Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Defense closes; deliberations set for Monday

The defense in the Sean Combs trial rested its case after calling no witnesses, electing only to read some items into the record.

Defense attorney Anna Estevao read several exchanges of text messages between Sean Combs and his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that the defense asserts expressed Ventura’s love for Combs, even after years of what federal prosecutors argued was coerced sex with male escorts.

“Bottom line, I love you. You are important to me, and I know I will never have a love like this in this lifetime,” Ventura wrote in a 2012 message that was read into evidence. “Besides making love, talking to you is my favorite thing.”

In another message, Ventura told Combs, “I miss you.” Combs responded, “So what you going to do.” Ventura replied, “Be your lil freak.”

Defense attorney Teny Geragos read notes from law enforcement meetings with several witnesses, including Daniel Phillip, an escort.

Phillip testified that after a sexual encounter at Ventura’s home, Combs threw a bottle toward her and “grabbed her by her hair and dragged her by her hair into the bedroom” after she did not immediately get up from a computer to go into the bedroom as Combs had instructed. Phillip said Combs emerged from the bedroom a while later to ask him, “are you guys ready to continue?”

Geragos also read law enforcement notes from a meeting with Phillip that the defense contends indicate Combs said something else. “In approximately 2013, Phillip saw Ventura get physically assaulted. Combs eventually came back out and said ‘Yo man I’m going to have to deal with this. You need to get the f--- out,’” Geragos read.

Federal prosecutors declined to put on a rebuttal case.

Judge Arun Subramanian sent the jury home until Thursday with instructions to avoid any news about the case.

Sean Combs told Judge Arun Subramanian that he declined to testify on his own behalf.

“That is my decision with my lawyers,” Combs said.

The jury wasn't present when the judge spoke directly to Combs.

“How are you feeling today?” Subramanian asked Combs, who stood to answer.

“I’m doing great. How are you, your honor?" Combs responded. "I want to tell you thank you. You’re doing an excellent job.”

Subramanian responded, “Thank you.” He then continued with the allocution.

“Do you understand that as a criminal defendant you have the right to testify if you wish to testify?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Combs responded.

“You’ve made the decision freely on your own behalf?” Subramanian asked.

“That is totally my decision,” Combs answered.

Beforehand, defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro took aim at several of the underlying criminal acts that federal prosecutors allege constituted the racketeering conspiracy charge that Combs faces.

Combs engaged in and attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, narcotics offenses, enticement to engage in prostitution, and obstruction, according to the indictment.

For bribery, prosecutors relied on the testimony of Eddy Garcia, a security guard at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles who testified that Combs paid him $100,000 cash for the closed-circuit surveillance system footage of Combs allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway of the hotel, fearing “if this got out it could ruin him,” according to Garcia's testimony.

The defense argued that the payment didn't constitute bribery.

“There’s no evidence that Mr. Combs had any intent to bribe any witness to withhold information from the police,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro also said that the firebombing damage to rapper Kid Cudi’s car, as seen in multiple photographs, could not be linked directly to Combs.

“There’s no evidence that Mr. Combs was involved in that arson,” Shapiro said, referring to one of the five potential predicate acts prosecutors allege amounts to racketeering.

Consistent with the defense’s opening statement, Shapiro urged the judge to find insufficient evidence to support the sex trafficking counts, emphasizing times when Ventura and Combs’ ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” said they enjoyed the sex that had with male escorts and did not feel coerced to engage in it.

“Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” Shapiro said.

As soon as the government rested its case after calling 34 witnesses over nearly seven weeks, the defense asked the judge to immediately find Sean Combs not guilty of all the charges.

“The defense moves for a judgment of acquittal on all counts,” defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro said. “The government has failed to meet its burden.”

The jury was not in the room for the argument.

“The evidence does not establish that Mr. Combs conspired with any other person to violate the RICO statute,” Shapiro said. “They failed to show that any other individual actually conspired with him to conduct the affairs of this 20-year purported criminal enterprise.”

At most, the defense said, employees ran “personal errands” for Combs while he or his girlfriends booked the escorts for sexual encounters themselves.

“The assistants set up and cleaned hotel rooms but they didn’t know much if anything about what went on in those hotel rooms other than they used a lot of baby oil and AstroGlide,” Shapiro said.

Combs has been accused of sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy as part of a federal indictment originally filed in September 2024. He later faced two additional superseding indictments. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case against Sean Combs.

“At this time, subject to confirming all of the government records are accurate in the record, the government rests,” prosecutor Emily Johnson said.

Toward the end of the defense cross-examination of Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello, the jury watched additional excerpts of sex video recordings featuring Combs’ ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”

The public monitors were turned off and the jury wore headphones so the public could not see or hear the footage. In total, the jury has seen about one hour of this footage during direct and cross-examinations of summary witnesses.

Defense attorney Teny Geragos also showed the jury various expenses paid by a corporate account but reimbursed by one of Combs’ personal accounts as the defense seeks to show a separation between the sexual performances and his businesses.

On re-direct, however, Cerciello confirmed the records showed Combs paid for a male escort to cross state lines from Georgia to Florida.