What to know about the trial

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• Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said his side made no attempt to dispute allegations that Sean “Diddy” Combs battered then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. “We own the domestic violence — I hope you guys know that,” he said as he began what’s expected to be a three-hour closing.
• Despite acknowledging the physical abuse, Agnifilo described the relationship between Combs and Ventura as “a great modern love story.”
• Combs faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has vociferously denied the allegations against him.

Defense gets to summarize its case today

Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo has said he hopes complete his closing arguments in about three hours.

As a comparison, the government had expected to wrap up its summation in four hours before Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik eventually took 4 hours and 49 minutes.

It’s almost time for deliberations

Once the defense is through, U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian could have up to two hours of instructions for jurors before they can start discussing evidence.

That should set up the panel to begin its deliberations late this afternoon or fresh Monday morning.

Next week is a short one, with the court not in session on July Fourth.

Closing arguments for the defense to start

Marc Agnifilo will deliver closing arguments for the defense from 9 a.m. and it should last three hours. That will be followed by the government’s rebuttal given by Maurene Comey, which should last an hour. Finally, Judge Arun Subramanian will deliver the jury charge.

Defense readying for its closing argument

U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian gaveled court into session today in what figures to be the final pre-deliberation morning of this trial.

Combs entered the courtroom, gave his family a wave, a heart signal and then a thumbs-up.

A final push for Combs commences

Agnifilo began to address jurors in a final push to convince them that Combs is not guilty of running a criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his sexual desires.

Defense says Combs being charged for a ‘lifestyle’

Agnifilo accused prosecutors of putting his client on trial for his “lifestyle” and not a real crime.

“It is a trial of a lifestyle, if you want to call it swingers, that’s what it is, that is what the evidence shows,” he told jurors. “The prosecutors have charged one of the most serious complicated and comprehensive statutes on the books.”

The defense lawyer called his client a highly successful businessman.

“Sean Combs has become something that is very, very hard to be,” Agnifilo continued. “He is a self-made successful Black entrepreneur.”

Employees still loyal to him, attorney says

Agnifilo leaned heavily on the devotion of Combs employees who, even after testifying to violent or irrational behavior by their boss, said they were still grateful to work for him.

The attorney conceded that working for Combs was “like drinking from a fire hose,” but said that employees still appreciated the experience.

“Did they always like him? No way,” Agnifilo said. “But they loved him, even the ones who are suing him.”

America is safe from Astroglide, defense mocks

Agnifilo mocked law enforcement for their raids on Combs’ homes and making America “safe from Astroglide.”

Combs’ bedroom proclivities were on display all trial, but Agnifilo said the government didn’t make its case to show his client to be a criminal kingpin.

“Way to go fellas, you guys just do you,” Agnifilo said. “They took Astroglide and baby oil and that is the evidence in this case. There is nothing about the businesses to make it a criminal case.”

Defense concedes that Combs beat Cassie Ventura

Agnifilo said his side of the table didn’t fight allegations that Combs battered then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.

“We own the domestic violence — I hope you guys know that,” the attorney said.

But Agnifilo urged jurors to remember the charges facing Combs.

“He did not do the things he is charged with, racketeering or sex trafficking,” the attorney said. “He didn’t kidnap anyone or obstruct justice. He is going to fight to the death to defend himself against what he didn’t do.”

Defense says Ventura and Combs had ‘great modern love story’

Combs and Ventura were a “great modern love story,” Agnifilo said, despite the stomach-turning violence that marked so much of it.

“It’s complicated but they are truly in love with each other and that is what defines their relationship,” the lawyer said. “It is based on love.”

Ventura eventually left the relationship because she always had the freedom to do so, according to Combs’ defense.

“If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite it would be their relationship,” Agnifilo said.

Defense calls beating victim Ventura ‘a gangster’

Moments after conceding his client savagely beat Ventura, Agnifilo called her “a gangster.”

Despite all that Ventura suffered, Agnifilo said she wasn’t defenseless.

“I am not going to be judgy (but) she played him good and that is not something anyone can do,” Agnifilo said.

