WEBVTT - Diddy's trial begins

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<v Speaker 1>Before we jump into today's deep dive, a quick heads

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<v Speaker 1>up that we'll be discussing a story that includes themes

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<v Speaker 1>of sexual assault and sex trafficking. Please listen with care,

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<v Speaker 1>and if it's not for you today, we'll see you

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<v Speaker 1>again later this afternoon.

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<v Speaker 2>Already, and this is the Daily OS.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the Daily OS.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh, now it makes sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>the fourteenth of May. I'm Zara Seidler, I'm Emma Gillespie.

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<v Speaker 1>The high profile sex trafficking case of Sean Diddy Combs

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<v Speaker 1>has begun in court this week, with both the prosecution

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<v Speaker 1>and defense laying out their arguments. The fifty five year

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<v Speaker 1>old rapper and producer was arrested and charged in September

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<v Speaker 1>last year. He was later denied bail and has been

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<v Speaker 1>in custody ever since. In today's podcast, we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>explain the context of the case and also run through

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<v Speaker 1>what we've learnt in the first few days of the trial.

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<v Speaker 3>Zara, it feels a little bit surreal that this trial

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<v Speaker 3>is finally here, because we've been talking about this case

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<v Speaker 3>for such a long time. It felt like getting to

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<v Speaker 3>this day would never happen. But it's all unfolding in

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<v Speaker 3>New York as we speak this week. A lot has

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<v Speaker 3>been said about this trial and these allegations, particularly in

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<v Speaker 3>the media, over the last several months. But I think

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<v Speaker 3>it would be helpful to take it right back. Let's

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<v Speaker 3>start from the beginning. For anyone who isn't familiar, let's

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<v Speaker 3>take it back to basics. Who is Diddy?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so Sean Diddy Combs has a bunch of nicknames.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's sort of important to just say that

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<v Speaker 1>because he's referred to as a different name by like

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<v Speaker 1>ten different media arbots. So you might hear him refer

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<v Speaker 1>to as p Diddy, Puffy Diddy. I'm going to just

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<v Speaker 1>refer to him as Combs. Yeah, that is his surname now.

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<v Speaker 1>He founded bad Boy Records in nineteen ninety three, and

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<v Speaker 1>the music label has gone on to represent some of

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<v Speaker 1>the world's most famous rappers. People like Notorious Big are

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<v Speaker 1>among those who he represented. Combs is a three time

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<v Speaker 1>Grammy Award winner. He's worked with people like Mariah Carey,

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<v Speaker 1>Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans, just to mention

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<v Speaker 1>a few. He's also done a bit of acting. He's

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<v Speaker 1>starred in films like Monsters Ball, get him to the

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<v Speaker 1>Greek and draft day, and I guess I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>just important to say right now. The reason why I'm

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<v Speaker 1>saying all of these different things that he started in

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<v Speaker 1>and things that he's done in his career is not

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<v Speaker 1>to rattle off his resume. It's just to show the

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<v Speaker 1>extent of his power. He wasn't just a producer, he

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't just an actor. He was kind of everything to

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<v Speaker 1>the industry exactly.

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<v Speaker 3>He was also an extremely powerful entertainment industry figure, but

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<v Speaker 3>also a powerful business figure. He's an entrepreneur, owned many brands,

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<v Speaker 3>invested in many labels and brands. So this is someone who,

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<v Speaker 3>I suppose, the influence across a range of industries, and

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<v Speaker 3>that speaks to the interest in the shock, I suppose.

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<v Speaker 2>And we heard these allegations definitely.

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<v Speaker 3>So when did it all start to shift for Sean Combs?

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<v Speaker 3>When did we first hear about these charges?

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<v Speaker 1>So the first allegations to be leveled against Combs were

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<v Speaker 1>back in twenty twenty three, and those allegations were made

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<v Speaker 1>by his former partner, Cassandra Ventura.

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<v Speaker 2>She's also known as.

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<v Speaker 1>Cassie Singer the singer Absolutely, and she accused him of

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<v Speaker 1>sexual assault. At the time, her lawyers described the rapper

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<v Speaker 1>Combs as a vicious, cruel and controlling man at that time.

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<v Speaker 1>Back in twenty twenty three, he denied those allegations, and

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<v Speaker 1>a day after the lawsuit was filed.

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<v Speaker 2>The matter was settled out of court.

