minutes of explicit videos from 2012 and 2014, illustrating these “freak-off” sessions. These clips were presented as a defense lawyer interrogated a law enforcement agent about the materials. Cassie was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, while Jane dated him from 2021 until his arrest last year.
As the explicit footage played, one juror notably diverted his gaze for most of the session, while maintaining the headphones providing audio, in contrast to the other jurors who watched. The general audience was shielded from both the visual and audio components of this evidence.
On the previous day, jurors watched a mere two-minute compilation of the videos. Defense attorney Teny Geragos had previously referred to these clips during her opening statement, arguing that they demonstrate the consensual nature of the sexual conduct involved, rather than coercion.
Geragos emphasized that while some jurors might find the contents challenging to view, it was not due to violence or lack of consent, but because the recordings were private and not meant for public consumption. She described them as intimate recordings, meant to remain private.
On the other side, in her opening remarks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson accused Combs of employing deceit, narcotics, intimidation, and aggression to compel Cassie initially and later Jane into having sex in front of male escorts, which he required to occur in a meticulously managed manner.
On Tuesday, tensions rose in the courtroom when Judge Subramanian reprimanded both the prosecution and defense, after a leak regarding a confidential court session involving a juror found its way to the media. He sternly warned that both Comey and Agnifilo would be held accountable for any further leaks, with potential penalties of criminal contempt for future breaches.
“This is the only warning I will give,” Judge Subramanian cautioned.