Ventura had a relationship with Kid Cudi and used a “burner phone” during her time with Combs, all showing that “Cassie is like a gangster,” according to Agnifilo.

One hour into defense closing

Agnifilo has been speaking for a little more than an hour now and Combs appears to be fully engaged.

The defendant was sitting up close to the defense table, next to attorneys Brian Steel and Alexander Shapiro.

His energy and attention look to be much higher than during yesterday’s five hours of prosecution closing arguments.

It’s ‘nonsense’ to accuse Combs of torching Kid Cudi’s Porsche, defense says

Combs denies he tossed a Molotov cocktail into Kid Cudi’s Porsche, destroying it in 2012.

Agnifilo insisted that if his client had a beef with the rapper, Scott Mescudi, it would have led to a one-on-one brawl.

“Now let’s talk about this nonsense with the Porsche,” Agnifilo said. “There is no evidence that he had anything to do with the Porsche, nothing.”

Defense says Ventura wasn’t kidnapped

The defense said that claims that Cassie Ventura was kidnapped and held in the London Hotel in Los Angeles are false. 

On May 14, Ventura had testified about an incident in January 2009 when Combs beat her after an event in Los Angeles in an SUV and stomped on her face.

When they got back to Combs’ home and he saw her face was bleeding and swollen, he had his security take her to the London Hotel in Los Angeles. She testified that she wanted to stay at Combs’ home to recover but wasn’t allowed to and was taken to the hotel, where she stayed for about a week.

Combs’ attorneys argued she went to the hotel “for her own good” as they didn’t want anything in the press. The defense argued that it’s not a kidnapping “when you want to go to the house of the guy you’re charging with kidnapping.”

Defense claims it has the right to be sarcastic

Lead prosecutor Maurene Comey complained to Subramanian about, from the government’s point of view, improper arguments made by the defense.

The defense, at points, made sarcastic comments about the charges against Combs.

“Respectfully,” Agnifilo said, “I think I’m allowed to be sarcastic.”

Defense attacks ‘Mia’ testimony: ‘This is where love and money come together’

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo attacked the testimony of “Mia,” a former assistant who worked for Combs and said he sexually assaulted her.

“This is where love and money come together. Mia loved working with Sean Combs, she loved the work she did, forced labor is when you want to be out of there as soon as possible,” he said. 

Agnifilo went back to an online post Mia made wishing Combs a happy 45th birthday and sharing admiring words.

“There was not any unwanted sexual contact between Sean Combs and Mia. It was platonic love and admiration … Instagram postings, wonderful pictures and slogans, and prosecutors said that was part of her job, that is how she really felt,” he said.

Defense argues drug allegations are a ‘distraction’

Combs possessed drugs but only for personal use and not for distribution in any criminal enterprise, his defense said.

Ventura considered Combs a “drug addict” with a preference for painkillers, ecstasy and Xanax, Agnifilo said.

“Distribution as part of a racketeering conspiracy and there is no evidence of that,” Agnifilo said.

Defense says sex trafficking charge is ‘lowest hanging fruit’

The defense argued the claims made by the prosecution don’t constitute sex trafficking, rather this was Combs and Cassie Ventura’s personal sex life.

Agnifilo called the charge “the lowest hanging fruit.”

“This is his girlfriend … there is no suggestion that he is making money from this, this is their personal life, they are swingers, this is their lifestyle,” he said. 

He said evidence shows Ventura wanted to participate because “this is how they are close … your likes and their likes become one and that is what love is and that is what was going on with Cassie.”

Defense name-drops Michael B. Jordan as one of the world’s ‘most handsome’ men

In the defense’s ongoing effort to paint Ventura as a tough woman who couldn’t have been a victim of Combs, Agnifilo said she had all the confidence to date the “handsome” Michael B. Jordan.

“When she wasn’t with Sean Combs, she was with Michael B. Jordan, the most handsome man in the world. She was not going to slow down,” Agnifilo said.

“She is at a high level; she has sexual confidence. Good for her. She is not clutching her pearls. This was her lifestyle.”

Infamous hotel beatdown was an argument over a phone?

The defense tried to minimize the infamous 2016 Los Angeles hotel beating of Ventura, implying it was an argument over Combs’ cell phone.