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<v Speaker 1>Then, in May of last year, CNN published footage that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure a lot of our listeners will have heard

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<v Speaker 1>about or seen.

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<v Speaker 2>That footage appeared to show.

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<v Speaker 1>Combs kicking and ragging Cassie in a hotel hallway in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen. Now, in a video posted to Instagram later,

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<v Speaker 1>he apologized for his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>name Cassie in the statement at the time. And that

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<v Speaker 1>clip of what we can see to be Comb's assaulting

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<v Speaker 1>Cassie has become quite a focal point of the trials

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<v Speaker 1>opening days. So we will go back to that in

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<v Speaker 1>a little while, because certainly in opening statements that's been

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<v Speaker 1>quite a point of focus. But Cassie wasn't the only

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<v Speaker 1>person to file legal action against Sean Cone's so last year,

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<v Speaker 1>music producer Rodney Jones he goes by Lil Rod, he

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<v Speaker 1>also filed a lawsuit against Comb's He alleged that Combs

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<v Speaker 1>spiked the drinks of miners and sex workers at his

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<v Speaker 1>homes in California, New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands.

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<v Speaker 1>When those allegations were made public, Combs denied them, and

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<v Speaker 1>then in March, US authorities raided Combs's properties in LA

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<v Speaker 1>and Miami as part of an ongoing investigation where they

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<v Speaker 1>uncovered firearms, ammunition, and more than a thousand bottles of lubricant.

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<v Speaker 3>So that brings us kind of up to speed before

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<v Speaker 3>he was arrested and charged. I think it's interesting the

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<v Speaker 3>Cassie story that CCTV footage. While we did get an

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<v Speaker 3>apology from Combs at the time that didn't name her,

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<v Speaker 3>he didn't specifically accept the allegations or the accusations against

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<v Speaker 3>him at that point. So he has maintained his innocence throughout.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, throughout there haven't been any allegations that comes has

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<v Speaker 1>accepted as true.

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<v Speaker 3>So when was he eventually arrested and charged?

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<v Speaker 1>That happened in September last year. At that time, he

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<v Speaker 1>was charged with sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, ars and bribery,

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<v Speaker 1>and obstruction of justice.

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<v Speaker 2>Really serious charge, big charges.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and at the time, federal US prosecutors accused him

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<v Speaker 1>of using his business empire to cover up decades of

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<v Speaker 1>abuse against women to quote fulfill his sexual desires and

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<v Speaker 1>protect his reputation. So that was a charge of racketeering,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's, as I just said, the idea of using

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<v Speaker 1>the resources of a business to cover up a crime.

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<v Speaker 1>He was also accused of using his staff to coordinate

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<v Speaker 1>and conceal these incidents, and it's alleged that the incidents

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<v Speaker 1>were often recorded.

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<v Speaker 3>I remember when these charges were published last year and

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<v Speaker 3>we covered it, and there were hundreds of pages of

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<v Speaker 3>really extensive court documents. Was so COMPREHENI the indictment was massive.

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<v Speaker 3>And while perhaps he had maybe earned a reputation regarding

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<v Speaker 3>his relationship with Cassandra Ventura and the allegations around that,

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<v Speaker 3>I think what really shocked people or what s gripped

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<v Speaker 3>them about this case all of the allegations about how

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<v Speaker 3>he used his business, how he used his staff, and

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<v Speaker 3>that really caught people off guard.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, And I think that goes to the idea or

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<v Speaker 1>the allegation rather that there were a lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>who knew about these alleged crimes.

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<v Speaker 3>And that it's the accusation is that it was a

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<v Speaker 3>very a very extensive network and operation and organized in

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<v Speaker 3>a certain way exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>But again we do need to reiterate these are allegations

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<v Speaker 1>now are currently being tested in court. But Combs has

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<v Speaker 1>maintained his innocence. As I said, he has denied all

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<v Speaker 1>of the chargers. He has been in jail this whole time.

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<v Speaker 1>So when he was arrested back in September last year,

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<v Speaker 1>he was later denied bail, and so this whole time

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<v Speaker 1>he's been sitting in jail, and we have only seen

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<v Speaker 1>him for the first time during this trial. And interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>he does look quite different from the court reporters. We

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<v Speaker 1>get a sense that he has graying hair and a

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<v Speaker 1>gray beard. Again, that goes to the time that he

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<v Speaker 1>has spent in prison so far.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, his lawyers have continued to push for him to

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<v Speaker 3>be released on bail. But I suppose with the nature

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<v Speaker 3>of these charges relating to so many different states across

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<v Speaker 3>the US, there has been concern about how to navigate that.

