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00:30Sean Diddy Combs, a music titan, a cultural icon, a criminal defender.
00:42Music mogul Sean Diddy Combs goes on trial today.
00:45Indicted with multiple federal crimes, the worldwide mogul is the sole person charged in this case and maintains his innocence.
00:52Every week, we take you inside the trial using actors and court transcripts to chronicle every crucial moment.
00:59We promise to tell the truth.
01:01Word for word.
01:02Is the government prepared to proceed?
01:03Diddy on trial as it happened.
01:11Hello and welcome to Diddy on trial as it happened.
01:15Thank you so much for joining us.
01:16I'm your host, Sunny Hostin.
01:18Objection is sustained.
01:19Since the trial began, the prosecution has focused on the sex life of the accused in an effort to prove their charges of racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking.
01:29But this week, prosecutors took the jury deep inside Combs' secret world as witnessed by his personal assistants.
01:37Combs is infamous for his volatility with his subordinates, as captured in this videotape from Combs' documentary, Can't Stop, Won't Stop.
01:45The prosecution called several of Combs' former assistants to testify to his need for control.
02:03David James talked about his first chilling encounter with Combs' team.
02:10Mr. James, what, if anything, did Vashta say about working for Mr. Combs during that first interview?
02:15I remember sitting at her desk and we were sitting at her desk and there was a picture of Mr. Combs on the wall.
02:23Sorry.
02:23You can take your time, Mr. James.
02:26There's a box of Kleenex next to you if you need it.
02:32She pointed at the wall and she said, this is Mr. Combs' kingdom.
02:37We're all here to serve in it.
02:39You're a hard worker.
02:40And you can handle it?
02:42Yeah.
02:42Okay.
02:43And you enjoyed it, right?
02:45I did, at times.
02:46Yeah.
02:46And the long days didn't adversely affect you?
02:48Well, there was a saying that the security detail would always tell us and that is, do you know, rhymes with tired?
02:54And the answer is fired.
02:57One of his former personal assistants testified under a pseudonym, Mia, to protect her identity.
03:03As she entered the courtroom, she did not look at Combs.
03:06Throughout her testimony, Mia kept her head down, barely making eye contact with the prosecutor as she described her days with Combs.
03:14It was chaotic.
03:17It was, could be toxic.
03:20It could be exciting.
03:22The highs were really high and the lows were really, really low.
03:25What determined what the environment was like on a particular day?
03:29Huff's mood.
03:31How often did Mr. Combs' mood shift?
03:33All the time.
03:35Every single day is different.
03:36P.D. can ask you to do 17,000 things at one time that range from cracking his knuckles to writing his next movie to doing his taxes.
03:47He can also just have you standing next to him for 22 hours and not ask you one thing.
03:52Personal assistant David James told the jury that he was driven to quit after an incident involving Mr. Combs' security guard, D. Rock, and record executive, Suge Knight.
04:02What happened when you got to Mel's Diner?
04:04So, we pulled into the parking lot and D. Rock looks over and he said, that's motherfucking Suge Knight.
04:10Can you explain to the jury who Suge Knight is?
04:13Mr. Knight was the chairman of Death Row Records.
04:15With respect to Mr. Combs, how would you describe that relationship?
04:19They were competitors.
04:22What was D. Rock's reaction after he saw Suge Knight handling a gun?
04:26He said, we got to fucking go.
04:28Did you go?
04:29I did, yes.
04:30Where did you go?
04:31We drove back to Mr. Combs' house in Hollywood Hills.
04:33Who was there when you got back to Mr. Combs' house?
04:36Mr. Combs and Cassie were outside.
04:38What happened next?
04:40So, I get out of the car and I walk towards the house and Mr. Combs instructed me to get in the car.
04:46At this time, there was a black escalade that was outside the house.
04:49He instructed me to drive the car.
04:50Who got into this black escalade?
04:52Me.
04:53D. Rock was sitting shotgun and Mr. Combs was in the backseat, middle backseat.
04:57What, if anything, did Mr. Combs have with him in the backseat?
05:02So, when I get in the car, I look back, Mr. Combs had three handguns on his lap.
05:09Mr. James, what was your reaction to this event?
05:13I was really shook up by it.
05:16You know, this was the first time, being Mr. Combs' assistant, that I realized that my life was in danger.
05:22Have you ever remotely been in a situation like this before in your life?
05:26No.
05:26Are you saying, I don't want to go with three guns to approach a night and four escalades of people at Mel's Diner?
