Where the sex trafficking trial stands 

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• Former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard returned to the stand today. She testified last week that she witnessed Sean “Diddy” Combs attack his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, with a skillet filled with eggs. The defense tried to undermine her credibility today by highlighting inconsistencies with her statements and her attempts to continue working with Combs despite the alleged violence she witnessed.
• Richard sued Combs last year, alleging the rap mogul groped, assaulted and imprisoned her, and threatened her life when she tried to intervene in defense of Ventura. Combs’ attorney said the mogul was “shocked and disappointed” by Richard’s lawsuit.
• Ventura’s former best friend, Kerry Morgan, also took the stand today. She described multiple instances where she says she saw Combs physically abuse Ventura. Morgan also testified that Ventura was jealous of Combs’ ex-girlfriend Kim Porter and that Combs was jealous of Ventura’s relationship with actor Michael B. Jordan.

• Also called to the stand was David James, a former personal assistant of Combs. James began his tearful testimony describing his hiring process, when an executive at Bad Boy Entertainment told him, “This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom, and we are all her to serve in it.” He also said Ventura told him she couldn’t leave Combs because he controlled her career and her money.

Richard and Combs’ attorneys arrive at court

Former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard arrived at court shortly after 8 a.m.  

Combs’ attorneys, including Xavier Donaldson, Alexandra Shapiro and Marc Agnifilo, were also seen arriving this morning.

Richard returns to the stand

After about 20 minutes of a discussion between the judge and attorneys from both sides, Richard was brought back to the witness stand to continue her testimony.

Richard wore slacks with a white shirt and an overcoat.

Richard testifies Combs told her she could die or ‘go missing’

Richard recalled how frightened she was when Combs allegedly threatened her and the defendant’s then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

The incident happened in 2009, a day after Combs attacked Ventura with a skillet, according to Richard.

“He said you could go missing, that we could die,” Richard told jurors. “I was shocked but also scared, I couldn’t believe this would be the beginning of a journey for us (with the group Dirty Money).”

Beatings from Combs often triggered by Cassie ‘speaking up for herself,’ Richard says

Dawn Richard said she regularly witnessed Combs lashing out at Cassie Ventura over the years, often after his then-girlfriend would voice her opinion.

“Frequently, he would punch her, choke her, slap her in the mouth, kick her, punch her in the stomach,” Richard told jurors.

“It could be because Cassie was speaking up for herself. It could be random. It could be if she had an opinion for herself,” Richard said. “She would be quiet and when she had these moments of trying to stick up for herself, he would hurt her for it.”

Women in Dirty Money wore sunglasses in ‘solidarity’ with Ventura after beating, Richard says

The two female members of Diddy-Dirty Money wore sunglasses alongside Cassie Ventura during a Central Park appearance as a way to support her, Richard testified.

According to Richard, Ventura was punched in the face by Diddy at his home in 2009 ahead of the event. Diddy’s former girlfriend had a swollen eye that Ventura used makeup and sunglasses to hide, Richard told the court.

“We wore sunglasses to have solidarity with her and have a support system because she needed it,” Richard said.

Richard was in two different music groups formed by Combs

Richard is likely best known for her time performing with the girl group Danity Kane, but she was also in another musical group in the mid-2000s.

She got her start with Combs through his reality show “Making the Band 3,” which is how Danity Kane formed. The group had two relatively popular albums between 2006 and 2008, but disbanded in January 2009.

Combs then briefly formed a trio with himself, Richard and Kalenna Harper the same year it was announced Danity Kane broke up. That lasted until roughly 2012, and Richard released a solo album called “Goldenheart” the next year.

Cassie told to ‘wait her turn’ for album; Combs’ employees didn’t stop violence, Richard says

Combs would angrily tell his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura to “wait for her turn” for recording an album, Richard said.

When Richard would support Ventura’s musical aspirations, Combs “didn’t like me talking with her about that,” the witness said.

“He said it would be on his terms. It was always wait, wait, wait. She had to wait for her turn, sometimes it was just wait your turn, other times it was violent or volatile,” she said.

The witness said numerous employees of Combs’ and his Bad Boy Records witnessed his violence against Ventura and no one stepped in.

Richard’s testimony could help bolster the prosecution’s narrative that Combs committed racketeering conspiracy by using his “multi-faceted business empire” to coerce and control women for sex.

Combs supplied with drugs by dealer named ‘One Stop’ and was surrounded by guns, Richard says

Prosecutors returned to questioning about Combs’ drug use, or rather his offers of drugs to other people, while Richard was on the stand.

Richard testified that Combs would have a drug dealer named “One Stop” deliver a range of substances to the recording studio, including cocaine and marijuana. She also told the court that Combs or his assistants would carry a Louis Vuitton pouch filled with drugs.

