Speaker 1: Before we jump into today's deep dive, a quick heads
Speaker 1: up that we'll be discussing a story that includes themes
Speaker 1: of sexual assault and sex trafficking. Please listen with care,
Speaker 1: and if it's not for you today, we'll see you
Speaker 1: again later this afternoon.
Speaker 2: Already, and this is the Daily OS.
Speaker 1: This is the Daily OS.
Speaker 3: Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Wednesday,
Speaker 1: the fourteenth of May. I'm Zara Seidler, I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 1: The high profile sex trafficking case of Sean Diddy Combs
Speaker 1: has begun in court this week, with both the prosecution
Speaker 1: and defense laying out their arguments. The fifty five year
Speaker 1: old rapper and producer was arrested and charged in September
Speaker 1: last year. He was later denied bail and has been
Speaker 1: in custody ever since. In today's podcast, we're going to
Speaker 1: explain the context of the case and also run through
Speaker 1: what we've learnt in the first few days of the trial.
Speaker 3: Zara, it feels a little bit surreal that this trial
Speaker 3: is finally here, because we've been talking about this case
Speaker 3: for such a long time. It felt like getting to
Speaker 3: this day would never happen. But it's all unfolding in
Speaker 3: New York as we speak this week. A lot has
Speaker 3: been said about this trial and these allegations, particularly in
Speaker 3: the media, over the last several months. But I think
Speaker 3: it would be helpful to take it right back. Let's
Speaker 3: start from the beginning. For anyone who isn't familiar, let's
Speaker 3: take it back to basics. Who is Diddy?
Speaker 1: Yeah, so Sean Diddy Combs has a bunch of nicknames.
Speaker 1: I think it's sort of important to just say that
Speaker 1: because he's referred to as a different name by like
Speaker 1: ten different media arbots. So you might hear him refer
Speaker 1: to as p Diddy, Puffy Diddy. I'm going to just
Speaker 1: refer to him as Combs. Yeah, that is his surname now.
Speaker 1: He founded bad Boy Records in nineteen ninety three, and
Speaker 1: the music label has gone on to represent some of
Speaker 1: the world's most famous rappers. People like Notorious Big are
Speaker 1: among those who he represented. Combs is a three time
Speaker 1: Grammy Award winner. He's worked with people like Mariah Carey,
Speaker 1: Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans, just to mention
Speaker 1: a few. He's also done a bit of acting. He's
Speaker 1: starred in films like Monsters Ball, get him to the
Speaker 1: Greek and draft day, and I guess I think it's
Speaker 1: just important to say right now. The reason why I'm
Speaker 1: saying all of these different things that he started in
Speaker 1: and things that he's done in his career is not
Speaker 1: to rattle off his resume. It's just to show the
Speaker 1: extent of his power. He wasn't just a producer, he
Speaker 1: wasn't just an actor. He was kind of everything to
Speaker 1: the industry exactly.
Speaker 3: He was also an extremely powerful entertainment industry figure, but
Speaker 3: also a powerful business figure. He's an entrepreneur, owned many brands,
Speaker 3: invested in many labels and brands. So this is someone who,
Speaker 3: I suppose, the influence across a range of industries, and
Speaker 3: that speaks to the interest in the shock, I suppose.
Speaker 2: And we heard these allegations definitely.
Speaker 3: So when did it all start to shift for Sean Combs?
Speaker 3: When did we first hear about these charges?
Speaker 1: So the first allegations to be leveled against Combs were
Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty three, and those allegations were made
Speaker 1: by his former partner, Cassandra Ventura.
Speaker 2: She's also known as.
Speaker 1: Cassie Singer the singer Absolutely, and she accused him of
Speaker 1: sexual assault. At the time, her lawyers described the rapper
Speaker 1: Combs as a vicious, cruel and controlling man at that time.
Speaker 1: Back in twenty twenty three, he denied those allegations, and
Speaker 1: a day after the lawsuit was filed.
Speaker 2: The matter was settled out of court.
Speaker 1: Then, in May of last year, CNN published footage that
Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of our listeners will have heard
Speaker 1: about or seen.
Speaker 2: That footage appeared to show.
Speaker 1: Combs kicking and ragging Cassie in a hotel hallway in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. Now, in a video posted to Instagram later,
Speaker 1: he apologized for his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't
Speaker 1: name Cassie in the statement at the time. And that
Speaker 1: clip of what we can see to be Comb's assaulting
Speaker 1: Cassie has become quite a focal point of the trials
Speaker 1: opening days. So we will go back to that in
Speaker 1: a little while, because certainly in opening statements that's been
Speaker 1: quite a point of focus. But Cassie wasn't the only
Speaker 1: person to file legal action against Sean Cone's so last year,
Speaker 1: music producer Rodney Jones he goes by Lil Rod, he
Speaker 1: also filed a lawsuit against Comb's He alleged that Combs
Speaker 1: spiked the drinks of miners and sex workers at his
Speaker 1: homes in California, New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands.
