Hip-hop artist Sean “Diddy” Combs has been facing a federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial after he was arrested late last year in New York City.
A federal indictment unsealed in September 2024 depicted Combs as the head of an expansive criminal enterprise reliant on employees as well as the influence of Combs’s business empire to try and “engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
Combs pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges in the wake of the indictment’s unsealing.
Here’s what you need to know about Combs’s trial so far:
What has Combs been accused of?
The federal indictment unsealed earlier this year alleged Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” per allegations going back to 2008.
Combs’s alleged criminal enterprise was used to protect and promote his reputation, supplement his enterprise’s power, lock down individuals’ loyalty and reward it and safeguard Combs from being prosecuted or found out for his alleged crimes via acts of intimidation, manipulation, bribery or threats, according to the indictment.
A statement from a lawyer for Combs in September said that the rapper was “disappointed” due to his “unjust prosecution.”
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Marc Agnifilo said in the previous statement. “To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts.”
When did Combs’s trial start?
Combs’s trial kicked off earlier this month via jury selection, according to The Associated Press, about eight months after the indictment was unsealed. The AP reported that Judge Arun Subramanian interviewed potential jurors using a questionnaire to assess their fairness and impartiality during a trial involving graphic video.
Possible jurors were provided with a brief description of the charges Combs faced via Subramanian, with the judge also stating that the rapper was presumed innocent and had pleaded not guilty, according to the AP.
What are some of the recent developments in the trial?
In 2011, according to Tuesday testimony from ex-Combs employee Capricorn Clark, Combs showed up at her apartment and said, “We’re going to go kill” fellow hip-hop figure Scott Mescudi, who also goes by “Kid Cudi,” in the wake of learning of his former romantic partner Cassandra Ventura and Mescudi’s dating, The New York Times reported.
Ventura filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging that Combs had spent years beating and raping her, with the lawsuit being settled quickly after it was filed.
Mescudi also testified during the trial last week, describing multiple incidents in which Combs was a part of, according to the AP. According to the outlet, prosecutors have alleged that Combs’s fury towards Mescudi drove him to set up the firebombing of Mescudi’s Porsche 911.
How much prison time is Combs possibly facing?
The AP reported that Combs may be looking at prison time stretching from 15 years to the rest of his life in the case he is convicted. Beyond possible long-term incarceration, Combs has also faced public backlash in the wake of abuse allegations against him coming into the national spotlight.
What have others said about the trial?
Former CEO of Death Row Records Suge Knight suggested earlier this month that President Trump could pardon Combs in the case he is convicted.
“I still feel that Puffy’s gonna be all right and have a fair shot at it, because Puffy didn’t — he’s not a dummy,” Knight said previously, talking to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.
“I’m quite sure somebody’s going to talk to those jurors and convince one or two of them — that’s all you need, is one,” he added.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said in an episode of the Cafe podcast “The Counsel” from earlier this month that Combs’s trial “is overwhelmingly likely to end with the fallen hip-hop mogul’s conviction.”
The Hill has reached out to a law firm with a lawyer representing Combs for comment.
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