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<v Speaker 3>So he has pleaded not guilty. Yeah where obviously in

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<v Speaker 3>the very early stages of this high profile trial.

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<v Speaker 2>Just can I just jump in there.

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<v Speaker 1>So he's pleaded not guilty, but he was recently offered

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<v Speaker 1>a play deal. A plea deal is when a person

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<v Speaker 1>pleads guilty to a lesser charge or a modified charge,

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<v Speaker 1>often in exchange for a reduced sentence. I guess the

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<v Speaker 1>operative term there is that you play guilty. Yes, and

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't accept that play deal, so he rejected that

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<v Speaker 1>very recently, which is why now the case is on trial,

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<v Speaker 1>because had he pled guilty, it wouldn't have gone to trial.

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<v Speaker 3>Interesting, Yeah, so we are at that stage. He is

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<v Speaker 3>maintaining his innocence, rejects the plea deal. What do we

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<v Speaker 3>know about the court proceedings so far?

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<v Speaker 1>I'll talk to a few details on the trial itself first.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's being held in Manhattan, as you said, in

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<v Speaker 1>New York City.

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<v Speaker 2>It is going to be decided by a jury.

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<v Speaker 1>So there are twelve New Yorkers who will decide the

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<v Speaker 1>outcome of this case. It's eight men and four women

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<v Speaker 1>on the jury, with the trial expected to last for

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<v Speaker 1>about eight weeks. And I know that we speak about

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<v Speaker 1>this kind of every time we talk about a high

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<v Speaker 1>profile case. But finding a jury that doesn't know or

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<v Speaker 1>hasn't read about Sean Combs is a difficult and tall task.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's been a lot of back and forth between

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<v Speaker 1>the prosecution and the defense about who should.

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<v Speaker 2>Make up that jury, but they have settled on that jury. Now.

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<v Speaker 3>We'll be back with the rest of today's deep dive

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<v Speaker 3>after this. And interestingly, in a case like this, there

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<v Speaker 3>are spare jurors. Basically, there are extra people who have

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<v Speaker 3>been selected. If there is misconduct or if someone is

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<v Speaker 3>found to have previous knowledge or background knowledge that influences

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<v Speaker 3>them unfairly in their decision making process on that jury,

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<v Speaker 3>they will get subbed out for someone else, which I

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<v Speaker 3>suppose the chances of that happening in a case like

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<v Speaker 3>this are much pretty higher.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly, and just on trial. There are no photos

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<v Speaker 1>or video allowed in this trial. And I thought that

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<v Speaker 1>was important to mention because I think we've seen not

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<v Speaker 1>I think we have seen a lot of high profile

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<v Speaker 1>cases play out like live streams. So I think back

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<v Speaker 1>to the Johnny Depp and Herd case that basically became

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<v Speaker 1>a social media trial that everyone was watching the whole time.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not going to happen here because it's not allowed.

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<v Speaker 1>So we are relying now on the journos who are

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<v Speaker 1>in the room the court reporters to bring us information

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<v Speaker 1>and reporting on what's actually happening and what's being said

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<v Speaker 1>during that trial.

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<v Speaker 3>That is really interesting information in terms of what's actually

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<v Speaker 3>gone down so far. I know we are in the

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<v Speaker 3>early stages, but have we heard opening arguments?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we have, so we've heard opening arguments from both sides.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll start first with the prosecution's case. So we heard

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<v Speaker 1>the opening statement from prosecutor Emily Johnson, and in her

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<v Speaker 1>opening statement, she accused Combs of threatening, drugging, and violently

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<v Speaker 1>coercing women into sex. I will just say I don't

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<v Speaker 1>really want to go into the specific allegations made by

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<v Speaker 1>the prosecution because they're quite graphic and disturbing, So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just going to give you like a high level run

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<v Speaker 1>through of what we have learned. Broadly, the prosecution is

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<v Speaker 1>alleging that Combs had this inner group of people who

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<v Speaker 1>helped him cover up the alleged crimes, and that he

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<v Speaker 1>used his company resources, as I said earlier, to carry

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<v Speaker 1>out some of.

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<v Speaker 2>These alleged crimes.

