Diddy trial nail-biter: Closing arguments begin as fans await verdict

Diddy’s six week federal trial is set to wind down today as both the prosecution and the defense shape up their closing arguments.

The prosecutors are set to speak for four hours starting 10am, where the defense will make their case on Friday.

Both sides hashed out a closing aguments schedule in court on Wednesday during charging conference where jurors were not present.

Diddy kept a singular AirPod in his ear for the majority of the proceedings and looked down at his lap.

To hear all the explosive testimony from singer Cassie Ventura and the other witnesses in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial, tune in to Daily Mail’s hit podcast The Trial.

From sworn testimony to video evidence and the rapper’s every subtle move, our team of journalists take you inside the courtroom of the world’s biggest celebrity case.

Daily Mail has been following Diddy’s downfall from the very beginning. Join us as we hear from experts involved in the case, and members of the rapper’s inside circle.

Slavik said there are four elements of racketeering against Diddy.

1. There was a conspiracy to participate in the enterprise, which she said his employees did by agreeing to help him commit crimes.

2. It affected interstate or foreign commerce and that Diddy was knowingly a part of an enterprise.

3. The defendant knowingly and willfully became a member as he arranged for drugs and sex workers to travel across state lines.

4. Diddy agreed that he and another member would committee two racketeering acts. Slavik said Diddy’s criminal enterprise agreed to commit crimes related to sex trafficking, drugs, bribery and arson to help cover up his alleged crimes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik in court Friday

The prosecution said Diddy ‘counted on silence and shame (to stop people speaking out).’

‘He thought his fame, wealth and power put him above the law,’ Slavik added.

The prosecution said the sex trafficking charges are ‘brutal crimes at the heart of this case.’

‘The defendant agins and again forced and manipulated Cassie and Jane into having sex with escorts for his own entertainment,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik stated.

Diddy’s son’s Quincy and Justin seen walking into courthouse.

Sarah Chapman, the mother of Chance Combs, is seen walking into court.

When talking about the many drugs said to have been used during freak offs and throughout Diddy’s relationships with his ex-girlfriend’s, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik specified which substances were being used.

‘We’re not talking about marijuana, we’re talking about hard drugs, the kind of drugs the defendant fed to Cassie and Jane,’ she said.

The jury was then shown a slide of the list of drugs found in Diddy’s homes, including cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, ketamine, MDMA, GHB, psilocybin and Tusi – also known as pink cocaine.

‘You know about the drugs the defendant took….and you know how he got them. He enlisted his assistant and his security staff to buy, pick up drugs and give the drugs to him,’ she told the jury.

‘Jane told you on two occasions the defendant instructed her to bring drugs to him.’

In referencing the racketeering charge against the embattled rapper, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said: ‘I’m going to call it the Combs Enterprise. I’m not talking about the name of the company. Defendant was the head of the enterprise…what he said went.’

Slavik went on to refer to Kristina Khorram, Diddy’s former assistant who has been referred to as ‘KK’ in the trial, as his ‘right brain.’

She noted that his multiple assistants were ‘foot soldiers’ who ‘were young and eager.’

‘[They] didn’t blink an eye when instructed to do whatever it took to make the defendant happy, even when it meant facilitating crimes.’

The prosecutor went on to say that the weapons found during the raid on Diddy’s home, including two AR-15 rifles, ‘aren’t necessary for a professional security detail.’

Misa Hylton and Charlie Liucci were seen entering court Thursday morning.

Hylton is the mother of Combs’ eldest child Justin.

Liucci has been seen throughout the trial wearing ‘Free Puff’ hoodies and escorting Diddy’s children into court.

The prosecution started their closing argument by stating that Diddy, ‘the leader of a criminal enterprise,’ does not ‘take no for answer.’

‘Across all, the defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted. Dozens of witnesses agreed: he doesn’t take no for an answer,’ they continued.

They also said that Diddy used his ‘small army of personal staff’ throughout the years.

‘No-one could stop him and he managed to do this for two decades because he used his money and influence to cover up his crimes.’

Diddy donned a blue sweater and gray pants in court.

He was spotted holding the book ‘The Happiness Advantage’ by Shawn Achor as he made his way into the courtroom, the New York Times reported.

He was also seen with his hand on his heart as he smiled at friends and family in the gallery.

The rapper poured himself a glass of water as he rocked side-to-side while standing, appearing to be a bit anxious.

Judge Arun Subramanian said the jury will be allowed to determine their own schedule for deliberations once closing arguments conclude.

The courtroom is packed Thursday for day 31 of Diddy’s trial.

His twin daughters, Jessie and D’Lila Combs, 18, are in the public gallery.

They are wearing striking matching outfits, including white jackets and pants along with black shirts. His other daughter Chance Combs is also there.

Diddy was spotted smiling at them.

His son’s Quicy and Justin are also in attendence, along with Diddy’s niece, nephew and his mother Janice.