Speaker 1: When those allegations were made public, Combs denied them, and
Speaker 1: then in March, US authorities raided Combs's properties in LA
Speaker 1: and Miami as part of an ongoing investigation where they
Speaker 1: uncovered firearms, ammunition, and more than a thousand bottles of lubricant.
Speaker 3: So that brings us kind of up to speed before
Speaker 3: he was arrested and charged. I think it's interesting the
Speaker 3: Cassie story that CCTV footage. While we did get an
Speaker 3: apology from Combs at the time that didn't name her,
Speaker 3: he didn't specifically accept the allegations or the accusations against
Speaker 3: him at that point. So he has maintained his innocence throughout.
Speaker 1: Yeah, throughout there haven't been any allegations that comes has
Speaker 1: accepted as true.
Speaker 3: So when was he eventually arrested and charged?
Speaker 1: That happened in September last year. At that time, he
Speaker 1: was charged with sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, ars and bribery,
Speaker 1: and obstruction of justice.
Speaker 2: Really serious charge, big charges.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and at the time, federal US prosecutors accused him
Speaker 1: of using his business empire to cover up decades of
Speaker 1: abuse against women to quote fulfill his sexual desires and
Speaker 1: protect his reputation. So that was a charge of racketeering,
Speaker 1: and that's, as I just said, the idea of using
Speaker 1: the resources of a business to cover up a crime.
Speaker 1: He was also accused of using his staff to coordinate
Speaker 1: and conceal these incidents, and it's alleged that the incidents
Speaker 1: were often recorded.
Speaker 3: I remember when these charges were published last year and
Speaker 3: we covered it, and there were hundreds of pages of
Speaker 3: really extensive court documents. Was so COMPREHENI the indictment was massive.
Speaker 3: And while perhaps he had maybe earned a reputation regarding
Speaker 3: his relationship with Cassandra Ventura and the allegations around that,
Speaker 3: I think what really shocked people or what s gripped
Speaker 3: them about this case all of the allegations about how
Speaker 3: he used his business, how he used his staff, and
Speaker 3: that really caught people off guard.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I think that goes to the idea or
Speaker 1: the allegation rather that there were a lot of people
Speaker 1: who knew about these alleged crimes.
Speaker 3: And that it's the accusation is that it was a
Speaker 3: very a very extensive network and operation and organized in
Speaker 3: a certain way exactly.
Speaker 1: But again we do need to reiterate these are allegations
Speaker 1: now are currently being tested in court. But Combs has
Speaker 1: maintained his innocence. As I said, he has denied all
Speaker 1: of the chargers. He has been in jail this whole time.
Speaker 1: So when he was arrested back in September last year,
Speaker 1: he was later denied bail, and so this whole time
Speaker 1: he's been sitting in jail, and we have only seen
Speaker 1: him for the first time during this trial. And interestingly,
Speaker 1: he does look quite different from the court reporters. We
Speaker 1: get a sense that he has graying hair and a
Speaker 1: gray beard. Again, that goes to the time that he
Speaker 1: has spent in prison so far.
Speaker 3: Yeah, his lawyers have continued to push for him to
Speaker 3: be released on bail. But I suppose with the nature
Speaker 3: of these charges relating to so many different states across
Speaker 3: the US, there has been concern about how to navigate that.
Speaker 3: So he has pleaded not guilty. Yeah where obviously in
Speaker 3: the very early stages of this high profile trial.
Speaker 2: Just can I just jump in there.
Speaker 1: So he's pleaded not guilty, but he was recently offered
Speaker 1: a play deal. A plea deal is when a person
Speaker 1: pleads guilty to a lesser charge or a modified charge,
Speaker 1: often in exchange for a reduced sentence. I guess the
Speaker 1: operative term there is that you play guilty. Yes, and
Speaker 1: he didn't accept that play deal, so he rejected that
Speaker 1: very recently, which is why now the case is on trial,
Speaker 1: because had he pled guilty, it wouldn't have gone to trial.
Speaker 3: Interesting, Yeah, so we are at that stage. He is
Speaker 3: maintaining his innocence, rejects the plea deal. What do we
Speaker 3: know about the court proceedings so far?
Speaker 1: I'll talk to a few details on the trial itself first.