Agnifilo showed how at one point of footage, Ventura was carrying two bags in her left hand and “something in her right hand” while Combs was pursuing empty handed.

Moments later in footage, Combs has a phone in his right hand. Agnifilo’s implication was that Combs had confronted Ventura to get his phone back from her.

Defense disputes that Cassie was raped

Agnifilo disputed Cassie Ventura’s claim that she was raped by Combs in September 2018 after they broke up. The attorney argued: “I suggest to you maybe it didn’t happen.”

Agnifilo cited a Sept. 27 text where Cassie said, “I had a lot of fun with you thank you,” and, “I told myself I didn’t want anything to happen.”

While they were together, she got a FaceTime call from her current husband. The defense proposed that she lied to her current husband because she was caught ignoring his call and said she was raped by Combs. 

Jury to be charged Monday

Court is back in session and the jury will be charged first thing on Monday, Judge Subramanian said.

Then they can start deliberations.

Defense says nothing wrong with Combs shooting ‘homemade porn’

Combs shot “homemade porn” and that really isn’t a big deal, his lawyer said.

The defense conceded that the defendant regularly shot footage of his girlfriends having sex with male escorts as he watched and shot footage during these “hotel nights or wild king nights.”

“He’s not the only man in America making homemade porn,” Agnifilo said.

The attorney insisted Combs would never use the footage for blackmail.

Defense blows by the 3-hour mark in closings

As the clock struck about 2:12 p.m. ET, defense lawyer Agnifilo completed his third hour of argument on behalf of his client.

The defense had earlier said it needed about three hours for summation so that estimate will end up short.

Defense tries to portray hotel nights as ‘beautiful’ and enjoyable experiences

Agnifilo portrayed Combs’ sex marathon, drug-fueled hotel nights, or “freak offs,” as pleasant experiences in “beautiful hotel rooms” with great music.

He said “there is no way on this earth” Combs was ever going to release videos of these sex encounters. 

“Looking at the videos, you heard from ‘Jane,’ there is a rapport. … Everyone is smiling, it is a sex party, they are eating food, Cassie is eating watermelon, they are listening to music. The two escorts called to testify said there was a lot of talking and hanging out,” he said. “There is a nice quality to these evenings.”

Defense says ‘Jane’ thought of freak off with porn star Anton as ‘like spring break’

Agnifilo said in January 2024, Combs and ‘Jane’ were not seeing each other. At some point in that time, they were in Vegas having sex and Anton, a porn star ‘Jane’ reached out to for freak offs, was there. 

“She says, ‘I showed my friends, it sounds like spring break,’”Agnifilo told jurors. 

It was the defense’s effort to portray the freak offs as consensual experiences. Agnifilo further insinuated ‘Jane’ and Anton had a sexual relationship outside of the freak offs with Combs, and Combs didn’t know about it. 

Agnifilo hammered on, saying there were holes in her testimony and said that on occasions when she got violent with Combs it was likely because she “wasn’t getting what she wanted and needed from a financial standpoint.” She had previously testified that Combs paid her rent. 

Hiring male escorts isn’t the same as buying sex, defense says

Despite Combs’ frequent hiring of men from escort services, that shouldn’t be viewed as a sexual act, his defense said.

No one ever said, ” ‘Hi, I’m a male prostitute,’ ” Agnifilo said. “There was not evidence of that.”

When Combs asked an escort agency for a discount based on all he’d spent in previous hires, the company pointed out he was just paying for time, Agnifilo added.

Evidence of guns meant taint Combs to jury, defense says

Evidence of firearms possession was introduced to do nothing more than to smear Combs, his lawyer argued.

“You brought out a big nasty scary gun to scare you, for what purpose?” Agnifilo said. “To make you think he’s a bad person.”

Agnifilo said the government should have had a better accounting for which weapons were found if this were an important element of the case.

“That can’t possibly be true. Was that them doing their best?” he said. “That can be reflected on how much you trust them.”

Defense asks jurors to have the ‘courage’ to vote not guilty

Agnifilo wrapped up his presentation, imploring jurors to set his client free.

