NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Hip-hop mogul Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs has been charged in federal court with sex trafficking and racketeering and has pleaded not guilty. The trial has generated salacious headlines and massive coverage. In this episode of 鈥淭he Story Behind the AP Story,鈥� reporters Larry Neumeister and Michael Sisak share their coverage of the case as the trial unfolds and witnesses take the stand.
The episode contains sound and descriptions that some listeners may find graphic or violent. Listener discretion is advised.
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Julie Walker, Host: I鈥檓 Julie Walker. On this episode of 鈥淭he Story Behind the AP Story,鈥� we go inside the Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs case. He's charged in federal court with sex trafficking and racketeering and has pleaded not guilty. The trial has generated salacious headlines and massive coverage.
(SOUND OF AP RADIO REPORTS ABOUT THE TRIAL)
The trial began in May, and the judge has said he expects to wrap up the case by July 4th. We鈥檒l hear from AP reporters who have been in court with Combs as the trial unfolds and witnesses take the stand. To kick us off Larry Neumeister explains what the case is about.
Larry Neumeister, reporter: So, when the feds go after somebody, they look for what kind of charges are federal crimes. And in this case, sex trafficking, bringing people across state lines to do illegal sex acts, or racketeering, which can involve many different things, including that 2016 tape of Cassie being beat up by Sean Combs by the elevator bank in that Los Angeles hotel. That, actually, is a centerpiece of the evidence against Combs in this case. And a lot of charges like domestic violence are all kind of things they could have brought against Sean Combs years ago. Well, there鈥檚 a statute of limitations that would rule out certain charges, and certain charges just 鈥� there is no federal domestic violence charge. That鈥檚 something that is brought more locally or statewide.
WALKER: So the prosecution alleges that Combs used violence to keep people quiet and compliant and further his own interests., and while he was not charged with domestic abuse, prosecutors argue it is wrapped into the overall picture of this case. One reason one of the first things jurors were shown as evidence was the 2016 hallway tape from the LA hotel where Combs is seen dragging and kicking Cassie Ventura. AP reporter Mike Sisak.
Michael Sisak, reporter: The refrain from the defense has been that, if anything, there could have been domestic violence charges brought against Sean Combs back in 2016. Those charges would have been brought in a California court by Los Angeles police. There has not been any real discussion of an investigation in 2016 of any effort to charge Sean Combs with domestic violence at that time. So, in some sense, while it鈥檚 a thread that the defense is pulling, that he鈥檚 actually charged with sex trafficking and racketeering in this federal case, it almost is a bit of apples and oranges in the sense that the violence that the defense is conceding to, prosecutors allege, was part of the mechanism of the racketeering, of the sex trafficking.
WALKER: Besides seeing that video of Cassie jurors were also shown photos of her with bruises she said Combs gave her. We also got some pretty explicit and explosive testimony from the singer. She was called to the witness stand early in the trial, in part, because she was about to give birth, which she ended up doing shortly after her testimony concluded.
SISAK: We鈥檝e heard from Cassie about the freak-offs. We鈥檝e heard from some of the male sex workers that were involved. And then we鈥檙e seeing other pieces of evidence that prosecutors say show the depravity of these events and then also the network of people that Combs relied on to keep them secret. I recall being in the courtroom earlier in the trial when some images were shown from some of the videotapes at issue here with these sex marathons. And there was a binder of some of these images, and Combs was sitting next to his lawyer and waved over, 鈥淗ey, I want to see those,鈥� and he鈥檚 looking through them and he鈥檚 holding 鈥� the press, the public, we were not allowed to see these images, they were graphic images. The defendant, of course, was allowed to see them and he held them in a way that we could not see what he was looking at. And then he passed it back. And then other times he鈥檚 hunched over a laptop computer looking at exhibits that are showing text messages and emails that were exchanged over the years with various people involved in the case.
WALKER: So how is the jury taking all of this all in. We've got eight women and four men, plus the six alternates.
NEUMEISTER: One thing I鈥檝e seen with this jury that I鈥檝e hardly ever seen with a jury is incredible attention to every witness. They turn in their chairs, they鈥檙e pointed toward the witness, they鈥檙e scribbling notes like mad. I鈥檝e never seen so much as a juror yawn, although I did see Kid Cudi 鈥� he was yawning several times.
WALKER: Because cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, the only thing that those not attending the trial can see are sketch artists' depictions of Combs, and we see a very different Diddy.
SISAK: Sean Combs, according to his assistant who testified, was using just for men to hide gray hair. And he had jet black hair up until the time he was arrested and put in jail last year. And then we also learned that hair dye is not allowed in jail. So in court, he has had this gray salt and pepper hair, goatee. He has been allowed to wear for the trial, sweaters, button-down shirts, khakis and the like. It鈥檚 a stark difference in look.
NEUMEISTER: You can鈥檛 have dye, right, Mike? I鈥檒l tell you though, the guy is so involved with his defense, it鈥檚 like off the charts, kind of amazing. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever seen this to this degree before. There was a witness, it was Kid Cudi, where at the end of his testimony, the prosecutors got him to say he believed Sean Combs was lying when he said he didn鈥檛 know anything about his car when he brought it up. Kid Cudi鈥檚 car was exploded in his driveway one day with a Molotov cocktail and absolutely destroyed. And so he had a meeting with Sean Combs some weeks after that and at the very end of the meeting, he said, brought up the car. And Sean Combs said, 鈥淥h, what are you talking about? I don鈥檛 know anything about that.鈥� And after, as soon as that, the prosecutor finished asking the questions, got that response, then two lawyers, one on each side of Combs, looked to him, Combs said no, and only then did the lawyers inform the judge that there would be no more questioning.
SISAK: And then when there are breaks, we see him standing up, stretching, turning around, looking at his supporters in the gallery. His mother has been there. Some of his children have been there. Some of his daughters have left the courtroom during the especially graphic testimony. But at other times, when his children are there, when his supporters are there, he鈥檚 shaping his hands in the shape of a heart. He鈥檚 pointing at them. He鈥檚 saying, 鈥淚 love you.鈥� He鈥檚 whispering. There was a moment when another reporter and I were sitting in the courtroom during a break, and Sean Combs turns around 鈥� there鈥檚 nobody in front of us 鈥� and he asks us how we鈥檙e doing. We say hi back to him because you鈥檙e in such close proximity. We鈥檙e only 10 feet apart or so.
WALKER: In the end it's all going to come down to the jury deciding whether the prosecution has proved their case or whether Combs' defense team has been able to sow doubt in their minds.
NEUMEISTER: One thing is very unusual on this trial is there are six prosecutors. That is almost unprecedented. I鈥檝e seen terrorism trials that only had four prosecutors. I think Combs has like eight lawyers and one defense lawyer who consults with the defense team but isn鈥檛 part of the in-court trial team.
WALKER: Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His attempts to get out on bail have been rejected. If convicted on all charges, the 55-year-old faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. The sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. Racketeering also carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, while transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
This has been 鈥淭he Story Behind the AP Story.鈥� For more on AP鈥檚 coverage of the Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs trial, visit .
Julie Walker, The Associated Press