Cassie Ventura referred to the Louis Vuitton pouch as Combs’ “med bag” during her testimony last week.

Prosecutors then asked if Richard ever saw a weapon while with Combs. Richard said she saw firearms a “few times” and that Combs’ bodyguards “had them and they held them in their lower back.”

Richard says she’s seeking ‘justice,’ not a big civil court payout

Richard ended her direct examination by saying she’s seeking “justice.”

In hopes of inoculating Richard against defense claims that she’d be biased against Combs due to her federal lawsuit against the music mogul, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner asked the witness what she hopes to gain from testifying.

Steiner asked Richard if she’s expecting “any compensation for your testimony?”

“I’m expecting justice,” she responded.

Defense begins cross-examination of Richard

Combs’ attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, began cross-examination of Richard and picked up where prosecutors left off — Richard’s lawsuit against Combs.

Westmoreland asked if Richard was aware there was a pending motion to dismiss her lawsuit, a standard practice with civil suits, but Richard said she didn’t know.

Defense then began a line of questioning in an attempt to undermine Richard’s testimony last week that she witnessed Combs hit Cassie with a skillet. Westmoreland asked if Richard’s allegations have “changed over time.”

Westmoreland said that in a letter sent to Combs, Richard alleged she “heard a pan hit the wall” but didn’t see it. Richard responded to the series of questions that she wasn’t aware or didn’t recall what Westmoreland was referencing.

Defense questions Richard’s version of egg skillet incident, reminds her she’s under oath

Defense lawyer Nicole Westmoreland tried to poke holes in Richard’s claim that Combs attacked Ventura with a skillet of eggs.

Westmoreland suggested in her questions that Richard has told different versions of the 2009 incident, including one that simply had Combs throwing eggs at Ventura.

Richard told jurors on Friday that she saw Combs hit Ventura with the skillet.

Westmoreland reminded Richard that she’s under oath and then asked if she’s changed her story over time. Richard responded: “I said the best that I could recall.”

Defense pushes back on Richard’s saying Combs threatened her with ‘people go missing’

Combs’ defense is attempting to catch inconsistencies in Richard’s direct testimony, this time with the allegation that Combs said to her that “people go missing” and that they could die after witnessing a fight between him and Cassie Ventura.

Westmoreland pulled up interviews Richard had with prosecutors in October and March, where she also recounted the same incident with a skillet. Westmoreland pointed out Richard said in the interview that Combs said “this was a love thing,” with no mention of “people going missing” in her interview.

“That’s not true, I don’t recall not saying that,” Richard responded.

“You didn’t tell prosecutors that Sean Combs said, ‘People go missing,'” Westmoreland continued.

“I didn’t remember it,” Richard told the court, later stating that she remembers “everything I am telling you now.”

Richard didn’t immediately tell government about guns, admits she changed her story about drugs

The defense challenged Richard’s testimony about weapons and narcotics she allegedly saw in Combs’ possession, inferring that her memories only recently came to light.

Under direct examination earlier on Monday, Richard detailed the times she saw Combs with guns and illegal drugs.

Westmoreland asked Richard why the witness didn’t mention guns in eight meetings with prosecutors, and she said, “It wasn’t asked.”

Also under direct examination on Monday, Richard said she saw Combs taking ketamine, cocaine and molly.

Westmoreland asked Richard if she’s changed her story after previously telling government investigators she hadn’t seen Combs with cocaine.

“Yes, as time progresses, I get better at knowing what went on because it was quite a long time ago,” the witness said.

Richard felt that Combs derailed her career twice

Richard’s cross-examination moved into her career with Combs, which included her work with Danity Kane and Comb’s trio, Diddy-Dirty Money.

The singer confirmed that though she said she was scared of Combs, she asked to work with him again. Westmoreland brought up the hundreds of thousands of records Richard sold while with both groups.

Richard confirmed that she asked Combs to sign her as a solo artist in 2011, which would have been the end of her time with Diddy-Dirty Money, and Combs denied her. She also said she asked to work with Combs as recently as about 2020 or 2021.

“You felt like Mr. Combs ruined your career not once, but twice?” Westmoreland asked.

“Yes,” Richard said.

Richard says she repressed memories of Combs due to trauma

Federal prosecutor Mitzi Steiner picked up questioning Richard following a tough cross-examination, where defense attorneys attempted to undermine Richard’s testimony by pointing out inconsistencies in her retelling of events.

Steiner asked whether Richard had thought about the incidents a lot over the decades since she witnessed them.

“No, it was a hard time, a bad time for me,” Richard said. “It did not all come back immediately … the environment was traumatizing, so I tried to erase those things from my memory.”

By speaking with investigators, Richard said that more memories come to her every day and that she tries to relay things “as best and accurate as I can.” She confirmed that she did tell the government that she saw Combs hitting Cassie and that he threatened her to keep quiet during several meetings.

