Diddy on Trial

Welcome back to the unfolding saga of United States v. Combs. Here is your day-by-day summary of court proceedings for the third week of the trial (May 27–May 30, 2025).Recaps of individual days of the trial can be found in the Rumble Playlist, weekly recaps are here on Substack.Massive thanks and credit to Inner City Press for covering the trial live from the courtroom. His threads are the next best thing to having the actual transcript in hand.For anyone not interested in this trial, no worries; I have a new episode of the Just Human podcast on the way. Reminder of the Charges and Allegations:* Combs faces five counts: racketeering conspiracy (life max), two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion (life max, 15-year min each), and two counts of transportation for prostitution (10-year max each).* The prosecution alleges Combs ran a criminal enterprise, orchestrating “freak offs” (coerced sexual performances), abusing women (e.g., Ventura), and using blackmail, drugs, and violence. Evidence includes the 2016 Ventura assault video and 1,000+ bottles of baby oil seized in 2024 raids.* The defense argues all acts were consensual, framing the case as domestic disputes within a “swinger” lifestyle, not trafficking.Breakdowns and timestamps for each day:Monday was a holiday, so no court. Tuesday, May 27—Day 10 00:00-1:21:00* Witness Testimony:* Capricorn Clark—Former assistant to Combs, former employee of Bad Boy Records and Sean Jean clothing brand, 2004-2012, 2016-* Notable Moments:* Was accused of stealing jewelry that was on loan to Combs from a jeweler.* Was taken/kidnapped by Combs security and brought to a dilapidated building in NYC. There she was interrogated/polygraphed over the course of five days.* Her employment was repeatedly threatened by Combs* Witnessed verbal and physical abuse of Cassie by Combs* Witnessed settings of the “freakoffs,” the IV drips, drugs, sex paraphernalia, and also cleaned up the rooms afterwards.* Was not allowed to leave Combs’ properties or have a private life of any sort without Combs’ permission. Described incidents where she left and security was sent out to retrieve her.* Witnessed the Dec 22, 2011 incident with Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi)- Combs came to Clark’s house with a gun, forced her into the vehicle, and drove her to Cudi’s house, where the break-in and the arson of the Porsche. They then went to get Cassie Ventura and returned to Cudi’s home to try and convince him not to file a police report. Witnessed Combs violently assaulting Cassie.* Recalled seeing an LAPD vehicle en route to Mescudi’s house as Combs’ SUV left the area.* Testified that Combs threatened to release sex tapes of Cassie with another man. Also threaten to harm her, Cassie, and Mescudi if police were alerted. Also threatened to kill them. * After she left Combs’ businesses, no one would hire her. So she returned in 2016. Wednesday, May 28—Day 111:21:00-02:52:00* Witness Testimony:* LAPD Officer Christopher Ignacio* Notable Moments:* Recalled seeing Combs’ black SUV leaving the area as he responded to a 911 call at Mescudi’s house on December 22, 2011. He memorized the license plate in case it was later needed. It was, and the vehicle would prove to be registered to Bad Boy Records.* LAFD Arson Investigator Lance Jimenez* Responded to the Mescudi’s Porsche fire and wrote report* Testified that a molotov cocktail was used and described it.* Affirmed that the witnesses he reached out to (Capricorn Clark, Cassie Ventura) were uncooperative. * The report on the arson included a lab result on DNA found on the bottle. It was a partial hit for a female.* Contentious moment in court as prosecutors asked about fingerprint cards that were made from the scene but later destroyed on orders from LAPD. This caused the defense team to ask for a mistrial, which was denied. The judge instead directed the jury to disregard the questions and testimony about the print cards. * Deonte Nash, former stylist for Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs, and Cassie* Identified one of the victims who will testify later in the week under a pseudonym (Mia). * Witnessed verbal and physical abuse of Cassie and Mia* Was also verbally and physically abused by Combs, though not nearly as bad as the girls were* He did attempt to stop a violent attack on Cassie at one point, though it seems he may have done this as much for Combs's own sake as he did for Cassie’s. * Heard Combs threaten to release sex tapes of Cassie and other men.* Affirmed the testimony of Cassie that she did not want to engage in the freakoffs, as well as many of the incidents that she testified to.* He testified that he was afraid of Combs. He may still be. He testified under a subpoena in this case and confirmed that he did not want to be on the stand.* Affirmed earlier testimony from other witnesses regarding criminal behaviors (drug use, trafficking, coercion, threats, violence, forced labor, etc)Thursday, May 29—Day 122:52:00-3:58:00* Witness Testimony:* Deonte Nash (continued)* Affirmed that Combs controlled Cassie’s career, better and worse (mostly for worse)* Testified to knowledge of Cassie having other relationships (Defense attempting to impeach Cassie’s testimony by extracting this info)* Said that Combs would use Cassie’s own phone to take at least some of the sex videos* AUSA Maureen Comey wrapped up Nash’s time on the stand with a short redirect that I think was top-notch.* Mia, Victim-4, ex-personal assistant to Combs, Revolt Films, other projects* Testified to verbal and physical abuse from Combs against her and others.* Described being sexually assaulted by Combs on more than one occasion.* Was horribly overworked, described not sleeping for days on end due to the schedule and demands of the job. * Was told where to go, with whom she could communicate (and not), and when she could sleep (and when not to).* Every day of her job was different but always demanding. "He could ask you to crack his knuckles or do his taxes."* Was told where to live. Not allowed to lock her doors. * “We had to be where Puff told us we could be.”* Affirmed Combs violence against Cassie and that he controlled her * Retold the story that Nash had previously told of Combs attacking Cassie and the both of them trying to stop him.Friday, May 30—Day 133:58:00-End* Witness Testimony:* Mia (continued)* Testified that Combs threatened to kill her, multiple times.* Threatened her career and her projects. Would fire her one day, then rehire her the next. Suspend her, then unsuspend her. End a project, then restart it. * Every single thing, more or less, had to be approved by Combs.* Believed that if she was fired or quit, Combs would be able to prevent her from working for anyone else. She felt trapped.* When Cassie filed her civil suit in Nov 2023, D-Roc and Combs reached out to Mia. At first she was happy to be contacted by D-Roc because she believed he was no longer part of Combs’ world. But she soon realized that was not the case and that she was being probed to see if she was a threat to Combs.* Suffers from Complex PTSD attributable to her years “working” for Combs.* Described multiple incidents of being raped by Combs. Cannot recall how many/all of the times he sexually assaulted her.* During the lunch break the defense tried to pull a fast one over the prosecution and judge by introducing a short video clip. They lied about the video length, when they received it, when they viewed it, and when they made the decision to introduce it. The prosecutors and judge were not fooled. I really like this part of the trial.* Combs’ Steele went at Mia on cross, a tactic that, as far as I can tell, backfired. Turns out she has a backbone and, like Cassie, has regained a sense of self-worth and agency. Below is maybe my favorite moment from cross.That’s it for this recap. As I said in the show, I need to take a good long break from this stuff, and that’s what I plan to do. Targeting Tuesday night for the next installment on the Rumble playlist and next Saturday for a recap of what happens in Week 4 of this trial. Sincere thanks to all who are liking, sharing, and supporting this work. I’m learning a lot from it and am already thinking about how I can use what I have learned for the next trial that I cover. No decision on what trial that will be, but I do have a few ideas.: ) Just Human is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.SubscribedSupport links:Coffee—click here.Just Human Merch—click here.Benson’s Honey Farm affiliate link: click here.Bootleg Products affiliate link: click here.Manly Cans affiliate link—click here.To find all of my links in one place, click here. This is a public episode. 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