Diddy Trial: (LIVE UPDATES) Government Paints Combs as Mastermind of Criminal Enterprise As Closings Underway.

What to know about the trial

– LIVE UPDATES –

• Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik urged members of the jury to “use common sense” as the government began its final arguments that Combs allegedly used his business empire as a criminal enterprise.
• Slavik said Combs’ young assistants “didn’t blink an eye” and did whatever it took to make him happy during their employ — even if it meant facilitating crimes.
• Combs faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has vociferously denied the allegations against him.

Government wants ‘attempted’ arson and kidnapping allegations removed from jury instructions

Federal prosecutors want to tighten their case against Combs, asking a judge to strike language regarding “attempted” kidnapping and arson from jury instructions, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

While Combs still faces the same racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking counts — which include the kidnapping and arson allegations — prosecutors said in a filing to U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian that they understand “the Court’s desire for streamlined instructions” to jurors.

“Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, attempted arson under California law, and aiding and abetting sex trafficking,” the note said.

Here’s what the prosecution and defense are arguing

Since the trial kicked off more than six weeks ago, the government claims that Combs — the Bad Boy Records founder and rapper — leveraged his business as a “criminal enterprise” to sexually abuse and exploit women for decades. 

The jury heard from Combs’ staffers who testified the music mogul was an abusive boss and they were forced to work grueling hours, clean up after his “hotel nights,” and at times procure drugs for him. 

The jury also heard from two of his former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman by the pseudonym “Jane,” who testified that Combs repeatedly wanted them to engage in drug-fueled marathon “freak offs” with escorts, even though they didn’t want to at times. They also testified that Combs was physically violent and abusive. 

The defense has argued that Combs’ actions were within the realm of his personal life and his girlfriends, and that prosecutors failed to show that his staff criminally conspired with Combs.

Court is in session

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian has called the court to order as a lengthy day of closing arguments is set to begin.

Deliberations will be on the jury’s schedule

This jury will have the right of self-determination, as Judge Subramanian told the court that once closing arguments are over, they will be able to determine their own schedule for deliberations.

Tension in the air

Several of Combs’ family members took their seats in the second row as a nervous energy coursed through the courtroom.

The two attorneys who will deliver closings, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo and prosecutor Christy Slavik, seemed to be cordial to each other on this tense day.

They were spotted standing off in a corner sharing a laugh.

Government begins closing arguments

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik rose from the prosecution’s desk and began the government’s final arguments that Combs used his business empire as a criminal enterprise for “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”

Combs could spend decades behind bars if a federal jury convicts him on all counts, which include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

The rapper and music executive has pleaded not guilty, insisting his temper and other proclivities don’t make for federal crimes.

Combs ready for his big day

Combs donned light-colored pants and a white sweater this morning.

When the defendant entered the courtroom, he gestured to loved ones, putting his hand to his heart.

He took his glasses out of his folder, put them on the table and rubbed his palms together.

Government paints Combs as chief of a ‘criminal enterprise’ who didn’t allow the word ‘no’

Slavik began her address to the jury by painting Combs as the leader of a criminal enterprise, one who engaged in bribery and attempted arson to name some of his alleged crimes.

At the core of the enterprise was sex trafficking, Slavik continued. She told the jury that Combs manipulated both Cassie and “Jane” through power, violence and fear to get what he wanted.

And he doesn’t take no for an answer, Slavik said.

Eight years apart, very similar attacks

Combs has exhibited shockingly similar, violent behavior for years, Slavik argued.

The prosecutor cited the infamous 2016 beating of Cassie Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles and an alleged 2024 choking and slapping of his then-girlfriend, “Jane.”

Prosecutor says Combs relied on his ‘trusted inner circle’

Combs leaned heavily on those closest to him to loyally carry out all of his orders, the prosecution said.

“I am talking about the defendant and his trusted inner circle,” Slavik said. “He was the head and it existed to serve his needs.”

Combs’ criminal enterprise was his ‘kingdom’, prosecutor says

Combs was powerful in his own right but through the support of his business, became even more dangerous, Slavik asserted to the jury.

She began delving into the racketeering charge against Combs, highlighting the concept of a criminal enterprise. A group of people came together to protect Combs’ power, reputation and to help fulfill all his desires, Slavik said.

Those desires included committing crimes and keeping them from being discovered by law enforcement, she went on.

“It was his kingdom,” Slavik told the jury. And, “everyone was there to serve him.”

Workers who were ‘young and eager’ helped Combs, prosecutor says

“Young and eager” staffers, hungry to break into the world of music management, were always at Combs’ beck and call, Slavik said.