Richard testified that she had “no doubt” that Combs tried to strike Cassie, or that Cassie went into a fetal position, or that Combs dragged Cassie by the stairs by her hair. She also had “no doubt” that Combs threatened Richard to keep quiet.

Despite Combs’ death threats, Richard admits to trying to work with him again

Under another round of cross-examination, Richard admitted she tried to work with Combs again despite all her allegations that the music mogul engaged in violence and drug use.

The defense lawyer, Westmoreland, ticked off the number of performances, writing sessions, travel and career talks Richard would have to engage in with Combs despite the bad acts she had allegedly seen.

Westmoreland asked, “You would spend a lot of time together even though he made death threats?”

Richard responded, “Yes.”

When pressed about her lawsuit against Combs, Richard said: “I want justice and to be made whole.”

And when Westmoreland asked if that meant being paid money, Richard answered, “Yes.”

Kerry Morgan, Cassie’s former best friend, takes the stand

Kerry Morgan, the woman Cassie Ventura described as her former best friend, was called to the witness stand by the government once Dawn Richard’s testimony was concluded.

Ventura testified last week that she met Morgan when she was a teenager and the two remained close for about 17 years. Combs’ former girlfriend testified that their friendship ended after Combs allegedly hit Morgan in the head with a wooden hanger.

But Morgan was allegedly aware of the abuse Cassie endured from Combs and had been around the couple regularly in the early days of their relationship when Cassie still lived in New York City.

‘I moved on’: Cassie’s former best friend says she didn’t want to testify

Kerry Morgan made it clear that she was only in court testifying because she was issued a subpoena by the government.

“I do not want to testify,” Morgan said when asked why she was there. “I moved on with my life.”

Morgan also confirmed that she and Cassie Ventura, who met on a modeling shoot as teenagers, no longer speak because Ventura’s “boyfriend” assaulted her.

Combs had mood swings and ‘could be very aggressive,’ Morgan testifies

Kerry Morgan told the court that she got to know Combs “very well” in the roughly 11 years that he was dating her former best friend.

She described him as someone who was sometimes very nice and generous, but also as someone who had mood swings and “could be very aggressive.” Morgan testified that Combs would get mad at Cassie and that Cassie “lost her spark” and confidence while with Combs.

When asked whether Combs ever spoke down to Cassie, Morgan said it could be “often” and could be regarding her looks or her behavior. Morgan also told the court that Combs would sometimes call her up to “50 times in a row” to look for Cassie.

Morgan testified that she personally witnessed Combs assault Cassie two times, once in Jamaica and once in Los Angeles.

Morgan recalls multiple acts of violence by Combs against Cassie

Kerry Morgan described multiple incidents of Combs allegedly flying off the handle and beating Cassie Ventura with seemingly no provocation.

Morgan first detailed an incident when she and Ventura were vacationing in Jamaica and Combs arrived halfway through their trip.

“Cassie had gone to the bathroom and after a few minutes Sean said she was taking too long, and he left me and then I heard her screaming,” the witness testified. “It was guttural, terrifying. I heard her screaming so I went to the long hallway, they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair.”

Combs then dragged Ventura outside and threw her to the ground, where she hit her head on brick, Morgan said. Ventura and Morgan then fled the scene in a golf cart and hid in a ditch as Combs searched for them in another golf cart for hours, Morgan testified.

Morgan recalls multiple acts of violence by Combs against Cassie, continued
In a second incident, Morgan told the court that she was with Combs and Ventura at a house the defendant was renting in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills.

She saw Combs allegedly hit or kick Ventura. Morgan urged the music mogul’s security guard, Ruben, to “do something” and he refused.

She told the court that she and Ventura left the house to hide at a neighbor’s place and heard Combs driving by to look for them. Ultimately, however, Ventura returned to Combs’ house, Morgan said.

Cassie didn’t feel she could leave Combs ‘because of her job,’ Morgan says

Kerry Morgan testified that though she urged Cassie Ventura to speak to police about Combs’ abuse, she refused due to what it would mean for her career and her livelihood.

Prosecutor Meredith Foster asked Morgan whether she had ever spoken with Cassie about is she should stay with Combs. Morgan told the court she and her former best friend would speak about it often.

“I wanted her to do what she wanted to do, but I told her she should leave him,” Morgan said. “And she said she could not, because of her job, her car, her apartment.”

It was apparent to Morgan that after Ventura spent time with people associated with Combs, “she did not want to leave him.”

Combs gave Morgan a concussion in alleged wooden hanger assault and paid her off, she says

Kerry Morgan recounts the alleged assault she personally endured from Combs that ended her almost two decades of friendship with Cassie Ventura.

She testified that she was at Ventura’s house listening to music when Combs came into the singer’s apartment. Cassie was in the bathroom and Morgan said she was in the living room at the time.