05:32Do you say anything like that?
05:33We didn't really have a conversation about it.
05:36We were executing.
05:37And you are now in a black escalade with two other men and three guns going to confront somebody.
05:43That's what you're telling us, right?
05:44Yes.
05:45It was not ideal.
05:46It was not ideal.
05:48And you didn't say a thing?
05:49I didn't, honestly.
05:51Respectfully, sir, you have someone with three guns that, in close proximity,
05:54I didn't think I had the option to say something.
05:58Joining me today, writer and cultural critic Ture and legal analyst Jamie Floyd.
06:03So, Ture, we've heard from many of Sean Combs' personal assistants.
06:07They saw terrible things.
06:09They saw guns.
06:10They saw beatings.
06:11They did nothing.
06:12They reported nothing.
06:13They said nothing.
06:15What do you do with that kind of behavior?
06:19Is that a criminal enterprise?
06:20I think that is the whole point of the personal assistant thesis from the prosecution.
06:25All these people helped set these things up and helped clean up when there were problems.
06:30And the whole notion of they didn't say anything relates to how much power he had in their world
06:35and how they couldn't really function in the entertainment business without some connection to him.
06:39So, even if he hurts them, disrespects them, whatever, they've got to find some way to get through it
06:44because every path to entertainment success, for them, goes through him.
06:49But then, Jamie, doesn't that mean that they did it on their own, of their own volition,
06:53that he didn't force them to participate?
06:56Isn't that good for the defense?
06:57It can be.
06:58I mean, what the prosecution is trying to do, I agree with Therese, they're saying this Combs King had control.
07:07He coerced these people.
07:09It was a conspiracy.
07:11That all goes to racketeering.
07:13But the defense is going to say, now, wait a minute.
07:15These are fully grown adults.
07:18They wanted something, their career, their salaries, the many gifts he lavished upon them.
07:27And in exchange for all of that, they made adult decisions.
07:30So, there was no coercion, which is key to this case.
07:35But, Jamie, what about the guns?
07:36Because we're hearing testimony from one of the assistants that he's seated in the car,
07:41right behind him, Sean Combs, three guns.
07:45Isn't that coercion?
07:47Well, not if you are not subject to the guns that are in that back seat.
07:52How could you not be subject to the...
07:54I mean, because when the defense says, why didn't you leave, why didn't you say no to the person with three guns?
08:00And he says, because he had three guns, you are implicitly threatened by that person, right?
08:04Well, that's a good point, Ray, because David James said he went along with everything,
08:08and he said the situation was not ideal, but he still didn't say anything.
08:13Right.
08:13I mean, I think one of the big problems the prosecution has, racketeering is really hard to prove.
08:18Right.
08:18One of the big problems they have is the lack of contemporaneous reporting of these events.
08:24Did you call the police?
08:25No.
08:26Did you tell your mother, your sister, your brother, anyone about what was going on at that time?
08:32Why are we hearing about it now?
08:34And that's difficult, I think, for the prosecution to drive home to all of the jurors,
08:40because one juror, one juror is a hung jury, and that's a win for Sean Combs.
08:45Prosecutors showed jurors evidence found during a raid of the Combs, Florida, estate.
08:52AR-15s, seven-inch platform heels, cases of baby oil,
08:57and a trove of drugs they say were used to make women compliant during freak-offs.
09:01On his bathroom mirror, handwritten messages like,
09:05love you, and you a legend.
09:07But to win their case, prosecutors must also prove that Combs had accomplices
09:12to support his criminal enterprises.
09:13George Kaplan, another former assistant,
09:17agreed to testify only after a guarantee of immunity.
09:20He was in charge of cleaning up hotel rooms after the freak-offs.
09:25So you had some measure of distrust for the hotel staff that they might release something?
09:30A large measure.
09:31A large measure of distrust for the hotel staff?
09:34Mm-hmm.
09:35And why did you have this large measure of distrust for the hotel staff?
09:38Because money's involved.
09:40People want a payday.
09:41They steal security footage, or if there's a security guard who leaks footage,
09:45or any number of permutations, that could be like,
09:48that would have been severely compromised, and it would have been a terrible look on me.
09:52And it's also not what I wanted.
09:53I didn't want his reputation to be compromised.
09:57But prosecutors allege Combs' staff was engaged in more than just hotel cleanup.
10:01They called to the stand Carrie Morgan, Cassie Ventura's former best friend.
10:06Morgan testified to witnessing Mr. Combs assault Ms. Ventura.