These young assistants  “didn’t blink an eye” and did whatever it took to make Combs happy — even when it meant facilitating crimes, according to Slavik.

Employees were paid by Combs’ companies, thus turning work resources into fuel for his crimes, the prosecutor said.

Government asks jury to use its common sense

Slavik urged the jury to use its common sense against the defense’s claim that a criminal enterprise didn’t exist just because no one testified explicitly that they were in one.

She told the jury that when a person agrees to their boss’s demand to buy drugs, they’re agreeing to a crime. When a person locks their boss’s girlfriend in a room after he stomped on her face, that person is agreeing to commit a crime with their boss, Slavik continued.

And that is agreeing to participate in an enterprise, the prosecutor asserted.

The map tells a story, prosecutor says

Slavik urged jurors to pay attention to a map when they look back at Combs’ alleged criminal acts.

She said when sex workers were paid to cross state lines or cellphones were used, those acts amounted to violations of interstate commerce laws, according to the prosecutor.

The quantity doesn’t matter in defining drug distribution, U.S. says

Whether a Combs staffer moved a single pill or a thousand at his behest, those actions were criminal, the prosecutor said.

“You know what the defendant did,” Slavik said. “He gave them to Cassie and Jane, this is drug distribution plain and simple.”

Government explains the 4 elements of racketeering

There are four elements of the racketeering charge against Combs, Slavik explained to the jury as she walked through how the government’s case met each element.

The first is conspiracy to participate in a criminal enterprise, which she insists Combs’ employees did by agreeing to help him commit crimes. One example she gave was when chief of staff Kristina Khorram made sure drugs and cash were delivered to Combs’ hotel rooms.

“She might not have been happy, but she did it,” Slavik told the jury. “She was a member of the enterprise.”

The second and third elements are the impact on state or foreign commerce and that Combs was knowingly part of an enterprise. The former is fulfilled because Combs arranged for sex workers and drugs to travel across state lines, Slavik said. The latter is met because Combs is the through line of his businesses, which she said existed only because of Combs.

Finally, the fourth element is that the enterprise agreed to commit at least two crimes under the RICO Act. Slavik says Combs’ criminal enterprise agreed to commit crimes related to drugs, sex trafficking, bribery and arson as they helped cover up his alleged crimes.

Combs engaged in closing arguments

At times of this closing argument, Combs sat back in his chair, looked ahead, looked down and sometimes cast a glance toward jurors.

He’d been warned earlier in this trial against doing anything that could be interpreted as communicating with jurors.

Combs staff were ‘all involved in buying and distributing drugs,’ government says

Drugs were an essential part of Combs’ “freak offs,” so he and his staff “were all involved in buying and distributing drugs,” Slavik told the jury.

She called back to evidence from Brendan Paul, a former assistant, who was instructed by Combs’ chief of staff to ask for money reimbursing him for purchasing drugs. Combs needed a constant supply of illicit substances to give to his victims and made sure to have his staff drop off more when he ran out, Slavik said.

“He gave them to Cassie and Jane, this is drug distribution plain and simple,” Slavik told the court.

Combs controlled movements, an act of kidnapping, U.S. says

The defendant restricted the movements of others at least three times, which were all examples of kidnapping, the prosecutor said.

After beating Ventura in 2009, he forced her to stay in a hotel room until those wounds healed, Slavik said.

Slavik also cited testimony of longtime assistant Capricorn Clark, who said she was once forced to go with an angry Combs and search for Kid Cudi. The defendant was allegedly in a jealous rage when he learned the rapper had been seeing Ventura.

Combs was 100% behind the arson of Kid Cudi’s car, government asserts

It’s the end of the first quarter for the government

Slavik just hit the one hour mark on her closing statement.

Each side was allocated four hours to make their arguments to the jury.

The hotel beating cover-up was an example of bribery, prosecutor says

When Combs sought to cover his tracks following the 2016 Los Angeles hotel beating of Ventura, that amounted to an act of bribery, the prosecutor said.

Slavik cited testimony about Combs allegedly paying off security guards at the InterContinental Hotel.

Combs, in full “damage control” mode, used money and power to buy and manipulate witnesses, according to Slavik.

A common refrain shines through in Slavik’s closing argument

It appears that the theme of Slavik’s final argument to the jury is that Combs and his inner circle refused to take no for an answer.

She repeatedly stated the phrase, emphasizing it in the beginning as she described Combs’ role at the top of his alleged criminal enterprise.

When describing the push to bribe guards for the 2016 hotel beating footage, Slavik told the jury that his employees would stop at nothing to keep the video from getting to law enforcement.

Combs had to cover up hotel beating because it’d ‘ruin him,’ prosecutor says

The defendant had overwhelming motive to use any means possible to cover up the 2016 hotel beating, Slavik said.