Speaker 1: So it's being held in Manhattan, as you said, in
Speaker 1: New York City.
Speaker 2: It is going to be decided by a jury.
Speaker 1: So there are twelve New Yorkers who will decide the
Speaker 1: outcome of this case. It's eight men and four women
Speaker 1: on the jury, with the trial expected to last for
Speaker 1: about eight weeks. And I know that we speak about
Speaker 1: this kind of every time we talk about a high
Speaker 1: profile case. But finding a jury that doesn't know or
Speaker 1: hasn't read about Sean Combs is a difficult and tall task.
Speaker 1: So there's been a lot of back and forth between
Speaker 1: the prosecution and the defense about who should.
Speaker 2: Make up that jury, but they have settled on that jury. Now.
Speaker 3: We'll be back with the rest of today's deep dive
Speaker 3: after this. And interestingly, in a case like this, there
Speaker 3: are spare jurors. Basically, there are extra people who have
Speaker 3: been selected. If there is misconduct or if someone is
Speaker 3: found to have previous knowledge or background knowledge that influences
Speaker 3: them unfairly in their decision making process on that jury,
Speaker 3: they will get subbed out for someone else, which I
Speaker 3: suppose the chances of that happening in a case like
Speaker 3: this are much pretty higher.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, and just on trial. There are no photos
Speaker 1: or video allowed in this trial. And I thought that
Speaker 1: was important to mention because I think we've seen not
Speaker 1: I think we have seen a lot of high profile
Speaker 1: cases play out like live streams. So I think back
Speaker 1: to the Johnny Depp and Herd case that basically became
Speaker 1: a social media trial that everyone was watching the whole time.
Speaker 1: That's not going to happen here because it's not allowed.
Speaker 1: So we are relying now on the journos who are
Speaker 1: in the room the court reporters to bring us information
Speaker 1: and reporting on what's actually happening and what's being said
Speaker 1: during that trial.
Speaker 3: That is really interesting information in terms of what's actually
Speaker 3: gone down so far. I know we are in the
Speaker 3: early stages, but have we heard opening arguments?
Speaker 1: Yeah, we have, so we've heard opening arguments from both sides.
Speaker 1: I'll start first with the prosecution's case. So we heard
Speaker 1: the opening statement from prosecutor Emily Johnson, and in her
Speaker 1: opening statement, she accused Combs of threatening, drugging, and violently
Speaker 1: coercing women into sex. I will just say I don't
Speaker 1: really want to go into the specific allegations made by
Speaker 1: the prosecution because they're quite graphic and disturbing, So I'm
Speaker 1: just going to give you like a high level run
Speaker 1: through of what we have learned. Broadly, the prosecution is
Speaker 1: alleging that Combs had this inner group of people who
Speaker 1: helped him cover up the alleged crimes, and that he
Speaker 1: used his company resources, as I said earlier, to carry
Speaker 1: out some of.
Speaker 2: These alleged crimes.
Speaker 1: She is quoted as saying he sometimes called himself the king,
Speaker 1: and he expected to be treated like one. She alleged
Speaker 1: he committed crime after crime after crime over twenty years.
Speaker 1: We know from the opening statement that the prosecution's case
Speaker 1: will also include accounts by three women, including Cassie, who
Speaker 1: I mentioned was in that video and is an ex
Speaker 1: partner of Combs.
Speaker 3: So we're expecting a group of women to appear in
Speaker 3: the witness stand and kind of assume that they will
Speaker 3: paint a picture of Combs's character. Uh, what about the
Speaker 3: other side, What can we expect from the defense.
Speaker 1: I found this to be really interesting, if I'm honest,
Speaker 1: because the defense's case is basically that comes is a
Speaker 1: deeply flawed and imperfect man, and they have been very
Speaker 1: forthcoming with that fact. Interesting They have said things like
Speaker 1: he's a complicated man, but this isn't a complicated case.
Speaker 1: Elsewhere they said, the evidence is going to show you
Speaker 1: a very flawed individual, but what it will not show
Speaker 1: you is a racketeer, a sex trafficker, or someone transporting
Speaker 1: for prostitution. So what they're trying to say is, yes,
Speaker 1: Sean Colmes is a deeply troubled, flawed man, but that
Speaker 1: he's not guilty of the extremely serious charges that are
Speaker 1: being leveled against him. So in the opening statement from
Speaker 1: Colmes's lawyer, She argued that his relationships were consensual and
Speaker 1: that he engaged in a swinger's life style with his
Speaker 1: partners that was consensual. She said that the case is
Speaker 1: about his quote, private personal sex life, which has nothing
Speaker 1: to do with his lawful businesses. So again trying to
Speaker 1: separate these allegations around the resourcing by the business of
Speaker 1: these alleged crimes.