10:10I did.
10:10After the incident, she alleges they were both chased by Combs' bodyguard, Ruben.
10:16Um, I saw him push her.
10:19Um, I'm pretty sure he hit her.
10:21They were on the other side of a bed, so I'm not sure what was, if he kicked her or something,
10:27but it was, he pushed her.
10:29And this was Mr. Combs to Cassie?
10:31Yeah.
10:31Mm-hmm.
10:32What did you see Cassie do in response?
10:34Nothing.
10:35What did you say when you saw this?
10:37I don't remember exactly what I said, but I was upset.
10:40Did you say anything to Ruben?
10:42Yes.
10:42And what did you say?
10:44Do something.
10:45And how did Ruben respond?
10:48Like, like that he wasn't going to do anything.
10:50What happened after you saw this?
10:53Um, we left the house, and it's a narrow road, and they were coming out to follow us,
10:58so we were, like, hiding in the, in people's, like, front steps.
11:04And who is we?
11:05Me and Cassie.
11:06What tone of voice were you speaking at all when you were hiding?
11:11Um, yeah, uh, we were whispering.
11:13You and Cassie were?
11:15Yeah.
11:16Why were you whispering?
11:18We could hear Sean and Ruben driving back, like, looking for us.
11:23George Kaplan testified to witnessing another assault that occurred on Combs' jet.
11:28How did you first notice that something was happening?
11:31I heard a glass break.
11:32What did you do when you heard that glass shatter?
11:34I looked over my right shoulder.
11:36And what did you see in the back of the plane when you looked over your right shoulder?
11:40I saw Mr. Combs standing over Cassie.
11:42Can you describe for us how Cassie's body was positioned?
11:45Yeah.
11:46She was on her back, and her legs were extended up in a way that would indicate that she was trying to create space between the two of them.
11:54Was she lying on her back on the floor?
11:57Yes.
11:57And what was Mr. Combs doing?
11:59He was standing above her, over her.
12:01After you looked back and saw Mr. Combs standing over Cassie with a glass in his hand, what did you do?
12:08Nothing.
12:08Did you look away?
12:10Yes.
12:10After you looked away, what did you hear?
12:13Further glass crashing and chaos.
12:15At what point in all of this did Cassie say, isn't anybody seeing this?
12:20Maybe a second or two after I turned my head back forward.
12:23Did anyone respond to her?
12:25No.
12:25You said you did nothing.
12:28What did security do?
12:30Nothing.
12:30Why didn't you intervene, Mr. Kaplan?
12:32I was 23 years old. All I wanted to do was have a great job in the entertainment industry. I could not believe my good fortune to be working for such an icon. And the last way that I thought I would be successful in that career would be to compromise his well-being in any way.
12:48Did you ever call the police to report what you saw?
12:52No.
12:53Why not?
12:54Apropos of what I just said, it would not have been keeping with what I was trying to accomplish professionally.
12:59Did you see Cassie with any physical injuries?
13:02Not that I remember.
13:03You said that it looks like Rock's glasses were being thrown. You heard them breaking?
13:08Yeah. And he was holding one.
13:10And that's... Cassie was saying, isn't anyone seeing this or something along those lines?
13:16Yeah.
13:16And then you heard glass breaking.
13:18Okay. And I think, and tell me if this is right, you would have seen Cassie later that evening, right, because you brought her to the club premiere?
13:26Yes.
13:27Why did this incident shake you tremendously if you did not see Cassie suffer any injuries?
13:33Because in my heart of hearts, I told myself I knew it was happening. And I also definitely felt an element of guilt to not be stopping it.
13:39Why did you think you needed to stop it if she wasn't having visible injuries?
13:44Because people could be injured all the time without the injuries being visible.
13:48Kaplan left Combs after 15 months on the job.
13:53So, Jamie, let's talk about the racketeering charge, because racketeering, we often think about mafia cases.
14:01Right.
14:01We think about lieutenants and capos and a really organized, fundamentally organized criminal enterprise.
14:09Do you see parallels between the mafia and bad boy records and Sean Combs' kingdom?
14:15Right.
14:16The prosecution wants you to think of Sean Diddy Combs as the racketeer.
14:20Mm-hmm.
14:20And all these other people as the corrupt organization.
14:24And they went a long way with the assistants toward proving that.
14:28Because they set it up with Cassie, and then all the assistants come in and start to repeat having seen and or participated in the corrupt practice.
14:40How did they participate?
14:42They purchased the drugs.
