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A 12-person jury comprised of eight men and four women will make the decision on whether to convict Sean “Diddy” Combs of federal crimes or let the fallen music mogul walk free following a seven-week trial.
Prosecutors began closing arguments Thursday with a focus on Diddy’s alleged stance as the leader of a criminal enterprise, a point they’ve attempted to drive home to the jurors with more than 30 witness testimonies.
The rapper’s defense team, headed by Marc Agnifilo, argued Friday that the prosecution’s evidence proved that the government was targeting Diddy and insisted he was innocent of the charges, which include racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
With a verdict now imminent almost two months after the trial began, jurors face scrutiny as deliberations kick off Monday morning in the Manhattan federal court.
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Juror deliberations begin Monday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial for sex crimes. (Reuters)
“Jurors in a case like this are tasked with a legal burden that intersects with public scrutiny and highly emotional testimony,” sexual abuse attorney Sarah Klein told Fox News Digital. “Deliberations often become a battleground of credibility assessments, legal definitions, and moral weight — especially when a high-profile defendant is involved.”
The government told jurors during closing arguments that Diddy was “the leader of a criminal enterprise.”
“He doesn’t take no for an answer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Slavik told the court. “And now you know about many crimes the defendant committed with members of his enterprise: kidnapping of one of the defendant’s employees; arson by trying to blow up a car; forced labor, including of an employee the defendant repeatedly sexually assaulted; bribery of a security officer to keep damning evidence against the defendant buried; and of course, the brutal crimes at the heart of this case — sex trafficking.”
DIDDY DEFENSE CLAIMS HE WAS UNFAIRLY TARGETED, WHILE PROSECUTION SAYS RAPPER THOUGHT HE WAS ‘UNTOUCHABLE’
Agnifilo told jurors that the government lacked quality evidence, and noted that it takes courage for a juror to acquit. “Return him to his family who have been waiting for him,” Agnifilo pleaded with the court.
Diddy pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking, and transporting to engage in prostitution. (Jane Rosenberg)
Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s lead counsel, argued Friday that the prosecution’s evidence proved that the government was targeting the rapper. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey fired back during rebuttal that Diddy thought he was “untouchable.”
“For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes… That ends in this courtroom… The defendant is not a God,” she said. Comey ended by telling the jury, “It is time to hold him accountable. Find him guilty.”
With closing arguments completed, Judge Arun Subramanian will hand down a detailed list of jury instructions, a detailed list with defining terms and elements of the law agreed upon by both parties to help guide jurors to reach a unanimous verdict. Once the verdict is unanimous, a foreperson will deliver the verdict in court.
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“Those jury instructions are insanely difficult to understand,” criminal defense attorney Nicole Blank Becker told Fox News Digital. “I did it, right? I was the lawyer in it, and I still found them extremely difficult to process.
WATCH: DIDDY JURORS HAVE ‘DIFFICULT’ DECISION AHEAD
“It’s going to be really difficult for [the jury] all to be in the back and even figure out how to start attacking it. So, I believe that the government’s goal with doing that was to just make sure they have every little piece covered. And that it’s there if they get confused or need some help in understanding why the government thinks they proved their case.”
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.
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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.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office provided photo evidence of alleged abuse Cassie Ventura endured. (SDNY)
Cassie Ventura gave emotional testimony during Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial. (Jane Rosenberg)
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.
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.
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“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.”
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. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison.