Inside the Jury Room as Diddy Deliberations Continue

The fate of accused s** trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs rests in the hands of a jury of his peers. After a grueling seven weeks of often graphic and salacious details, Knewz.com can report eight men and four women are sifting through hundreds of hours of videos, photos and testimony to decide the disgraced music mogul’s future.

Monday’s first day of deliberations began with Judge Arun Subramanian reading over the instructions to the jury, who has as long as needed to come to a consensus on Combs’ innocence or guilt. (By late Tuesday, they’d agreed on four of five counts.) In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs’ former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” who both detailed the singer’s abusive behavior and marathon s** sessions. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of s** trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in p***********. If convicted on the racketeering charge, Combs faces up to life in prison. He faces another statutory minimum sentence of 15 years if found guilty of s** trafficking.

Late last week, Combs’ lawyers rested their case in less than half an hour, with the defense opting not to call any witnesses to the stand. Ultimately, Combs passed on the opportunity to testify in his own defense. He spoke only briefly toward the end of testimony to confirm his decision when Judge Subramanian asked how he was doing. Combs responded he was well, telling the judge, “You’re doing an excellent job.” When asked if he would like to take the stand, Combs said no. “That is my decision, your honor,” he said.

Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead defense attorney, spent much of his closing argument dismantling the prosecution’s narrative, saying, “The statements made about Mr. Combs have been badly, badly exaggerated.” He also told the jury Combs’ accusers were motivated not by justice but by financial gain, arguing the case lacked substance and was built on salacious distortions. “They are suing for money. That’s the goal here,” Agnifilo said. Prosecutors, however, painted a starkly different picture. In their closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik alleged Combs used “power, violence and fear to get what he wanted.” The government laid out an alleged pattern of coercion and abuse, describing a system of psychological manipulation and physical intimidation orchestrated by the former Bad Boy Records CEO to satisfy what they claimed were “controlling and violent” desires.

Just before closing arguments began, prosecutors announced they were dropping some of the charges, including attempted kidnapping, attempted arson and aiding and abetting s** trafficking. On Wednesday, June 25, instructions related to certain evidence and testimony tied to the racketeering and s** trafficking charges were removed for jurors, as the 12 men and women will not be allowed to consider or discuss the theories that the disgraced music mogul set fire to fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car or that he kidnapped any victims. While the accusations relate to the racketeering and s** trafficking charges, two of the three federal crimes the 55-year-old is facing, his third charge of transportation to engage in p***********, are still on the table.