14:44They set up the hotel rooms.
14:46They swept the hotel rooms clean after the freak-offs.
14:51They watched the beatings of Cassie, but didn't call the authorities.
14:56Covering up the criminal conspiracy is part of the RICO charge.
15:01And I think most people don't understand, to prove a conspiracy, you only need two or more people.
15:07You only need two.
15:08You need two people.
15:09You need two crimes only.
15:11Predicate crimes committed within a ten-year span.
15:14So I think they're getting there, but it's hard for a jury to get their heads around RICO.
15:19We're seeing Ruben, the bodyguard, chasing Cassie.
15:23Now we're also hearing that Kaplan doesn't intervene, doesn't say anything, actually just turns back around,
15:30ignores the entire thing.
15:32Does that, in your view, sort of reinforce this notion that this is an organized crime outfit?
15:39I think it's a mistake to think of the bodyguards as bodyguards.
15:43They're really soldiers.
15:44They are constantly in an offensive position.
15:47We never hear of them in a defensive position protecting him.
15:49It's constantly, go get Cassie, go get Cassie.
15:52So if she tries to leave, they bring her...
15:55So that is the business being used to coerce and control her.
16:00The third week of testimony was dominated by the jaw-dropping testimony of Capricorn Clark,
16:06one of Mr. Combs' closest personal assistants.
16:10Ms. Clark testified to a conversation she had with Mr. Combs about Combs' expectations from the women in his orbit.
16:17What did Mr. Combs discuss with you at that time?
16:20He was discussing with us why we didn't have a man like him.
16:24What did he do?
16:25He said, let me show you something.
16:27What did he do next?
16:28He called Cassie over and he asked her to sit down, stand up, turn around, turn the other way, walk over there, grab that, hand me that, walk back, turn around, go back in the other room.
16:41How did Cassie respond, or Ms. Ventura?
16:43She did it.
16:44She followed each of his instructions?
16:46Yes.
16:47After Ms. Ventura left the room, what, if anything, did Mr. Combs say?
16:50He said, did you see that?
16:53He said, you bitches won't do that.
16:55That's why you don't have a man.
16:57To which we said, you motherfucking right.
17:02Stylist Deontay Nash testified that Combs frequently denigrated Ventura in public.
17:08I do.
17:09Please be seated.
17:10What, if any, names did you hear Mr. Combs call Ms. Ventura in front of you?
17:14Um, baby girl, CC, Cass, bitch, slut, hoe.
17:23About how many times do you remember hearing Mr. Combs call her a bitch?
17:27Um, quite a bit.
17:30That was his fave.
17:31In what context did you hear Mr. Combs call Cassie a bitch?
17:36Bitch, stop playing with me.
17:38Bitch, you better bring your ass to this house.
17:40I mean, I was there for quite some time.
17:44And about how often did you hear Mr. Combs refer to Cassie as a hoe or a slut?
17:50Quite a few.
17:52In what context?
17:53Um, he told her that she was just an outright hoe.
17:57Um, he told her she was nothing but a slut anyway.
18:01During the period between 2009 and 2018,
18:05what, if any, threats did you personally hear Mr. Combs make to Ms. Ventura in front of you?
18:11That he would beat her ass.
18:13Um, that he wanted to put her music out.
18:17Um, that he would get her parents fired from their jobs.
18:21And he would send her sex tapes to their jobs.
18:24So, Tere, Capricorn Clark.
18:26She testifies that Diddy calls Cassie into the room in front of her and another woman
18:32and says, sit down, stand up, turn around, and go back.
18:37And she does it like a robot.
18:39He has complete control over her.
18:41And then he turns to them and says, that's why you bitches don't have men.
18:46What is your takeaway from that in terms of the control that he has?
18:50He's clearly controlling her like a robot, like a doll, like I have complete dominion over you.
18:58Which she also talked about in the-
18:59Like a puppet?
19:00Yes.
19:01In the freak-offs that he was micromanaging everything that she would do.
19:04That horrific things would happen to her without even asking, do you want this to happen?
19:08So, the notion that she has any modicum of control in this relationship is insane.
19:13He is controlling her bank.
19:14He is controlling her actions.
19:16He is controlling where she goes.
19:18How she looks.
19:19And it's critical for the prosecution to prove this because coercion is an element they've got to prove.
19:26I want to switch topics now.
19:29Approximately how many times in person have you witnessed Mr. Combs be violent with Ms. Ventura?
19:35Quite a few.
