Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ mask finally slipped as jurors announced they reached a consensus on four of the five charges against the disgraced music mogul – but were still divided on the most serious allegation.
The jurors told Judge Arun Subramanian on Tuesday that they have reached a verdict on both counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and both counts of transportation to engage in prostitution related to claims brought by Cassie Ventura and another ex-girlfriend, who used the pseudonym ‘Jane.’
But the jury was split on whether to charge the 55-year-old rapper on racketeering conspiracy, which alleges Combs ran a criminal enterprise, aided by staff, to entrap and abuse women. They said there were certain jurors ‘with unpersuadable opinions on both sides’ of the issue.
Legal analyst Ellie Honig argued that this suggests the jurors found Combs guilty on other charges.
‘It is hard for me to fathom, logically … that there are multiple jurors who basically say he is guilty of racketeering, but he’s not guilty of all the other crimes, the other sex trafficking crimes and interstate prostitution crimes,’ Honig told CNN on Tuesday.
The courtroom announcement left attorneys on both sides scrambling to figure out what they could do to prevent a hung jury, and in a court sketch Combs could be seen looking visibly panicked with his eyes wide open as his lawyers surrounded him.
It was a rare glimpse into the rapper’s psyche during the months-long trial, as he faces the potential for life in prison on the racketeering charge.
Defense attorneys ultimately told Judge Subramanian they did not want Combs to accept a partial verdict, and the judge asked jurors to continue deliberating. He then pleaded with them to ‘keep an open mind.’
But only moments later, jurors informed the judge they were done with deliberations for the day. They will now continue to discuss the matter on Wednesday morning.
Combs’ high-profile trial kicked off on May 12, and included more than a month of grueling testimonies and bombshell evidence – including weapons and hoards of baby oil.
Prosecutors have claimed Diddy coerced victims into drug-fueled sex parties using sex and violence as manipulation tactics.
But the fallen musician has denied all of the accusations – asserting all the graphic sex acts were consensual.
Much of the prosecution’s focus went toward Combs’ infamous ‘freak-off’ sex marathons with hired escorts.
Thirty-four witnesses were brought into court to testify against Combs, including people who used to work for him and former romantic partners.
His ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, 38, testified at the lower Manhattan federal court while she was more than eight-months pregnant.
She detailed being coerced into depraved sex acts with male prostitutes and how Combs savagely beat and blackmailed her.
Another ex, who used the pseudonym ‘Jane’ throughout the trial, similarly claimed she was forced to participate in Combs’ wild freak-off parties and if she refused to participate in these marathon sex events, Combs would threaten to stop supporting her financially.
Federal prosecutors have argued that Combs’ alleged physical abuse coupled with his threats to release videos from the freak-off parties amounted to a pattern of coercion and justifies the racketeering charge.
Jury deliberations finally kicked off this week, but were soon thrown into chaos as the judge received an alarming note indicating that one juror was having difficulty understanding Subramanian’s actions.
Shortly thereafter, the judge received another note from the jury asking if a person could be convicted of possession with intent to supply narcotics if another person asked for the drugs.
When the deliberations then continued on Tuesday, jurors asked Subramanian to re-examine part of Ventura’s testimony – including her recounting of a caught-on-camera assault in 2016.
They also requested a transcript of her testimony about a 2013 incident in which Combs accused her of taking drugs and booted her from a yacht at the Cannes Film Festival – and later threatening to release videos of her having sex with male escorts at the freak-off parties.
In a win for Diddy, the testimony sent to the jury will include a text Ventura sent to Diddy ahead of the incident saying: ‘I wanna Freak Off so bad’.
Diddy’s lawyers said this was ‘essential’ to the jury’s understanding whether or not he coerced Ventura.
Prosecutors had proposed a far narrower range of the transcript focused solely on the violence at the InterContinental.
The judge also said the jury should see the transcript of Ventura’s testimony about an Instagram post she wrote in 2024 about the incident in which she said that ‘domestic violence is the issue’.
In order to now convict him on the racketeering charge, jurors can choose two underlying offenses – whether that be arson, bribery, witness tampering, kidnapping, sex trafficking, forced labor, drugs or prostitution-related crimes – which they say he carried out with the help of subordinates.
But jurors said on Tuesday there were those with ‘unpersuadable opinions on both sides’ of the issue.
In response, Subramanian told the jury to continue deliberating – though he noted that ‘no juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict.’
Deliberations are now expected to continue on Wednesday at 9am EDT.
