Closing arguments resumed Friday in the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of music mogul Sean Diddy Combs, with the defense portraying the case as overblown and built on unreliable testimony.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told jurors the charges against Combs never should have been brought.
Combs faces charges including sex trafficking and racketeering that could carry a life sentence if convicted.
Agnifilo focused much of his argument on Combs past relationship with singer Cassie Ventura, whom prosecutors have identified as a victim. The defense acknowledged Combs abused Ventura, but argued she was not trafficked.
The defense contended their relationship involved consensual activity, including what Agnifilo described as swinging. He pointed to emails and text messages between the two that, he said, reflected mutual affection and did not show coercion. He argued that Combs never profited from Venturas involvement in any of the so-called "freak-offs."
Attempting to repair Combs public image before the jury, Agnifilo characterized him as a driven and respected Black entrepreneur. While acknowledging that some of Combs employees had grievances, he said many remained loyal to him and did not want to leave his employment.
The defense also sought to discredit prosecution witnesses. That included denying allegations from a former employee who testified that Combs raped her, a woman who said she was kidnapped and rapper Kid Cudi, who accused Combs of trying to set his car on fire.
The defense did not dispute the domestic violence allegations involving Ventura but rejected much of the other testimony.
Once the defense concludes its presentation, the judge is expected to instruct the jury before deliberations begin.
Tensions are escalating on the global stage as President Donald Trump has called for an "unconditional surrender" by Iran. This demand was swiftly rejected by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
During his campaign, President Trump promised to end conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and to avoid entering any new foreign wars. However, his rhetoric regarding the war with Iran and Israel has left Americans questioning the possibility of U.S. involvement.
Now in the sixth day of the conflict, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that U.S. involvement would lead to an all-out war, saying "America would suffer more than Iran possibly could."
President Trump stood firm on Wednesday, telling reporters on the South White House lawn, "Two very simple words, very simple, 'unconditional surrender.'"
Experts, however, say an unconditional surrender is highly unlikely.
"The Iranian political elite was forged in the experience of the revolution of 1979 and the brutal eight-year Iran-Iraq war against Saddam Hussein. Iran did not quit during that war, and the political elite are quite aware that they can withstand a lot more pressure than what they have seen so far," said Dr. Ariel Ahram a professor at Virginia Tech and editor of the Middle East Journal.
Sina Azodi, an assistant professor of Middle East politics at George Washington University, said the only time Iran signed an agreement of that kind was in August of 1945. Adding that negotiations are also unlikely while hostilities in the region continue.
The division is not only apparent on the global stage, but also within the Republican party. Azodi explained that there are two camps of Republicans - those who support Israel's government and those who don't want tax dollars spent on foreign wars.
"The Americans who voted for him did so because he twice ran on the campaign of first ending wars, ending perpetual wars in the Middle East, and also not starting any wars. He called himself the president of peace. The president of peace cannot start a war," said Azodi.
Republican leaders like Lindsey Graham and Rick Scott expressed support for ending Iran's nuclear program. As lawmakers signal support, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson blasted Sen. Ted Cruz on the issue, questioning his knowledge of the country he want to "topple."
Trump has remained vague on his intentions, but he wouldn't necessarily need congressional approval to engage the U.S. military.
"The War Powers Act grants the president a lot of latitude in making these types of military decisions. It would really be up to Congress to try and stop the president from doing these actions. Congress has the ability to do that, but so far there hasn't been much appetite for stopping Trump," said Ahram.
Ahram added that if congress were to act, they would have to act before Trump does. The scale of the conflict would become nearly impossible to rollback once the statutory limitations were reached.
"I think there are probably lots of Democrats who are in favor of the U.S. getting involved in this conflict as well," said Ahram.
"There's enormous risk this war can get larger, I think that there is a lot of chances of miscalculation, of mis-signals that could lead to escalations inadvertently," said Ahram.
The costs are already adding up. As Israel and Iran trade strikes, the death tolls are rising. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group claims more than 585 people have been killed in Iran, including 239 civilians.
Iran has fired 400 missiles and hundreds of drones killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.
"Pregnant women have been killed, children have been killed, I personally know people who have been killed, their homes have been destroyed. So I think it must be mentioned that the toll on the civilian population has been high," said Azodi.
The conflict between Israel and Iran is now four days old. As the two nations target each other's oil refining infrastructure, ripple effects may be felt here in the U.S. in the form of rising gas prices.
The national average will probably rise somewhere in the ballpark of maybe five, to as much as 10 cents over the next two weeks, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. And then we should start to see some relief ahead of July 4th, as long this situation does start to improve.
Oil prices fell slightly Monday after surging more than 7% last Friday.
Oil prices were up about 5% 12 hours ago on Sunday night, but because Iran does not really have a whole lot of good options, prices eventually have been tapering off, said De Haan.