19:36Two, but three that really stand out.
19:40So, do some of those stand out more in your mind than others?
19:43Yes.
19:44I want to talk about some of those.
19:46Who did Mr. Combs grab by the hair?
19:48Cassie.
19:49And after Mr. Combs grabbed Cassie by the hair, what did he do next?
19:54He began to hit her.
19:56Could you tell whether it was with an open or closed fist?
20:01Not really, no.
20:02Could you tell how hard he was hitting her?
20:05Objection.
20:06Overruled.
20:07Could you tell how hard he was hitting her?
20:11Pretty hard.
20:12What was Mr. Combs saying as he pulled Cassie by the hair off the couch and hit her?
20:18I just remember y'all gonna stop fucking with me.
20:21What was Mr. Combs' tone and demeanor?
20:23He was in a rage.
20:28Nash was with Mia on the night of yet another brutal attack on Ventura.
20:32When Combs threw Cassie to the ground, both Nash and Mia tried to stop him.
20:38What did Mr. Combs do when you jumped on his back?
20:40He threw me, like, against the wall, like, so quick and so easily.
20:45Like, I realized we were in real danger.
20:48How fast was this all happening?
20:50It was so fast, but it felt like I was in slow motion, but it was really fast.
20:55What did Mr. Combs do after he threw you against the wall?
20:58He immediately, like, almost like slow motion, like I was sliding down the wall of some sort.
21:06The bedroom was to my left, and he immediately ran in, and I saw him grab Cass, and I, like, couldn't get there fast enough.
21:15Underneath her bed was, like, this wood, like a bed platform, and the corner was, like, the sharpest, strongest corner I've ever seen.
21:24And I, I just saw him, like, pick her up, and I thought, he's actually going to kill her.
21:31And he, like, slammed her head into the corner, like, of the bed.
21:37What injuries did Cassie have as a result of Mr. Combs slamming her head into the bed?
21:43She just started, like, gushing blood, and she had ended up with, like, a pretty big, like, a scar on her, like, forehead.
21:50How much blood did you see coming from Cassie's head?
21:53A lot.
21:55And did Mr. Combs stop hitting Cassie immediately after her head hit the bed?
21:59No.
22:00For about how much longer did he continue to hit her as she was bleeding from the head?
22:04A couple of seconds.
22:06As you all were leaving the bedroom, what, if anything, did Mr. Combs say to you, Mia and Cassie?
22:12Look what y'all made me do.
22:14Now, when you got outside, isn't it fair to say that security was trying to convince Mr. Combs to stop bothering you and Cassie?
22:21Yes.
22:21And when we say that, we're saying that Mr. Combs' security, at that point, his employees, was telling him to basically leave you guys alone, correct?
22:30Yes.
22:31They were not trying to participate in doing anything to you, correct?
22:35Correct.
22:36They were trying to stop him from doing something to you, correct?
22:39Correct.
22:40And they were telling him that he should leave you alone, correct?
22:44Yes.
22:45And as employees of Bad Boy, they were doing something counter to what the head of Bad Boy wanted, correct?
22:52Correct.
22:52So there's testimony about this incident where you have Mia, you have Nash in a room with Combs and Ventura.
23:00He slams her head against a bed frame.
23:02She's bleeding profusely.
23:04Yet he turns to them, to Mia and Nash, and says, look at what you made me do.
23:09Mm-hmm.
23:09This is what I have seen in domestic violence cases time and again.
23:14Look at what you made me do.
23:17Right.
23:17That is a common refrain in domestic violence cases.
23:21Look at what you made me do.
23:23Even when they start to come out of their fugue state, it's not about them.
23:26They don't take responsibility.
23:28It's about you, the victim, or you, the bystander.
23:31It's not about me.
23:31Yetere, they didn't report it.
23:34They didn't call anyone.
23:35They didn't say anything.
23:37They didn't do that because he is too powerful in their lives, and they believe he is more powerful than the police, right?
23:45He would have told them, he's telling everybody around, I am more powerful than the police.
23:49So if you go to the police, nothing will happen, and I will be able to do something to you.
23:56Now, Mr. Nash, stepping back, did you report any of the violence you've described today to the police?
24:00Did you file a report?
24:02No.
24:02To the police?
24:04No.
24:04Why not?
24:06Out of fear.
24:07What were you afraid of?
24:11Of retaliation from Puff.
24:16Did you ever call the police after you saw incidents of violence between Mr. Combs and Cassie?
24:21No.
24:22Why not?
