Diddy trial day 25 recap: Prosecutors try to drop a juror over 'lack of candor'
A surprise controversy surrounding a juror erupted Wednesday as the 25th day of Sean Combs' sex trafficking trial opened.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian told a hushed court that he is considering removing one of the 12 jurors after prosecutors suggested the man demonstrated a "lack of candor" with the court.
Neither the judge nor the attorneys in the case detailed the specific issues at work. Defense attorneys, however, took issue with the possibility that Juror No. 6 might be thrown off the panel. Noting that the juror is a middle-aged Black man from the Bronx, Combs' lawyers accused prosecutors of a "thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror."
It's not the first time Combs' lawyers have accused federal prosecutors of attempting to unfairly remove Black jurors. During the first week of testimony in the trial, when both sides finalized the jury, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo accused federal prosecutors of bias after most of the government's nine peremptory strikes were used on Black prospective jurors. The judge rejected the defense's challenge, saying the government had provided "race-neutral reasons" to strike the jurors.
The judge told Combs and the attorneys that he would decide what to do by Friday and then Combs' lawyers resumed their cross-examination of a woman who accused the rap mogul of coercing her into sex during their three-year relationship.
The woman, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane," told jurors during questioning from prosecutors that Combs strung her along for years in what she thought was a loving relationship. In reality, she testified that she was used by Combs to satisfy his extreme sexual appetites that played themselves out through days-long orgies she called "hotel nights." She testified that the drug-fueled sessions allegedly required her to have sex with male prostitutes while Combs watched, directed and masturbated to scenes of his own design.
Jane told the jury that Combs threatened to stop paying her rent or to release sexually explicit videos of her if she refused to participate in the sexual escapades.
Prosecutors argue that Combs used his wealth, status, and business empire to coerce both Jane and the singer Cassie Ventura -- another ex-girlfriend who was the prosecution's star witness -- into first participating in the sex parties then forcing them into silence. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyers argue that all sexual encounters were consensual and that Combs led a "polyamorous" lifestyle that was strictly legal.
Defense attorneys spent most of Wednesday trying to use Jane's own words in text messages to show that she was a willing participant in Combs' sex life, not the victim of force or coercion.
Defense attorneys paint Jane as a willing participant
Combs' attorney Teny Geragos spent the better part of the day grilling Jane by showing the jury multiple text messages between Jane and Combs that suggested she was initiating sexual conversations.
"What are you doing, baby?" Jane wrote to Combs in one message read for the jury. "Horny for me?"
In one message, Geragos was able to extract from Jane the testimony that Combs obliged one time when Jane said she did not want to engage in a sex performance with a male prostitute. During another part of her testimony, Jane told the jury about two other instances when she declined to have sex with other escorts because she was not attracted to them.
Jane also testified there was a two-month stretch in 2022 when there were no "hotel nights." When they were engaging in the sex parties, she testified she would buy matching shorts for Combs and the escorts to wear as well as erection pills.
After Jane complained to Combs about him spending time with another woman, she said Combs invited her to leave the relationship.
"It's not right how you're treating me right now and how you're doing me and the last thing I'd expect from you is coming at me sideways about a girl you like," Jane wrote. "You completely had your way with me." The message concluded, "You have me feeling so taken advantage of."
Combs' response was not read aloud but Geragos characterized it as, "He was saying if the relationship was as toxic as you say you were welcome to leave, right?"
Jane replied, "That's what he was saying."
Defense tries to cast doubt on Jane's earlier testimony about "hotel nights"
During days of direct examination, prosecutors used Jane's words to try to highlight a pattern when Combs would allegedly host Jane for a romantic weekend -- which she said she believed would not involve having sex with male escorts -- before pressuring her to participate in so-called "hotel nights."
She told jurors that she regretted going on a trip in 2023 to Turks and Caicos because Combs pressured her to have sex with a male escort named Paul.
On cross examination, defense attorneys introduced evidence showing Jane expressed gratitude for Combs during the trip.
"You are truly a blessing in my life. have never had a man take care of me like you," Jane wrote in a text to Combs during the trip. "I feel blessed to have you in my life and I only wish to be a blessing in yours."
Jane became emotional and cried as she testified about the text, saying she could not continue reading the entire message.
She also testified about being pressured to have sex with three male escorts in Miami after Combs invited her to celebrate her own birthday.
"I am given my gift, I'm taking a pill and awaiting an entertainer," Jane said, describing a pattern that she testified defined her relationship.
Combs' attorneys, though, seized on a text message Jane sent to Combs on her way home: "Just wanted to say I loved and appreciated every detail you put together for my birthday."
"You tell him you love and appreciate every detail, right?" Geragos asked.
Jane replied that she was not talking about the prostitutes, just the time she got to spend with Combs
"Every detail," Jane responded, "in regards to him."
