Diddy partially acquitted in sex-trafficking trial, denied release

Combs was found not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering but convicted on two prostitution counts in a case that had upended his public standing. Combs was acquitted of three counts of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy Wednesday but found guilty of two lesser prostitution-related charges. While the verdict marks a major legal victory for the music mogul, Combs will remain in jail as he awaits sentencing in a case that upended his public standing and reputation as a business-savvy and influential music industry figure. As the verdict was announced in Manhattan federal court, Combs held his hands in prayer and locked eyes with jurors, nodding and mouthing the words “thank you” multiple times. Judge Arun Subramanian later denied Combs’s $1 million bail request to be released from a Brooklyn detention center where he has been held since his arrest in September. In denying Combs’s petition, Subramanian repeated back the defense team’s admission that Combs had a history of domestic violence. “Domestic violence is violence,” the judge said. “Mr. Combs has been given his life back by this jury,” lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told the judge earlier in his plea to get his client released from custody. He noted that Combs had been acquitted of all the charges that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. “He would be nothing short of a fool, which he is not, to violate any conditions the court set,” Agnifilo said. After the verdict, Combs knelt and faced the chair on which he had been sitting for almost two months during the trial. He leaned over the seat in prayer and stayed there for nearly a minute, his head pressed tightly against his hands. After he stood, the courtroom — full of his family and supporters — clapped and cheered for him. One of his twin daughters could be seen rubbing her eyes. Combs, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, could eventually walk away a free man. The two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution he was found guilty of each carry sentence ranges of 0 to 10 years. Subramanian had set Oct. 3 as a tentative date for Combs’s sentencing, but he told the defense he would consider their request to expedite the hearing. The government argued in a letter to the judge after the verdict that Combs should serve more than four years in prison for his two prostitution-related convictions. The jury’s decision appeared to support the defense’s argument that the government overreached in its racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, a claim that quickly took hold among Combs’s supporters and some members of the general public as his trial progressed. The racketeering conspiracy charge, better known as RICO conspiracy, is complex — and the jury was briefly deadlocked over this count Tuesday before delivering a full verdict after roughly 13 hours of deliberation. Outside the courthouse, the scene erupted into a spectacle with several people dousing themselves with baby oil after learning of the verdict. A U.S. Marshal eventually broke up the chaotic scene. Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Agnifilo and others on Combs’s legal team stepped outside to address the crowd and media still gathered at the courthouse. “Today is a great victory. It’s a great victory for Sean Combs. It’s a great victory for the jury system,” Agnifilo said. “You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had. They’re not stopping. But one thing stands between all of us and a prison, and that is a jury of 12 citizens.” “They got the situation right,” Agnifilo said. “Or certainly, right enough.” At times during the dramatic trial, the case against Combs seemed to be a barometer of public sentiment about the #MeToo movement, as well as race, with both issues coming to the fore in the courthouse and outside of it. Over the course of more than six weeks, the prosecution called dozens of witnesses to the stand — including Combs’s former romantic partners, employees, recording artists, male escorts, hotel workers and federal agents — to testify about his alleged criminal activity and support the government’s charges. The trial began with explosive testimony from its star witness Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, an R&B singer and Combs’s former partner who recounted years of physical and alleged sexual abuse at his hands. Ventura and another former girlfriend, testifying under the court-approved alias “Jane,” testified that Combs coerced them into participating in “freak-offs” — drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts that were central to the government’s charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Other notable witnesses at the trial included R&B singer Dawn Richard and rapper Scott Mescudi — known by his stage name Kid Cudi — who accused Combs of arson in a sensational allegation first described in Ventura’s 2023 sex-trafficking lawsuit. Ventura reached a $20 million settlement with Combs the following day, but her complaint triggered a federal investigation of Combs. Combs was also accused of rape, bribery and kidnapping during testimony by his former employees. Key testimony and evidence presented by the government alleged that Combs’s chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, and his head of security, Damion “D-Roc” Butler, were heavily involved in this alleged enterprise. Unlike the other charges in this trial, racketeering conspiracy required the government to prove that Combs did not act alone, but conspired with a group of trusted people to carry out at least two illegal acts from a long list of categories. The defense used its cross-examinations to argue that Combs ran legitimate companies, eliciting acknowledgments from some former employees that they still admire him. In closing arguments, Agnifilo, the lead defense attorney, celebrated his client as a “self-made, successful Black entrepreneur.” The sex-trafficking charges hinged on the theory that Combs coerced his girlfriends into these sex acts. Combs’s defense argued that both Ventura and Jane not only expressed enthusiasm for the sex encounters, but seemingly also had the means and opportunity to leave. Last week, Agnifilo referred to Combs’s relationship with Ventura, in particular, as a “great modern love story.” After the verdict, statements expressing dismay at the jury’s decision poured in from advocates for sexual-abuse survivors. But many also lauded Combs’s ex-girlfriends’ bravery in coming forward to tell their stories, including Ventura’s attorney Douglas Wigdor. “By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” Wigdor said in a statement after the verdict was issued. “This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.” Outside the courtroom, the trial became a global spectacle. The courthouse drew swarms of tourists and TikTokers, survivors of sexual abuse and “Free Puff” supporters. At one point, a heckler crashed the proceedings, as did Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Combs’s mother, Janice, and his adult children drew considerable attention with their steady show of support in court. And last month, President Donald Trump waded into the discourse when he said he would consider a pardon for the music producer who was once a friend and peer in their early years as celebrity businessmen and reality TV fixtures. Since the early 1990s, Combs has lived many lives in the public eye. He began his career as a wunderkind producer and talent developer before founding one of hip-hop’s most influential labels, Bad Boy Records. Combs was a key figure in ushering rap into mainstream pop culture, and as “Puff Daddy” he became an artist and celebrity in his own right. His demanding and mercurial leadership style, described as abusive by some of his former staff during the trial, was highlighted in reality shows such as “Making the Band” and then lampooned on the sketch-comedy series “Chappelle’s Show.” The rich and famous coveted invitations to his lavish Hamptons parties, which brimmed with champagne and A-listers. Combs maintained this glamorous veneer even as he faced serious legal troubles. After being acquitted of weapons possession and bribery charges related to a 1999 nightclub shooting in New York City, Combs shed his “Puff” moniker, becoming “P. Diddy” or just “Diddy.” In the year leading up to Ventura’s 2023 lawsuit, he was feted by industry and civic leaders alike as one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen and adopted yet another new name: “Love.” His acquittal on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges is a substantial victory for Combs, and one that may only add to his lore among his supporters. But Combs still faces sentencing for the lesser prostitution-related charges, as well as a deluge of sexual-assault lawsuits — with dozens of civil complaints filed since Ventura settled hers. Combs has been a master of reinvention throughout his life, but it is an open question whether the trial and his long list of public accusers have permanently damaged his reputation with the general public and his industry peers. Still, Combs is a man who has displayed a deep belief in his ability to craft the future: Among his reading material in court was a book titled “The Power of Positive Thinking.”