The Daily Populous Thursday July 3rd, 2025 night edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by NewSlinger

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Sean “Diddy” Combs, the onetime global hip-hop titan whose federal trial unveiled harrowing testimony accusing him of sexual abuse against women and forced drug-dazed “freak offs,” was acquitted Wednesday of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but found guilty of lesser charges.

The jury’s verdict, delivered on the third day of deliberations, declared Combs, 55, not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion but guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Later Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs' bail request, saying it would be impossible for him to prove he does not pose a danger.

The verdict is seen as a win for Combs and his defense team, which did not call a single witness during the seven-week trial. After it was read, his family stood in the background, clapping and cheering. Combs fell to his knees in prayer. As he left the courtroom, he told his family, “Thank you, love you.”

Combs reacts after the verdict in Manhattan federal court Wednesday. Elizabeth Williams / AP

Teny Geragos, one of Combs’ attorneys, broke out in tears. His lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, made a fist in triumph as the defense team hugged one another and hugged his family.

“It’s a great victory for Sean Combs," Agnifilo told reporters outside the courthouse. "It’s a great victory for the jury system. You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had.”

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Agnifilo had asked Subramanian to release Combs from federal detention, where he has been for nearly a year. He also asked for Combs to be released on conditions to his home in Miami, offering a $1 million bond.

Combs has been a “model prisoner” who is “in the process of working on himself” and has no plans to flee, Agnifilo said.

In his denial, Subramanian cited Combs' attorneys’ own words — “we own the domestic violence" — and said prosecutors had presented evidence that Combs had "engaged in years of lifelong violence."

"He continues to be a danger to others," Subramanian said.

Subramanian set a sentencing date of Oct. 3. Prosecutors are seeking between four and five years behind bars, the judge said.

Chaos and celebrations outside the courthouse

Combs' family, including his mother and his son Justin Combs, left the courthouse shortly after the verdict. A crowd of supporters swarmed the family’s waiting van, shouting, “Free Puff! Free Puff! Free Puff!”

His mother, Janice Combs, later returned to the courthouse, waving to onlookers and fans and blowing kisses.

Janice Combs at Manhattan's federal court Wednesday. Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images

Outside court, Combs' supporters celebrated with baby oil, an apparent reference to supplies witnesses said were provided for "freak offs." A woman in a bikini danced as a man drizzled baby oil on her from a nearby ledge.

Amid the throngs of onlookers were the influencers who have been chronicling the trial from the courthouse since it began roughly two months ago.

Los Angeles-based YouTuber Armon Wiggins, who has more than 285,000 followers, declined to share his thoughts about the verdict itself but acknowledged a victory of a different sort.

“We changed the face of media. We changed the face of how news gets out,” Wiggins said. “It was a fight in the beginning, because a lot of times people don’t respect the new media, but I’m one of those people who’s willing to fight with the traditional media because we do numbers.”

The trial has drawn nationwide attention. No cameras were allowed in court, so to follow along with what was happening in the courtroom, people turned to traditional media sources, as well as influencers who were at the trial.

Wiggins said that since he began covering the trial, he’s gained about 60,000 new followers on YouTube and nabbed several radio and TV appearances, including on TMZ and NewsNation.

Armon Wiggins. Matthew Lavietes / NBC News

The partial conviction caps an astonishing moment for Combs, a self-made rapper from New York who rose to the pinnacle of hip-hop culture and became a household name. He once ruled the hip-hop and R&B charts and was a fixture in celebrity circles, propelled by his exuberant personality, lavish lifestyle and business pursuits — including reality television and fashion — as an entrepreneur and brand ambassador.

After a three-decade run in the spotlight, allegations by his ex-girlfriend the R&B singer Cassie began his precipitous fall from impresario to convicted criminal.

Over the course of the trial, a jury of eight men and four women heard the U.S. government accuse Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, of leveraging his power, wealth and influence as the head of a “criminal enterprise” to sexually abuse and exploit women for his own gratification over two decades.