Iran is one of the largest oil suppliers in the world. The United States, however, doesn't rely on Iran for its oil, importing instead from countries like Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
But Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President for Energy and Innovation at the University of Houston, says where a country gets its oil from does not determine the price.
Oil is a global commodity. It is moved around the world, from every part of the world, to every part. And so, oil prices are determined by global markets, explained Krishnamoorti. We are 10,000 miles away from this conflict, and yet, those prices, those global prices, have an impact on what we do in the United States.
Experts are also keeping a close eye on the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between Oman and Iran. According to Dr. Krishnamoorti, it is responsible for moving 20% of the world's oil.
A December 2023 report by the International Energy Agency stated that even a short-lived disruption to the Strait of Hormuz could have a significant impact on oil markets.
Everything has to pass through this very narrow strait, one side of which is controlled by Iran, said Krishnamoorti. And therefore, really any action there can really cut off that supply.
But as of now, experts dont see this conflict causing record high prices at the pump.
This is probably going to be a relatively low impact event, said De Haan.
A former personal assistant to Sean "Diddy" Combs said she has such severe PTSD from working for him for a year that a question as simple as "where are you?" was triggering to her.
She's testifying under the pseudonym "Mia" in Combs' ongoing federal criminal trial. He has been charged with sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering and has pleaded not guilty.
It's the second day Mia has been on the witness stand in Combs' trial, which is closing out its third week. For more of her 2-day testimony, Mia has kept her head down, making it also impossible to view her face.
During her testimony on Thursday, Mia detailed several times in which she alleged Combs sexually assaulted and physically attacked her. She also spoke about violence she witnessed firsthand from Combs towards his then-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura Fine, known as "Cassie."
Cassie testified about the alleged assaults she endured throughout their decade-long relationship during the first week of trial.
But Mia is painting a picture of the abuse she claims she experienced as one of Combs' employees, with the jury seeing a series of texts from Combs during her 8-year employment in which he threatened her. She said she hasn't been able to work since leaving her job with Combs because she suffers from severe PTSD.
Mia said her employment, which involved a "dream" role working for Combs' now-shuttered production company Revolt Films, was a roller coaster of feeling grateful for the opportunities to work with the prominent music mogul while having to "tiptoe" around his appetite for violence and control.
The woman said she grew close with Cassie, with whom she is still in contact, during her time working for Combs, but it ultimately became a catalyst in what she described as an abusive and hectic environment.
Mia said there were times when she was caught in the middle of their relationship, with Combs often threatening her when he couldn't get a hold of Cassie or the two women running and hiding from him during a period of rage.
Mia said she never reported the sexual assaults or other violent incidents to authorities because she feared for her career and her life. She also said she thought that Combs was more powerful than the police at the time.
Mia said, He would have destroyed my reputation. I was scared of him.
After she left the job in 2017, Mia hired employment attorneys to help her negotiate severance and said Combs' chief of staff at the time told her he felt like she had stabbed him in the back.
The next time Mia spoke with Combs after they reached a settlement was when she reached out after the mother of three of his children, Kim Porter, died suddenly in 2018.
However, Mia said Combs tried to get in touch with her on multiple occasions after Cassie filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2023.
She claimed Combs' longtime security guard, known as D-Roc, contacted her for the first after not speaking for two years and that he brought up the lawsuit, stating he thought it was "crazy" and that Combs and Cassie "would just fight like a normal couple."
Mia said that when Combs tried to call her, she threw her phone as far away as she could because it was so triggering.
D-Roc would repeatedly call her or text her over the next couple of months, saying Combs wanted to speak with her. Mia said she believed he was trying to make sure she wasn't a threat.
At one point, D-Roc asked for her address, which she said she declined to give him.
The jury was shown messages Combs sent to Mia last year, which she didn't respond to. In the messages, he said he "just needed to talk."
Defense attorneys question Mia's positivity on social media
Combs' defense attorneys began cross-examining Mia on Friday and pointed out multiple photos and comments she posted on her Instagram in which she praised Combs or seemed thankful for him.
Mia claimed Combs fans followed her on social media, and she didnt want her family to know what she was going through, referring to the alleged abuse.
In one post shown by the defense, Combs was wishing her a happy birthday and said "ps sorry I was acting crazy last night" in the caption. Mia said, "He had threatened my life on the phone the night before and I guess this was his apology."
Mia told the defense that there were times when things were going so good with Combs, she would almost forget the abuse.
The defense asked Mia why she didn't reach out to her friends outside of her job to seek help. She said the job was demanding that she didn't have time and even had to ask permission to attend her grandmother's funeral.
This is a developing story that will continue to be updated.
The mother of Casandra Ventura Fine, known as "Cassie," said her daughter told her that Sean "Diddy" Combs was threatening to release sex tapes of Cassie on Christmas Day in 2011 after he found out she was dating rapper Kid Cudi.
Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, is expected to testify in the trial this week possibly as soon as Wednesday.