24:23For multiple reasons.
24:24I believe that Puff's authority was above the police.
24:28This was also a time period.
24:29This is years and years before social media, Me Too, or any sort of example where someone had stood up successfully to someone in power such as him.
24:37Also, like, I was taught to believe that this was, fell under the confidentiality or loyalty of, like, Puff's business.
24:44What did that confidentiality mean to you?
24:47That was the most, that was the most important thing.
24:51And Puff had told me that I was supposed to protect him from people that, because there were so many people trying to blackmail him.
24:56So I came to believe that reporting anything was blackmail.
25:02Did you ever go to the police about Mr. Combs' violence towards Cassie?
25:06No.
25:06Combs and Ventura's relationship hit a boiling point when Ventura first started dating Kid Cuddy.
25:17At the time, Ventura was still seeing Combs.
25:20When Combs discovered the relationship, Capricorn testified that he confronted her.
25:26Did Mr. Combs enter your apartment holding a gun?
25:28Yes.
25:29And when did Mr. Combs tell you once he was inside of your apartment?
25:33He said, why didn't you tell me?
25:35How did you respond?
25:36I said, I don't know what you're talking about.
25:38What did he say next?
25:40He said, who is Scott?
25:42I said, I don't know any Scott.
25:44What did he say?
25:45What did Mr. Combs say after that?
25:46He said, Kid Cuddy.
25:48I said, oh, Cassie's friend.
25:50What, if anything, did Mr. Combs state about Kid Cuddy, Mr. and Ms. Cuddy?
25:54He just said, get dressed.
25:57We're going to go kill this d***.
26:00How did Mr. Combs respond when you said you did not want to go?
26:03He says, I don't give a f*** what you want to do.
26:06Go get dressed.
26:08What, if any, concerns did you have for your safety?
26:11I had never seen anything like this before.
26:15I had never...
26:16He had never come to my house in the entire time I'd known him.
26:20I've never seen him with a weapon.
26:22I've never seen him making me do something like this.
26:25Did you make any attempts to escape your apartment?
26:29I did not.
26:30Why not?
26:31The way he was acting, I just felt like anything could happen.
26:38Okay.
26:39And you're saying that he had a gun in his hand?
26:41Yes.
26:42All right.
26:43And you said you've never seen him with a gun in his hand, correct?
26:46Prior to that day?
26:48No, sir.
26:48And what was he doing with the gun in his hand?
26:51Holding it.
26:52Was he pointing at you?
26:53No.
26:54Do you remember telling the government that he was pointing it at you?
26:57I never told the government he was pointing it at me.
27:01No.
27:02Can we go back to 3509-001, page 4?
27:07So, here's what I would like you to do.
27:10Read from...
27:11Read the third and fourth lines, and then look at me when you're done.
27:15Do you remember telling the government that Mr. Combs was pointing the gun at you?
27:22It says, or waved around in that text you let me read.
27:30Clark alleges Combs forced her into his car with his bodyguard, Reuben, and drove to Kid
27:35Cudi's house.
27:36What, if anything, did you do while Mr. Combs and Reuben were on the property out of the car?
27:41I called Cassie.
27:42What phone number did you call her on?
27:44On the burner phone.
27:45And when did you tell Cassie when you called her?
27:47Cassie?
27:48What the fuck?
27:49And I asked her where she was at.
27:52What, if anything, else did you tell her?
27:54I told her that Puff came, got me with a gun, and brought me to Cudi's house to kill him.
28:00Did Mr. Combs return from the house to the vehicle after that call?
28:05He did.
28:06And what, if anything, did he do when he returned to the car?
28:08He said, who are you talking to?
28:11What did he do next?
28:12He asked to see my phone.
28:14Did you give him your phone?
28:15I did.
28:17What happened next?
28:18He called back the last number I was speaking to.
28:21Was that Ms. Ventura's burner number?
28:24It was.
28:25And what did he say when he called back that number?
28:28Bitch, what the fuck is this number?
28:30That's when Kid Cudi got home, and Combs, Reuben, and Clark set off chasing him in their car.
28:38Cudi got away.
28:39What, if any, instructions did Mr. Combs give you at that time?
28:43Told me, once you get Cassie, you guys need to go talk with Cudi and convince him to not tell the police that it was me.
28:51Did he tell you anything else?
28:52He says, if you guys don't convince him of that, I'll kill all you motherfuckers.
28:58Now, we are hearing a lot of testimony where Combs is threatening everyone.
