Trial of Sean Combs

United States v. Combs
Court	Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan
Full case name	United States of America v. Sean Combs, a/k/a "Puff Daddy," a/k/a "P. Diddy," a/k/a "Diddy," a/k/a "PD," a/k/a "Love"
Started	May 5, 2025 (2025-05-05)
Docket nos.	1:24-CR-00542
Charge	Racketeering Conspiracy Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion Transportation to Engage in Prostitution
Court membership
Judge sitting	Arun Subramanian

The trial of Sean Combs is a criminal trial that began on May 5, 2025 in the Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan, New York, with the defendant accused of a series of sexual-related felonies, for all of which he has pleaded not guilty.

Background

Main article: Sean Combs sexual misconduct allegations

From 2017 onward, there have been several civil suits brought against Sean Combs. In December 2024, he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000. and, in separate suits, of raping and sexually assaulting three men, of committing sexual battery against a former male employee, and of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman. In 2023 and 2024, accusations of sexual misconduct were made and civil suits were filed against American rapper Sean Combs. Among the accusers and plaintiffs was the defendant's former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who said that she had been raped, trafficked, and physically assaulted by Combs multiple times during a period of almost ten years.

Investigation

On March 25, 2024, federal agents questioned Combs at the Miami Opa-Locka Airport and seized a number of electronic devices before allowing him to leave for his planned vacation. The same day, Homeland Security agents raided Combs's properties in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, confiscating computers and other electronic devices. The search found various narcotics, like Ketamine, Ecstasy, GHB, as well as a number of weapons, including three illegally modified AR-15 rifles, and "more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant".

Indictment

On September 16, 2024, Sean Combs was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of felonies: Racketeering Conspiracy; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion; and Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. He was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security investigators in Manhattan the same day, and jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. During his arraignment, on September 17, Combs pleaded not guilty. Southern District of New York Judge Robyn Tarnofsky denied Combs bail and ordered that the defendant remain in federal custody. The next day, District court judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. denied the defense's appeal for bail, citing concerns for potential witness threats and intimidation. The defense claimed in its appeal, among other things, that a 2016 surveillance video clip from a hotel hallway, in which the defendant can be seen kicking and dragging Cassie Ventura, is the product of "a ten-year loving relationship" that dissolved because of Ventura's "jealousy over [the defendant's] infidelity." The judge did not accept the claim, asking, at some point, "What's love got to do with that?"

Trial

On May 5, 2025, the date set by federal judge Arun Subramanian, the trial of Sean Combs began in the Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan.

Jury selection

On May 12, 2025, the process of jury selection began. After a period of nearly a week and the examination of about one hundred prospective jurors by the judge, the prosecution, and the defense, a panel of twelve jurors and six alternates was agreed upon and selected. The jury is made by eight men and four women, all New Yorkers of middle age or older, whose identity is known only to the judge and the trial's lawyers.

Opening statements

The prosecution said that the defendant was operating his business enterprises also for criminal purposes and specifically to carry out and cover up the crimes for which he had been indicted. The prosecution claimed Combs used his "status and power" to "violently" force two ex-girlfriends into a number of sexual acts they didn't want to partake in, and that he "victimized" several of his employees through threats, kidnapping, and even sexual assault. The charges of conspiracy and racketeering are essential for this federal indictment.

The defense conceded that Combs "has a temper" and "can be physical" but argued that the ex-girlfriends who accuse him were all engaged in consensual, though admittedly "toxic," relationships, labeling the various statements against their client as a "money grab." The defense stated that everything about Combs' personal relationships should be considered as unrelated to his business enterprises.

Witness testimony

Combs' former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, in four days of testimony, said that the defendant had subjected her to a decade of intense abuse. She was followed by witnesses who testified they saw the defendant commit violent acts toward Ventura, including a makeup artist and a male escort who both testified they witnessed Combs' violence. Two witnesses who worked as escorts testified they were paid by the defendant. Rapper Kid Cudi said that Combs had broken into his home and organized the firebombing of his car to avenge Cudi's relationship with Ventura. Judge Subramanian instructed the jury to disregard testimony about the destruction of fingerprint cards that occurred months after Cudi’s car was set ablaze, and, after the defense, on the basis of that testimony, submitted a motion for mistrial, "immediately" rejected it. After Cudi's testimony, judge Subramanian said the trial should "wrap up" by the 4th of July.

At the witness stand, on May 28, Ventura’s former stylist testified he had witnessed the defendant being violent towards his then girlfriend, adding that he and Ventura hid "too many times to count" to avoid being "attack[ed]" by Combs, followed by a former Combs assistant, anonymously testifying as "Mia," who claimed she also was abused personally by the defendant. Defense attorney Steel suggested that the former assistant is lying to the court, to which the prosecution objected claiming that the defense's line of questioning bordered on harassment. The bench overruled the objection but assured the two parties he’d be "on the lookout for abusive conduct." A security guard from the hotel where the CCTV video captured Combs brutalizing Ventura testified on June 3 that the defendant paid him $100,000 to "bury" the clip. The prosecution has argued that the payment was a bribe and one of the underlying episodes supporting their claim that the defendant has engaged in racketeering conspiracy.

On June 5, the judge warned the defense that he might have the defendant removed from the court if he attempts again, as he saw him do, to make any facial expressions to jury members or attempts to have any interaction with or influence the jury. A woman who'd heckled the proceedings had been removed from the court two days previously.

The next day in court, a former girlfriend testifying anonymously described being pressured into "hotel nights" often lasting as long as thirty hours, during which she would have unprotected sex with male escorts in front of the defendant.

Reactions

During a press conference, when asked if he would consider pardoning Combs if found guilty, President Donald Trump stated that he was not closely following the trial but would "certainly look at the facts". In response, rapper 50 Cent posted on Instagram expressing his intention to convince Trump not to issue any presidential pardons, writing "I'm gonna reach out so he knows how I feel about this guy."

See also

• Untitled Sean Combs docuseries