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<v Speaker 1>She is quoted as saying he sometimes called himself the king,

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<v Speaker 1>and he expected to be treated like one. She alleged

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<v Speaker 1>he committed crime after crime after crime over twenty years.

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<v Speaker 1>We know from the opening statement that the prosecution's case

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<v Speaker 1>will also include accounts by three women, including Cassie, who

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<v Speaker 1>I mentioned was in that video and is an ex

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<v Speaker 1>partner of Combs.

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<v Speaker 3>So we're expecting a group of women to appear in

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<v Speaker 3>the witness stand and kind of assume that they will

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<v Speaker 3>paint a picture of Combs's character. Uh, what about the

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<v Speaker 3>other side, What can we expect from the defense.

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<v Speaker 1>I found this to be really interesting, if I'm honest,

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<v Speaker 1>because the defense's case is basically that comes is a

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<v Speaker 1>deeply flawed and imperfect man, and they have been very

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<v Speaker 1>forthcoming with that fact. Interesting They have said things like

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<v Speaker 1>he's a complicated man, but this isn't a complicated case.

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<v Speaker 1>Elsewhere they said, the evidence is going to show you

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<v Speaker 1>a very flawed individual, but what it will not show

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<v Speaker 1>you is a racketeer, a sex trafficker, or someone transporting

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<v Speaker 1>for prostitution. So what they're trying to say is, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>Sean Colmes is a deeply troubled, flawed man, but that

0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:49.400
<v Speaker 1>he's not guilty of the extremely serious charges that are

0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:53.400
<v Speaker 1>being leveled against him. So in the opening statement from

0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:57.120
<v Speaker 1>Colmes's lawyer, She argued that his relationships were consensual and

0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:01.120
<v Speaker 1>that he engaged in a swinger's life style with his

0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.000
<v Speaker 1>partners that was consensual. She said that the case is

0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.400
<v Speaker 1>about his quote, private personal sex life, which has nothing

0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.600
<v Speaker 1>to do with his lawful businesses. So again trying to

0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:16.960
<v Speaker 1>separate these allegations around the resourcing by the business of

0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.479
<v Speaker 1>these alleged crimes.

0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:23.120
<v Speaker 3>It's interesting this approach. I suppose from the defense that

0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:25.760
<v Speaker 3>they haven't gone down a path of trying to portray

0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:30.360
<v Speaker 3>Combs as a squeaky clean character, and I think that

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.800
<v Speaker 3>this shows us probably reading between the lines that consent

0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.000
<v Speaker 3>will be a really big.

0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:37.280
<v Speaker 2>Part definitely of his trial.

0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:42.040
<v Speaker 1>Definitely, And again it's only the early days, but there

0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.320
<v Speaker 1>has been quite a focus on that video that I

0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:50.280
<v Speaker 1>referred to earlier. We've had two witnesses so far testify.

0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.959
<v Speaker 1>They've been called by the prosecution, so not by the defense,

0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.719
<v Speaker 1>but they have had the opportunity to be cross examined.

0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.800
<v Speaker 1>The first person to be called as a witness was

0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:02.640
<v Speaker 1>an LA police officer who was working as a security

0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.280
<v Speaker 1>guard at the hotel when that video that I mentioned

0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:10.360
<v Speaker 1>took place. He testified that he responded to a distressed

0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.840
<v Speaker 1>woman on the sixth floor, who we now know to

0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.040
<v Speaker 1>be Cassie, and that when he got there he found

0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.320
<v Speaker 1>Combs seated with a quote devilish stare, and that he

0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:23.600
<v Speaker 1>saw that Cassie had a black eye on that specific incident.

0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.560
<v Speaker 1>This witness claims that Comes offered him money and said,

0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.960
<v Speaker 1>don't tell nobody. And he also said that Combs bought

0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.320
<v Speaker 1>the footage from the hotel security for about one hundred

0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.440
<v Speaker 1>thousand dollars, but that copies were made and that's why

0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:41.360
<v Speaker 1>it was able to still be leaked and publicly published.

0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:45.280
<v Speaker 1>When asked about this video, because as we've kind of

0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:48.160
<v Speaker 1>alluded to, it was made public, it was there for

0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:52.880
<v Speaker 1>people to see. Combs's lawyers acknowledged that he was responsible

0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.360
<v Speaker 1>for domestic violence, again going to this argument of he

0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.440
<v Speaker 1>is responsible for some of the things that are being alleged,

0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.440
<v Speaker 1>but they denied that this meant that he had committed

0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:04.600
<v Speaker 1>any of the other crimes that he was accused.