His defense pitched to jurors that the case was “badly exaggerated” and that he was on trial simply for a “swingers” lifestyle — one tinged with violent behavior and supplies of drugs and baby oil — that was ultimately consensual.

Jurors heard from almost three dozen government witnesses, from former personal assistants to stylists to label artists. Some willingly testifying against Combs, while others were granted immunity in exchange for their testimony.

Three women, including Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, were central figures in the case. They provided graphic testimony about allegations of sexual assault and violence or threats of blackmail.

Combs’ lawyers called no witnesses, and Combs himself decided not to testify, as much of the defense’s case was laid out during lengthy cross-examinations of government witnesses.

Ventura’s attorney, Doug Wigdor, told reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday that his team would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes and racketeering charges but that they were pleased he has “finally been held accountable” and faces substantial jail time on the lesser charges.

On the racketeering conspiracy charge, a jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant was involved in an enterprise among two or more people to engage in at least two criminal acts affecting interstate commerce — offenses that may include kidnapping, arson, bribery, forced labor, sex trafficking and other underlying crimes.

For the standalone sex trafficking charge, prosecutors must demonstrate the defendant by force or threat compelled others to commit commercial sex acts in which something of value, such as money, was received.

During her nearly five-hour closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik reminded the jury about various government witnesses who testified about the allegations. She said an ex-assistant of Combs’, Capricorn Clark, was subjected to kidnapping and forced labor, while the car of a romantic rival of Combs, the rapper Kid Cudi, was firebombed in an act of arson.

A former assistant who testified under the pseudonym “Mia” and accused Combs of sexually assaulting her multiple times was another example of forced labor, Slavik said.

On the two sex trafficking counts, Slavik told jurors that they did not need to believe Ventura or another ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” were engaged in sex acts against their will in every instance.

The women testified about "freak offs" and “hotel nights,” which were the names for drug-induced sexual encounters with male escorts they said Combs routinely manipulated them into under threat of releasing recorded videos of the explicit sex acts.

“So, if there was one time, one single freak off, when the defendant knew or recklessly disregarded that Cassie or Jane was participating because of his lies, his threats or his violence, then that’s it,” Slavik said, “he’s guilty.”

Combs’ defense team maintained that he operated a legitimate business and was being unfairly targeted by overzealous prosecutors.

“Sean Combs has become something that is very, very hard to become, very hard to be,” Agnifilo said in his four-hour closing arguments. “He is a self-made successful Black entrepreneur.”

While Agnifilo didn’t deny that Combs was consumed by bouts of jealousy and that he engaged in angry tirades that involved domestic violence, the women, ultimately, chose to stay with him, while those in his inner circle had the agency to leave, he said.

“If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship,” Agnifilo said of Combs and Ventura, who dated on and off from about 2007 to 2018.

One key piece of evidence played for the jury repeatedly and frame by frame was security video showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. She testified that he was angered because she was trying to leave a freak off.

“We own the domestic violence. We own it. I hope you guys know this,” Agnifilo told the jury while denying Combs was a mastermind who conspired with his employees to commit crimes.

No matter the outcome of the criminal case, Combs must contend with a slew of lawsuits that have included accusations of rape and sexual assault. Combs, who has denied such allegations, has accused various plaintiffs of pursuing quick “paydays.”

SEIZE_THE_CHEESE on July 2nd, 2025 at 14:27 UTC »

> Combs was found not guilty on count one, racketeering conspiracy.

> Combs was found not guilty of count two, the sex trafficking of Casandra Ventura.

> Combs was found guilty on count three, the Mann Act transportation of Casandra Ventura.

> Combs was found not guilty of count 4, the sex trafficking of former girlfriend Jane.

> Combs was found guilty of count 5, the Mann Act transportation of former girlfriend Jane.

Guilty on 2 of 5 and they're the transportation charges. Max sentence is 10 years and it will likely be less because of time already served. Can't fucking believe he's getting away with so much.

Youre-doin-great on July 2nd, 2025 at 14:26 UTC »

Hard to catch a man covered in baby oil

sasquatch727 on July 2nd, 2025 at 14:26 UTC »

Perfectly in line with all the other news we've received this year