“He came up behind me and choked me and left finger marks on my neck and hit me in the head with a wooden hanger,” Morgan told the court. “Cassie was in the bathroom, it hit me behind me right ear.”

Morgan added that Combs was talking about Cassie cheating on him and she grabbed her personal things and left. She said she went to an urgent care for a concussion, noting that she was dizzy and “vomited a few times.”

She hired a lawyer but did not file a lawsuit, Morgan said, instead being paid $30,000 from Combs and that she signed an NDA.

“We haven’t spoken since,” Morgan said. “The last time I spoke to Sean was the night of the assault and the last time I saw Cassie was when I signed the NDA.”

Morgan returns to stand for cross-examination

The prosecution ended its direct questioning of witness Kerry Morgan just moments after she returned to the stand this afternoon.

Combs’ defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, will cross-examine Cassie Ventura’s former best friend.

Cassie was jealous of Kim Porter, Morgan says

Cassie Ventura was jealous of Kim Porter, Combs’ ex-girlfriend and mother to three of his children, according to Kerry Morgan.

Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked Morgan if Cassie was ever jealous of Porter, who died in 2018.

“I’m sure,” Morgan said. “Yes, she was jealous because she could never go to New Year’s Eve parties.”

Porter was the mother to Combs’ children Christian and twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila.

Combs was jealous of Cassie’s time with Michael B. Jordan, Morgan says

While Cassie Venturay may have been jealous of Kim Porter, her former friend says that Combs was also jealous of Cassie’s time with actor Michael B. Jordan.

Ventura told the court last week that she and Combs had broken up while she was in South Africa for a few weeks filming a movie, and during that time he suspected she was having an affair with Jordan. Kerry Morgan said much of the same under cross-examination today.

“What I remember was that she was speaking to Michael B. Jordan and they hung out together,” Morgan said. “And he was jealous of it.”

Morgan says Cassie was not supportive after Combs allegedly beat her with a wooden hanger

Kerry Morgan said she hasn’t spoken to Cassie Ventura in seven years after Ventura allegedly failed to take her friend’s side after an alleged altercation with Combs.

The witness recalled an incident when the three of them were at Ventura’s apartment in 2018 when, Morgan claims, Combs grabbed her by the neck and hit her with a wooden hanger.

“The reason I stopped speaking to her was because she was not supportive of me after that incident. I draw my line at physical abuse,” Morgan said under cross-examination.

Even though Ventura eventually left Combs, married personal trainer Alex Fine and is about to have their third child together, Morgan said the relationship remains broken. The witness said she received $30,000 to keep quiet.

“She said it was through him, the money wasn’t coming from her. She was the go-between,” Morgan said. “I did not demand money from anyone. She offered money to close the case on it so I don’t sue anybody or say anything public about it,” Morgan said. “All I got was $30,000.”

David James, Combs’ former personal assistant, called to the stand

Kerry Morgan’s time on the witness stand ended after a quick redirect from the prosecution, who just asked her to reiterate what she saw during Combs’ assault of Cassie in Jamaica.

The government then called David James, a personal assistant who worked for Combs between 2007 and 2009, to the stand.

James told the court he was testifying because he was subpoenaed twice.

Former assistant says he was told, ‘This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom and we are all here to serve in it’

David James broke down in tears describing the Bad Boy staff’s undying loyalty to the music mogul, who viewed him as a king, the witness said.

James recalled meeting with staffers during the interview process in 2007 and one female executive left a lasting memory.

An overcome James grabbed tissues and testified the executive pointed to a picture of Combs on the wall and said, ‘This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom and we are all here to serve in it.'”

James testified that Combs was surrounded by security staff who all carried legal weapons. He said the head of security, Uncle Paulie, carried a switchblade.

When asked what security told him about the job, James replied, “To stay in my lane … I understood it do what I was hired to do and only that job.”

Cassie said Combs controlled her career and paid her allowance, former assistant says

David James recalled the first time he interacted with Cassie Ventura while he was Combs’ personal assistant.

It was in Miami when Combs rented a yacht to try to impress her, James said. When he and Ventura were smoking cigarettes, Ventura told him, “This place is crazy.”

When James asked why she didn’t leave if she thought it was so crazy, Ventura told him she can’t. “He controls my career, pays my allowance, and pays my rent,” she said, according to James’ testimony.

He broke down in tears on the stand again as he described his second interaction with Ventura, when they discussed a track list she picked out and she was “super happy.”

James also testified he heard Combs talk about Ventura to a friend during a car trip in L.A., describing her both as his “queen” and as being “very moldable.”

Court is adjourned; Combs’ former personal assistant to resume tomorrow

Court has adjourned for the day, with David James set to return tomorrow for at least another hour of questioning from the prosecution.

S: NBC News