Bad publicity surrounding the videotaped assault would “ruin him,” according to the prosecutor.

Those actions amounted to a criminal act, Slavik said.

“Paying for silence is influencing testimony,” she told jurors.

Delving into the elements of sex trafficking

Slavik moved on to the sex trafficking charges against Combs in relation to Cassie Ventura and “Jane.”

She broke down three elements of the charge: recruiting, enticing and harboring the victim; acting with reckless disregard; and interstate commerce. Combs used force, fraud and coercion to to get the women to sleep with sex workers in his fueled “freak offs,” Slavik said.

The prosecutor noted that coercion is more complicated, as it can mean that a victim believes refusal would subject her to a physical, psychological or financial harm. It could also cover harm to a victim’s reputation, Slavik said.

Jurors reminded of men hired for ‘hotel nights’ and ‘freak offs’

The prosecution showed jurors 27 head shots of men hired for sex during Combs’ “freak offs” and “hotel nights.”

The images, shown in nine rows of three, served to remind the panel that Combs allegedly hired sex workers to perform with his girlfriends while he watched from a short distance away, videotaping the acts.

Combs groomed ‘Jane’ for his sexual desires, prosecution says

Combs love-bombed “Jane” early on after meeting him, charming her with overwhelming affection before introducing her to the concept of “hotel nights,” Slavik told the jury.

Slavik accused Combs of grooming Jane and giving her drugs as she learned what Combs liked sexually to keep him happy. Jane agreed to one of his fantasies when she was high and arranged for a “hotel night” with a sex worker, the prosecutor continued.

Jane became resistant as time went on and wanted these nights to drop, but Combs plied her with drugs and manipulated her into continuing, Slavik told the jury. He even used paying her rent as a way to control her, the government said.

Talk of ‘freak offs’ seems to sadden Combs

The defendant looked dejected as Slavik launched into him about his “freak offs” and the possible criminal liability connected to those rendezvous.

Combs sat back in his chair, away from the defense table with his head down writing notes, during much of Slavik’s arguments about these elicit acts.

He did manage to write some observations on Post-it notes and hand them to his defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

Reminding jurors of Combs sex tape threats

The prosecution showed a flurry of text messages, reminding jurors that Combs allegedly threatened “Jane” with sex videos if she didn’t stay in line.

A panicked Jane sent text messages to Combs’ chief of staff Kristina Khorram about the music mogul allegedly telling her those tapes could be leaked.

Khorram instructed Jane to give Combs some space and said she’d talk to him, in hopes of keeping his boss from doing anything rash, text messages showed.

‘Jane’ and sex workers were flown all over for hotel nights, prosecutor says

Combs frequently arranged transportation for “Jane” to travel across state lines and engage in sex with men, Slavik said.

He had Jane flown to and from New York, California, Miami, Las Vegas, and Turks and Caicos, the prosecutor pushed. At the same time Kabrale, a frequently used sex worker, was also being transported across state lines for their hotel nights, Slavik told the jury.

Prosecution reaches halfway point of closing arguments

Slavik reached the two-hour mark of the government’s allotted four hours of closing argument.

Combs looks defeated as government hammers away

Combs has his hands clasped in his lap and his head is down as Slavik continues to hammer her case against him to the jury.

He appears downtrodden. On occasion, Combs looks up and glances over to the jury with a look of defeat on his face.

Combs changed tactics from the carrot to the stick with ‘Jane,’ prosecutor says

As time went on with “Jane,” she began to resist the idea of hotel nights and Combs was forced to change tactics from the carrot to the stick, Slavik told the jury.

Slavik recounted a time in October 2023 when Jane told Combs that she didn’t want to do hotel nights anymore, insisting that she needed a break. Combs agreed to spend a day with her without strangers, Slavik continued, but Jane somehow found herself sober in a room having sex with three men.

The night went very badly, Slavik insisted to the jury. Jane vomited twice and Combs insisted she get back to the men waiting to have sex with her, the prosecutor said.

He coerced her even when she wanted to stop, Slavik told the jury.

Combs continued violent behavior even after 2024 raids, prosecutor says

The prosecution turned its attention to an alleged June 8, 2024 beating that “Jane” suffered at Combs’ hands.

The date is significant because it came after federal agents raided Combs’ properties so the music mogul knew he was under investigation but didn’t change his behavior, Slavik said.

Combs beat up Jane in her home on that day, telling her, “you are not going to ruin my night,” according to the prosecutor.

A male sex worker was called to the home where he and Jane allegedly had sex for Combs’ entertainment, the government said.

S: NBC News

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