29:04He's saying, I'm going to kill you, Kid Cudi.
29:07I can kill you, my assistants.
29:09I can kill you, my bodyguards.
29:11What is the import of that kind of testimony?
29:15They're ratcheting this up.
29:17I mean, it starts to look more and more like a mob operation.
29:20And he's the mob boss.
29:22And he thinks he can do these things with impunity.
29:25Make these threats.
29:26Making threats can be a crime.
29:28Kidnapping people can be and is a crime.
29:31When you say kidnapping, what do you mean by that?
29:32Well, you can't threaten someone, make them go with you somewhere, or hold them in a place for some length of time at gunpoint or with other coercion without a kidnapping charge coming at you.
29:44He says to Capricorn, you cannot leave until Cassie returns to my side.
29:49And that's kidnapping to you.
29:50Does that sound like kidnapping to you, Tony?
29:51That sounds like kidnapping to me.
29:52I mean.
29:52And they have got to prove these predicate offenses to the RICO to show that there was an ongoing organizational scheme to support his corrupt enterprise.
30:05But this suggests Cassie cannot escape because even when she gets into another relationship, he comes and destroys the relationship and brings her back.
30:13And at one point, Cassie says, it's either both of us getting hurt, me and Cuddy, or just me.
30:18So they believed him.
30:19They believed his threats.
30:20Yes.
30:21Oh, yeah.
30:21I mean, not only, I mean, everybody around him has heard that he thinks that he can kill people and get away with it.
30:28So they would all be afraid that he actually can effectuate that.
30:32And then he has relationships within the police that would go beyond anything that you could do.
30:36Whether it was true or not, they seem to have believed it.
30:38They believed it.
30:39In my view, Capricorn Clark has been the most powerful witness thus far.
30:44Why is that?
30:44Well, first of all, she is clearly devastated by what has happened.
30:50And then her testimony about what happens that night with the kid, Cuddy, is just insane.
30:57I mean, it just goes off the rails.
30:59Like, what is going on here?
31:01I mean, that story is insane.
31:02I've been around the music business for 30 years.
31:04I've never heard anything like that.
31:06Right, right, right.
31:06CEO chasing an artist.
31:08Because it's more than a threat.
31:09He's acting.
31:10Oh, he's acting with a gun, chasing you with a soldier.
31:14I mean, like, they went into his home with, Capricorn testifies, with the intent of killing him.
31:21After the car chase, Clark then alleged that Combs was so enraged that he began kicking Cassie.
31:28What, if anything, did Mr. Combs tell you while he was kicking Ms. Ventura?
31:32He said if I jump in, he was going to fuck me up, too.
31:37Did you intervene?
31:39I did not.
31:40Why not?
31:41I had never seen him do that, and I was in shock.
31:45And I was, my heart, I was, my heart was breaking for seeing her get hit like that.
31:52I'm going to object, Your Honor.
31:53Objection is sustained.
31:55The jury should disregard the last sentence of the witness's answer.
31:58Ms. Steiner, let's move on.
31:59Who, if anyone, did you call when you left the property?
32:04Regina Ventura.
32:05Who is Ms. Ventura?
32:07Cassie's mom.
32:08And what, if anything, did you inform Ms. Ventura?
32:11I told her mom, I say he's beating the shit out of your daughter.
32:15I'm in over my head.
32:18Please help her.
32:19I can't call the police, but you can.
32:22Please help her.
32:24She said, I'll handle it.
32:26And we hung up.
32:27Capricorn Clark's phone call to Ventura's mother was the first time she'd heard the
32:36truth of her daughter's relationship with Copes.
32:39When prosecutors called Regina Ventura to the stand, she testified that her daughter was
32:44being threatened and extorted by Mr. Copes.
32:51Could you please read the communication that Cassandra sent to you?
32:54The threats that have been made towards me by Sean Puffy Combs are that he is going to
33:00release two explicit sex tapes of me.
33:04One on Christmas Day, maybe before or right after, and another one sometime soon after.
33:11He has also said that he will be having someone hurt me and Scott Miscutti physically.
33:19He made a point that it wouldn't be by his hands.
33:21He actually said he'd be out of the country when it happened.
33:26A couple follow-up questions for you, Ms. Ventura.
33:30Without telling me anything else that was happening around this same time in December of 2011,
33:35how did you react when you received this email?
33:38I was physically sick.
33:41I did not understand a lot of it.
33:43The sex tapes threw me.
33:45I did not know the other person in it, but I knew that he was going to try to hurt my daughter.
