9 takeaways from Day 1 of testimony in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

Coercion or consent? That is the central question posed to a federal jury Monday on the first day of testimony in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ racketeering and sex trafficking trial in New York City. The criminal trial represents a dramatic fall from grace for Combs, 55, who founded the record label Bad Boy in 1993 and launched an illustrious musical career under the stage names Puff Daddy and Diddy. He has earned three Grammy wins and 14 nominations, and he successfully expanded from rapper into cultural icon, with forays into fashion, alcohol sales, reality TV and acting. He faced a series of civil lawsuits alleging serious wrongdoing prior to his September arrest on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, and has been behind bars since. Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts, including one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to life in prison. Combs’ trial will not be televised, per the rules of federal court. CNN will have reporting from journalists inside and outside the court. Here are the key takeaways from the first day of Combs’ criminal trial, including opening statements and testimony from the first two witnesses. Prosecution highlights two main accusers The prosecution’s case will mostly focus on two accusers: Cassie Ventura and a woman identified as “Jane,” according to Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson. Combs coerced the two women into “Freak Offs” that would last days and took place across the country, Johnson said. Combs’ staff organized the travel and his businesses paid the expenses in what prosecutors described as a criminal enterprise. Ventura first met Combs in 2006 when she was a 19-year-old model and aspiring singer with a hit song. He was 17 years older than her. They began dating within a year of him signing her to his label Bad Boy, and they dated off and on until 2018, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said he repeatedly physically abused her. In 2009, he threw her to the floor in an SUV and “stomped repeatedly on her face,” Johnson said. In another instance, when Combs learned Ventura was seeing another man, he beat her, “brutally kicking her in the back and flinging her around like a rag doll,” Johnson said. He beat her for small slights, such as when she didn’t answer the phone or when she took too long in the bathroom, Johnson said. Further, Johnson described one incident in which Combs allegedly made a male sex worker urinate in her mouth, making her feel like she was choking. “If Cassie didn’t do what the defendant wanted, the consequences were severe,” she said. Combs used his power and control over her to “do his bidding in those dark hotel rooms,” prosecutors said. The other main accuser, known as Jane, began dating Combs in 2020, prosecutors said. He promised that if they did “Freak Offs,” they would spend quality time together, but it was a lie, Johnson said. Instead, he allegedly forced her to take drugs and stay awake for days at a time. Less than a year ago, Combs and Jane had a physical fight at her home. “She tried to run out the front door but he grabbed her in a chokehold, lifted her by the neck, and kicked her to the ground,” Johnson said. Later that night, he forced her into a “Freak Off,” she said. A third woman, an employee who was allegedly sexually abused by Combs, is also expected to testify. Jury will see video of “Freak Offs” Prosecutors said they plan to show the jury video of the “Freak Offs,” Combs’ provocative term for days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances. Combs allegedly used threats, violence, drugs and lies to coerce women into participating in these “Freak Offs” – also known as “Wild King Nights” and “Hotel Nights” – and then filmed these to use as blackmail, according to the prosecution. In contrast, the defense said the “Freak Offs” were between consenting adults acting of their own free will. Both sides made the case that the videos will prove their point. “You will see them put on a performance, high on ecstacy, while they pretend to enjoy themselves, because that’s what the defendant said he wanted,” Johnson said for the prosecution. The defense said the videos may be hard to watch but are strong evidence that the “Freak Offs” were “consensual and not based on coercion,” said Teny Geragos, Combs’ defense attorney. Both sides agree Combs committed domestic violence The prosecution said Monday Combs had committed domestic violence against past romantic partners. His defense agreed. Geragos, the defense attorney, acknowledged some of the prosecution’s unflattering allegations against Combs: he had a temper, got violent when he drank alcohol or used drugs and had committed domestic violence. However, that did not mean he was guilty of racketeering or sex trafficking, she said. “Had he been charged with domestic violence or assault we would not be here right now,” Geragos said. In particular, she brought up the 2016 hotel surveillance video showing him beating Ventura – first published by CNN – and said the violence on display was “indefensible,” “horrible” and “dehumanizing.” “It is not evidence of sex trafficking,” Geragos said. “It is evidence of domestic violence.” “He will be responsible, he will be accountable for the things he did, but we will fight for his freedom for the things he did not do,” she added. Defense questions accusers’ motives As is typical in a trial involving allegations of sexual abuse, Combs’ defense said they plan to question the motives of the accusers in the trial. “Sean Combs is a complicated man but this is not a complicated case,” Geragos