0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:09.240
<v Speaker 3>Okay, and so that includes bribery, trying to pay off

0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.440
<v Speaker 3>people for their silence, trying to get the video which

0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:13.120
<v Speaker 3>we saw through.

0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.720
<v Speaker 1>CMX, trafficking, any of that. They're saying, yes, he is

0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.920
<v Speaker 1>guilty of domestic violence, but no, that doesn't mean that

0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.320
<v Speaker 1>he is guilty of these other charges. And then the

0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.360
<v Speaker 1>second witness that was called was someone called Daniel Philip,

0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:30.760
<v Speaker 1>and he delivered quite an explicit testimony. He said that

0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:33.840
<v Speaker 1>Combs paid him to have sex with Cassie while Combs

0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:37.400
<v Speaker 1>watched in a corner. Part of his testimony was that

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:41.880
<v Speaker 1>he alleged that he saw and heard Comb's assault Cassie

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.080
<v Speaker 1>on numerous occasions. Again, I'm not going to get into

0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:48.080
<v Speaker 1>the details. There's some pretty graphic stuff, but you can

0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:53.000
<v Speaker 1>read more of his testimony online. But basically, through his testimony,

0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.520
<v Speaker 1>the prosecution of trying to build the case of an

0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:58.640
<v Speaker 1>extremely violent man in Shawn Combs.

0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:01.480
<v Speaker 3>And those original indictment documents that we touched on earlier,

0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:04.800
<v Speaker 3>they do detail a lot more about these allegations of

0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 3>Combs paying for sex, paying male sex workers to allegedly

0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:16.080
<v Speaker 3>rape women that were there under false pretenses, the prosecution

0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.640
<v Speaker 3>argues in his home. There's plenty more details in those

0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:23.040
<v Speaker 3>indictment documents if you want to read them. So Zara,

0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:26.960
<v Speaker 3>I think the biggest question, apart from you know, whether

0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.280
<v Speaker 3>or not he is guilty, is what does the future

0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.400
<v Speaker 3>look like for Sean Combs If he is found guilty,

0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:35.160
<v Speaker 3>what happens.

0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:38.640
<v Speaker 1>Basically, he's facing life in prison. As we've kind of

0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:43.520
<v Speaker 1>alluded to throughout this podcast, visa the most serious charges

0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.920
<v Speaker 1>that someone can face, and he is facing a lot

0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.680
<v Speaker 1>of them all at once. So prosecutors are pushing for

0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.320
<v Speaker 1>if he is found guilty, life in prison, and that

0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:57.880
<v Speaker 1>would be, you know, just a really really remarkable outcome

0:16:57.960 --> 0:16:59.880
<v Speaker 1>for someone, as we said at the top of this podcast,

0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.200
<v Speaker 1>who was until very recently at the top of the

0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:04.720
<v Speaker 1>US entertainment industry.

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:06.879
<v Speaker 3>And he's a fifty five year old man. You know,

0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:11.840
<v Speaker 3>we're not talking about historic charges and someone high profile

0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:13.679
<v Speaker 3>who is near the end of their life. This is,

0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:18.159
<v Speaker 3>for all intents and purposes, healthy middle aged man who

0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.160
<v Speaker 3>could stand to be behind buzz for several decades.

0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:24.200
<v Speaker 1>Super interesting and we'll be sure to bring updates as

0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:25.480
<v Speaker 1>the case continues.

0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:29.160
<v Speaker 3>Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. If

0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.000
<v Speaker 3>it raised any issues with you, help is available through

0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:35.320
<v Speaker 3>one eight hundred Respect. You can contact them on one

0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.920
<v Speaker 3>eight hundred seven three seven seven three two or head

0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.280
<v Speaker 3>to one eight hundred respect dot org dot au. We

0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.680
<v Speaker 3>will pop some links in the episode description.

0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:50.600
<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda

0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:55.000
<v Speaker 1>bunge Lung Calcotin woman from Gadigl country. The Daily oz

0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.840
<v Speaker 1>acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of

0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:01.159
<v Speaker 1>the Gatighel people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and

0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.399
<v Speaker 1>torrestrate island and nations. We pay our respects to the

0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.199
<v Speaker 1>first peoples of these countries, both past and present.