33:51And when you say you knew he was trying to hurt your daughter, who is the he that you're talking about?
33:58Sean Combs.
33:59And what else, if anything, happened related to Sean Combs and Cassandra's relationship at or around the same time you received this email?
34:06It was understood that he was going to need $20,000 to recoup money that he had spent on her
34:14because he was angry that she had a relationship with Scott Miscutti.
34:19How did you obtain $20,000 at the end of December 2011?
34:24We had taken a home equity loan and decided to, that's the only way we could get the money.
34:29So we took it out of there and transferred it to our checking.
34:33What else, if anything, happened a few days after you sent the $20,000 to the account,
34:40to the account that was indicated in the email?
34:43Well, the money came back.
34:46Approximately how many days later did the money come back?
34:49About four, four to five days.
34:52Ms. Ventura, just to be clear, why did you go to the bank and take out a $20,000 loan?
35:00I was scared for my daughter's safety.
35:02What did you need the $20,000 for?
35:05To pay Sean Combs.
35:07Why did you need to pay Sean Combs $20,000?
35:11Because he demanded it.
35:14$20,000.
35:15He don't need, he does not need $20,000.
35:17The two things that jump out at me is, so this is how far he will go to blackmail her.
35:22Because we know that he will tell her, I will release the tapes.
35:25Now he's telling her, I will release the tapes to affect your parents' employment.
35:29And this is a power play with the parents, because he doesn't need that money,
35:33and he wants her to know that they know that he's in control of their daughter's life.
35:40And once they show that they know, he sends the money back.
35:44But listen, we keep asking, why didn't they call the police?
35:46Obviously, our real point is, why is he doing all these horrific criminal things to all these people?
35:52Well, but the reason we ask that question is because the jury will ask the question,
35:56because the defense will say, well, if they didn't call the police, did this really happen this way?
36:00How can we know? There's no record.
36:01So let's wrap up. Let me ask you, Tere, how's the prosecution doing?
36:05I think the prosecution is making a clear case that he is using his organization
36:11to facilitate an ongoing crime, the sex, the freak-offs.
36:17Jamie, you're a defense attorney.
36:18I think the prosecution has to build its case brick by brick, and they're laying that foundation.
36:24All the defense has to do is show the jury that there are missing layers in the foundation.
36:31They just have to raise doubt.
36:33Like what?
36:33You do have a problem as a defender, right?
36:36You have perhaps the worst person ever, right?
36:39From day one of the case, we have to tell you, he beats up multiple women and takes drugs and, and, and all that.
36:45I mean, like...
36:46But the defense did the right thing by putting that out at the very beginning, opening statement.
36:51They took the sting out of that.
36:52And they're going to ask the judge, as we know, for an instruction to the jury.
36:56I think he'll give it that this man, Sean Combs, is not on trial for his character.
37:03He is not on trial for being a bad person.
37:06But jurors will hear that.
37:07Or even for being a...
37:07I know.
37:08Right?
37:08Believe me, I know.
37:10I might have taken a deal.
37:11But there's no deal to be had here because he's facing life in prison.
37:14But he is not on trial for being a monster.
37:17And that will be a singular instruction for the jury.
37:22And prosecutors can't lean on his character to make this case.
37:26They have to prove every single element.
37:28On the next episode of Diddy on Trial as it happened,
37:31emotional testimony from Mia reveals a dark secret and a charge that Combs denies.
37:39Mia, when Mr. Combs was sexually assaulting you, did you tell anyone about it?
37:45No.
37:46Why not?
37:47I was going to die with this.
37:50I didn't want anyone to know.
37:52Ever.
37:52I didn't want anyone to know.
37:53I didn't want anyone to know.
37:54I didn't want anyone to know.
37:55I didn't want anyone to know.
37:56I didn't want anyone to know.
37:57I didn't want anyone to know.
37:58I didn't want anyone to know.
37:59I didn't want anyone to know.
38:00I didn't want anyone to know.
38:01I didn't want anyone to know.
38:02I didn't want anyone to know.
38:03I didn't want anyone to know.
38:04I didn't want anyone to know.
38:05I didn't want anyone to know.
38:06I didn't want anyone to know.
38:07I didn't want anyone to know.
38:08I didn't want anyone to know.
38:09I didn't want anyone to know.
38:10I didn't want anyone to know.
38:11I didn't want anyone to know.
38:12I didn't want anyone to know.
38:13I didn't want anyone to know.
38:14Amen.
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