The accusation came during Regina Ventura's testimony in Combs's ongoing federal criminal trial on Tuesday.
The 55-year-old music mogul is on trial in New York for charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering. He has pleaded not guilty and is facing a life sentence behind bars.
Most of the first week of Combs' trial centered around Cassie's testimony, in which she accused him of being sexually, physically and psychologically abusive to her over their decade-long relationship. Her allegations included that he controlled every aspect of her life so that she couldn't leave him, that she felt like a sex worker and that when she tried to break it off, he raped her.
Ventura said on Tuesday that Combs was angry about Cassie and Mescudi's relationship and that he told her he needed $20,000 as a reimbursement for what he had spent on Cassie.
Ventura said she was worried for her daughter's safety and that she and her husband took out a home equity loan and wired the money to him. Days later, the money was wired back without an explanation.
Combs' attorneys did not ask Ventura any questions.
Sex toys, platform heels and AR-15 parts found in Combs's closets
Gerard Gannon, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, was the tenth witness called by the prosecution in the trial. He said the search of Combs's Miami Beach home on March 25, 2024 was assigned to his unit because of its ties to a human-trafficking investigation.
Nearly 100 law enforcement agents were part of the search because of the size of the property, Gannon said. The team waited for Combs to leave before executing the search warrant.
Agents used a vehicle to break through the property's front gate around 3 p.m. ET and then searched the home.
Gannon testified that agents found platform high heels, sex toys, baby oil, personal lubricant and lingerie in one of the closets in the primary bedroom of the home. The agents also found parts of AR-15s with their serial numbers scratched off in one of the closets, including two loaded magazines and receivers.
The jury was shown photos of the items found inside the home.
Male escort, "The Punisher," claims he never saw filming or violence
Sharay Hayes, a male escort and exotic dancer who said he was hired by Combs and Cassie in 2012, claimed he never saw any filming of his sexual acts with Cassie and that he never witnessed Combs get violent with her.
Hayes said he would always meet the couple at a hotel in New York City, and he would be contacted by Cassie who used a different name hours beforehand to discuss the plans for the encounters.
During his testimony, he said he did not know the man in the room with him and Cassie during their encounters was Combs and that Combs would give subtle directions to them while watching.
Hayes claimed Combs and Cassie did not appear to be under the influence of drugs during the eight to 12 times he met with the couple to perform sex acts with Cassie.
Former assistant to Sean 'Diddy' Combs testifies about demanding work conditions
David James worked as one of Combs's assistants from 2007 to 2009. He testified that his job included everything from making sure Combs's breakfast was up to his standards to procuring illicit drugs for him and his friends.
He described how he would set up hotel rooms before Combs's arrival. James claimed this would include organizing Combs's clothing, his toiletry bag that contained about 40 products, a medicine bag that contained 25 to 30 bottles of drugs like ecstasy and Percocet and personal items such as lube, baby oil and condoms.
James claimed Combs' security would reimburse him for the items with cash. He also noted that Combs' favorite hotel to stay in in New York City was the Trump International.
The former assistant said it was a demanding job that often included him going weeks without a day off. He testified that one of Combs' other assistants had to be hospitalized for dehydration after working with Combs for 24 hours straight.
He claimed there was a phrase used to describe the work life under Combs: "If you're tired, you'll get fired."
James testified that he resigned from the position after a situation that made him feel unsafe. That incident included him having to hold handguns while Combs and his security allegedly tried to confront his career rival Marion "Suge" Knight Jr. at a diner in Los Angeles.
During his testimony on Monday, James said he didn't have a lot of interactions with Cassie, but he recalled speaking with her in Miami within the first year of working for Combs, in which he alleged Cassie said, "I can't get out" when she was asked about leaving the lifestyle.
James testified that he was with Combs when a business associate asked Combs about Cassie and his late ex-partner and mother to some of his children, Kim Porter. James said Combs described Porter as his "queen" but referred to Cassie as "young" and "moldable."
The federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs entered its second week on Monday with more witness testimony.
Dawn Richard, a singer and former member of the musical group Danity Kane, formed by Combs, was back on the stand after briefly testifying on Friday.
Combs, 55, faces a life sentence for charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering. He has pleaded not guilty.
Richard testified that she saw Combs frequently get violent with his ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura Fine, who goes by "Cassie." Cassie was a key witness who testified during the first week of the trial.
According to CNN, Richard claimed she saw Combs punch, choke and kick Cassie on several occasions.
Cassie and Combs dated for a little over a decade from the early 2000s to 2018. She said the relationship was psychologically and physically abusive, but that she was young and in love and feared leaving him because he allegedly threatened to release videos of her performing sexual acts in what they called "freak offs."
Prosecutors allege Combs used his money, power and fame to orchestrate an empire of exploitation and coerced women into abusive sex parties. The music mogul's lawyers said he may have been violent at times, but maintain that all sexual acts were consensual.
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