Judge Arun Subramanian has entered the courtroom.

‘There should be no disruptions in the courtroom,’ he said.

‘Please wait for a break to leave the courtroom and turn your cellphones off.

‘When the jury comes in I plan to fill them in on the schedule,’ he added.

The judge noted that today should be ‘shorter’ and tomorrow will last ‘longer.’

Diddy has been charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering conspiracy

If convicted for sex trafficking: Diddy could face a minimum of 15 years to a maximum of life in prison.

If convicted for engaging in prostitution: He could face up to 10 years in prison.

If convicted of racketeering conspiracy: The embattled rapper could face up to life in prison.

Closing arguments in Diddy’s trial are set to start at 10am.

His mother, Janice Combs, arrived early Thursday morning to support her son.

She has been at nearly every day of her son’s trial, sitting in the gallery and listening to the government analyze her son’s actions over the past 20 years.

It’s been hard to read her expressions as she often wears large sunglasses in the courtroom.

Diddy’s daughters also appeared to be in attendance, though it is unclear exactly which ones are there.

Janice Combs seen making her way into the courthouse

Diddy spoke for the first time in his trial Tuesday afternoon, making the judge chuckle.

The rapper took no time to pay his charming compliments to Judge Arun Subramanian in his first speech in front of the jury and witnesses.

When asked: ‘Mr Combs, how are you feeling today?’ Diddy replied in a confident, loud voice: ‘I’m doing great.’

Diddy didn’t stop there.

He addressed the judge personally, saying: ‘I wanted to tell you thank you. You’re doing an excellent job.’

Judge Subramanian then laughed, People reported.

With Diddy’s blockbuster trial in its seventh week and the verdict closing in, here is a review of the charges against him:

The disgraced rap mogul, 55, has been charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering.

According to prosecutors, the rapper used his ‘multi-faceted business empire’ to carry out a ‘criminal enterprise’ for years, allegedly coercing victims into sexual ‘freak off’ marathons and threatening them into silence.

The jury has heard from his former employees and ex-girlfriends who testified that Diddy was allegedly abusive toward them.

His former staffers specifically said he forced them to work long and tireless hours, procure drugs for him and clean up after his long ‘hotel nights.’

Meanwhile, his two ex-girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman by the pseudonym ‘Jane’ said Diddy made them both participate in drug and sex-fueld freak offs with escorts.

His defense team argues that Diddy’s actions pointed toward his personal life and that prosecutors have failed to prove the criminal charges against him.

The jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial is expected to deliberate for an hour on Friday following closing statements today.

The prosecution is set to present their closing arguments today, with the defense doing the same first thing tomorrow.

After that, the prosecution will follow with their rebuttal before it moves on to the jury.

Diddy seen in court Wednesday during the charge conference

Diddy’s defense team did not call on any witnesses for his trial.

It is not unusual for legal teams to opt against calling witnesses in a trial because the weight of it is completely based on the prosecution proving charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Because his team did not call witnesses, the defense believed the trial has already established enough doubt during cross-examinations.

It could have also meant there were no witnesses available who could help the case.

He was the self-made New York billionaire whose notorious parties earned him the reputation as the modern day Jay Gatsby, reportedly attracting the likes of Donald Trump, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton to his mansion in the Hamptons for his infamous ‘Gatsby-esque’ White Parties – where, according to civil court documents, guests were allegedly ‘drugged and raped.’

Following his arrest on September 16, 2024, Sean John Combs is being held on remand as inmate number 37452-054 at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He faces a string of federal charges, including conspiracy to racketeer; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.

DEEP DIVE delves into Diddy’s 30-year reign of excess and debauchery in unprecedented detail, starting with his ‘crazy’ fits of rage as a student in the 1980s that earned him the disturbing ‘Puff’ nickname.

Contained within hundreds of pages of civil court documents are the horrifying details of his tempestuous relationship with Cassie Ventura – which ultimately led to the floodgates opening.

Audio of a distraught Cassie Ventura threatening to kill a man over a ‘freak-off’ video was released last week as part of the evidence in Diddy’s trial.

The newly-released audio was played by the disgraced mogul’s lawyers during their cross-examination of Cassie last month, but has only now become public after being uploaded into the evidence files.

‘It’s my f***ing life and I’ll kill you,’ Cassie told the unidentified man, who had apparently claimed to have seen a video of a freak off in 2014.

‘If you don’t show me right now I will kill you, and I will hide you and I will cut you up and put you in the f***ing dirt.’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs scored a huge courtroom victory after prosecutors decided to drop key parts of the charges against him.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian prosecutors said they will no longer pursue theories presented during the blockbuster trial, including that the music mogul was involved in attempted arson and kidnapping.

The two alleged acts were initially included in the government’s racketeering conspiracy charge against Combs. All charges against him still remain.