Speaker 3: It's interesting this approach. I suppose from the defense that
Speaker 3: they haven't gone down a path of trying to portray
Speaker 3: Combs as a squeaky clean character, and I think that
Speaker 3: this shows us probably reading between the lines that consent
Speaker 3: will be a really big.
Speaker 2: Part definitely of his trial.
Speaker 1: Definitely, And again it's only the early days, but there
Speaker 1: has been quite a focus on that video that I
Speaker 1: referred to earlier. We've had two witnesses so far testify.
Speaker 1: They've been called by the prosecution, so not by the defense,
Speaker 1: but they have had the opportunity to be cross examined.
Speaker 1: The first person to be called as a witness was
Speaker 1: an LA police officer who was working as a security
Speaker 1: guard at the hotel when that video that I mentioned
Speaker 1: took place. He testified that he responded to a distressed
Speaker 1: woman on the sixth floor, who we now know to
Speaker 1: be Cassie, and that when he got there he found
Speaker 1: Combs seated with a quote devilish stare, and that he
Speaker 1: saw that Cassie had a black eye on that specific incident.
Speaker 1: This witness claims that Comes offered him money and said,
Speaker 1: don't tell nobody. And he also said that Combs bought
Speaker 1: the footage from the hotel security for about one hundred
Speaker 1: thousand dollars, but that copies were made and that's why
Speaker 1: it was able to still be leaked and publicly published.
Speaker 1: When asked about this video, because as we've kind of
Speaker 1: alluded to, it was made public, it was there for
Speaker 1: people to see. Combs's lawyers acknowledged that he was responsible
Speaker 1: for domestic violence, again going to this argument of he
Speaker 1: is responsible for some of the things that are being alleged,
Speaker 1: but they denied that this meant that he had committed
Speaker 1: any of the other crimes that he was accused.
Speaker 3: Okay, and so that includes bribery, trying to pay off
Speaker 3: people for their silence, trying to get the video which
Speaker 3: we saw through.
Speaker 1: CMX, trafficking, any of that. They're saying, yes, he is
Speaker 1: guilty of domestic violence, but no, that doesn't mean that
Speaker 1: he is guilty of these other charges. And then the
Speaker 1: second witness that was called was someone called Daniel Philip,
Speaker 1: and he delivered quite an explicit testimony. He said that
Speaker 1: Combs paid him to have sex with Cassie while Combs
Speaker 1: watched in a corner. Part of his testimony was that
Speaker 1: he alleged that he saw and heard Comb's assault Cassie
Speaker 1: on numerous occasions. Again, I'm not going to get into
Speaker 1: the details. There's some pretty graphic stuff, but you can
Speaker 1: read more of his testimony online. But basically, through his testimony,
Speaker 1: the prosecution of trying to build the case of an
Speaker 1: extremely violent man in Shawn Combs.
Speaker 3: And those original indictment documents that we touched on earlier,
Speaker 3: they do detail a lot more about these allegations of
Speaker 3: Combs paying for sex, paying male sex workers to allegedly
Speaker 3: rape women that were there under false pretenses, the prosecution
Speaker 3: argues in his home. There's plenty more details in those
Speaker 3: indictment documents if you want to read them. So Zara,
Speaker 3: I think the biggest question, apart from you know, whether
Speaker 3: or not he is guilty, is what does the future
Speaker 3: look like for Sean Combs If he is found guilty,
Speaker 3: what happens.
Speaker 1: Basically, he's facing life in prison. As we've kind of
Speaker 1: alluded to throughout this podcast, visa the most serious charges
Speaker 1: that someone can face, and he is facing a lot
Speaker 1: of them all at once. So prosecutors are pushing for
Speaker 1: if he is found guilty, life in prison, and that
Speaker 1: would be, you know, just a really really remarkable outcome
Speaker 1: for someone, as we said at the top of this podcast,
Speaker 1: who was until very recently at the top of the
Speaker 1: US entertainment industry.
Speaker 3: And he's a fifty five year old man. You know,
Speaker 3: we're not talking about historic charges and someone high profile
Speaker 3: who is near the end of their life. This is,
Speaker 3: for all intents and purposes, healthy middle aged man who
Speaker 3: could stand to be behind buzz for several decades.
Speaker 1: Super interesting and we'll be sure to bring updates as
Speaker 1: the case continues.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. If
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Speaker 3: will pop some links in the episode description.
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