“You should feel the courage to call it as you see it, and I am asking you to summon the courage and do the right thing,” he said.

“I am asking you to acquit Sean Combs of all the counts. He is not a racketeer. He sits there innocent, so return him to his family who has been waiting for him.”

Agnifilo spoke for 4 hours and 3 minutes, compared to Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik whose summation lasted 4 hours and 49 minutes.

Judge tells jury to just worry about this defendant, no one else

Following an afternoon break, Judge Subramanian reminded jurors they’re not to be concerned about who the prosecution has not charged in this case.

In his defense closings, Agnifilo questioned why others were not targeted for prosecution other than Combs.

The judge said arguing that Combs is the target of selective prosecution was not appropriate.

No more excuses for Combs, prosecutor says

The defense offered nothing more than “lies” and “excuse after excuse” for the Combs’ “inexcusable behavior,” the lead prosecutor Comey said as she began her rebuttal closing arguments.

“Make no mistake this trial was how, in Sean Combs’ world, ‘no’ was never an option,” she told jurors.

“Sean Combs did not take ‘no’ for an answer, not from employees and certainly not from his girlfriends.”

Prosecutor says Combs didn’t hire male escorts for ‘scintillating conversation’

Comey mocked the defense for arguing that Combs’ frequent hire of male escorts was just for their time and not at all related to sex work.

“It doesn’t pass the laugh test. Common sense tells you (that) he did not pay them for their scintillating conversation,” the lead prosecutor said in her rebuttal argument. “It was for sex.”

Even if there was not a spoken or written agreement for sex, the intent was clear, according to Comey.

“What matters in the law is what was on Sean Combs’ mind when they crossed state lines,” she said. “Sean Combs intended to pay them for sex when he transported them. When they collect their paycheck, they are getting paid for the work they have done.”

Capricorn Clark was kidnapped to go to Kid Cudi’s place, prosecutor says

Capricorn Clark, a former aide to Combs, was taken against her will to confront Kid Cudi in what amounted to a kidnapping, Comey said.

The prosecutor said it was “laughable” to believe defense assertions that she was there willingly to help with the break-in.

Combs wanted to confront Kid Cudi with a gun, according to the prosecution.

“Agnifilo said Sean Combs was a hands-and-fist guy — sure, with his girlfriends,” Comey said.

Sean Combs had plenty of help — because he can’t do anything on his own, prosecutor says

The music mogul ran a criminal enterprise with help from plenty of employees, who helped him do nearly everything in daily life, Comey said.

The prosecutor mocked Combs’ inability to execute a host of daily tasks, arguing that was indicative of his need to use “his inner circle” for nearly everything in life.

“This is a guy who can’t get his own water bottle or plug in his phone charger,” she said. “He is the general, not a foot soldier or lieutenant.”

Ventura, Jane and Mia were forced into sex they didn’t want, prosecutor says

Two former girlfriends and a former assistant said they were sexually assaulted by Combs, despite the defense’s assertions that sex was consensual, according to the government.

All three women made it clear they did not want to submit to acts pushed onto them by Combs, Comey said.

“These three women had no reason to lie,” Comey said.

No acting awards handed out in court, prosecutor says

The former assistant Mia testified truthfully about sexual assault she endured from Combs, the prosecutor said.

“Mia is not some trained actor putting on a performance,” Comey said. “No one is handing out Tonys or Oscars for performances in this courtroom. She was here to tell you what happened.”

The former girlfriend Jane didn’t sue Combs, so she too had no incentive to lie, according to the government.

“If she was looking for a payday, where is the lawsuit?” Comey said. “There is none because she was not trying to copy Cassie.”

Prosecutor says Combs’ sexual desires were ‘predictable and insatiable’

Combs’ former girlfriends had no reason to lie or share a common desire to have sex with male escorts, the prosecution said.

These “freak offs” and “hotel nights” were all allegedly the brainchild of one person.

“His (Combs) desire for these nights was predictable and insatiable,” Comey said.

She urged jurors to take these women at their word.

“The defense makes all kinds of claims of why they were lying,” Comey said. “Remember these women have no reason to lie.”

S: NBC News