said. “This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money,” She asked the jury to look into what the accusers had received and encouraged the panel to examine how jealousy influenced everyone’s actions. Some of the accusers, including Ventura, “went to a civil lawyer for a money grab” instead of going to law enforcement, Geragos said. “Everybody who testifies has a motive,” she added. Video of hotel attack is central evidence With the prosecution’s first witness on the stand, the jury was shown surveillance video of Combs beating and kicking Ventura in a California hotel in 2016. Israel Florez, who worked as security at the former InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles at the time, testified about his interactions with Combs and Ventura in the minutes after the incident. He said Combs attempted to bribe him with a wad of cash for his silence. Ventura had a “purple eye,” Florez testified, and kept saying, “‘I want to leave, I just want to leave.’” Under cross-examination, though, defense attorney Brian Steel questioned Florez about why several details in his testimony were not included in a written incident report he filed at the time. For example, the report did not include anything about Ventura having a discolored eye and did not mention Combs had a “devilish” look on his face, Steel said. CNN first published surveillance video of the same incident last year, and days afterward Combs apologized for his actions. In pretrial hearings, the defense unsuccessfully attempted to keep the jury from seeing the video. The video is key to the prosecution’s underlying argument that Combs used force to coerce his victims, said legal analyst Misty Marris. “It’s part of a bigger narrative for the prosecution that Combs, in any instance to get individuals to comply in his criminal enterprise and with the conduct at the ‘Freak Offs,’ that he used violence to do so,” Marris said. Man who said he was paid for sex testifies Combs assaulted Ventura twice The second witness, 41-year-old Daniel Phillip, said he was paid thousands of dollars on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2014 to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched and pleasured himself in a corner. Phillip testified the hip-hop mogul assaulted Ventura on two separate occasions when he was with the couple. In one incident, Ventura was on the computer when Combs shouted at her to “come here,” Phillip testified. When she responded that her personal information was up on the computer, Combs approached her and “started dragging her by her hair into her bedroom,” Phillip said. He testified Ventura was screaming and repeatedly saying “I’m sorry” while he heard what sounded like Combs slapping her. Phillip testified he heard Combs saying, “B*tch, when I tell you to come here, you come. Now, not later.” On another occasion at a hotel, Phillip testified he heard Ventura “yelling, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ and I could hear, again, what sounded like she was being slapped – or someone was being slapped around and slammed around the room.” Combs walked out of the room and Ventura jumped into Phillip’s lap “shaking, like she was terrified.” On cross-examination, Phillip said Ventura appeared to enjoy herself and was sexually aroused during their first encounter. His cross-examination will continue Tuesday. Testimony begins with explicit and graphic descriptions Take note: This trial will be graphic and disturbing. In just the first day of testimony, the jury has already heard explicit descriptions of “Freak Offs,” threesomes, prostitution, sexual urination, masturbation, voyeurism, drugs and copious amounts of baby oil. The jury saw and heard evidence of physical violence, too, including the video of Combs beating Ventura and descriptions of her being assaulted from each of the first two witnesses. During a portion of graphic testimony, Combs’ daughters stood up and left the courtroom. They returned for a brief period but left again when the testimony continued in a graphic sexual nature. One of Combs’ sons placed his arm around his grandmother during some of this testimony. Combs family shows support Combs walked into the courtroom Monday morning and greeted two rows of family and friends with a big smile and tap to his chest, a thumbs up, and made a heart shape with his hands. At least six of his adult children sat in the second row behind them, his mother in between them. Combs’ sister was also seated in the same row. Some of his children tapped their chest back to him and smiled. Combs also blew his mother a kiss. The final jury is seated Prior to opening statements, Monday’s court proceedings began with the final steps of selecting a jury. Last week, the court narrowed down hundreds of potential jurors into a group of 43 people qualified and willing to serve. Many of these potential jurors said they’d seen some media coverage of the allegations or had seen the hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating Ventura. Even so, all of them pledged to listen to the evidence and remain unbiased. On Monday morning, attorneys for each side took turns executing “peremptory strikes” to narrow the pool to a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. Prosecutors were granted six strikes and Combs’ defense team were granted 10 strikes for the main jury panel. Both sides had three strikes for the alternates. The jury panel of 12 is made up of eight men and four women. The alternate group consists of four men and two women. The defense challenged some of the government’s peremptory strikes over suggestions of racial bias. Judge Arun Subramanian, however, denied the defense challenge, saying the prosecution gave “race-neutral reasons” for their selections.