The jury begins deliberations in Diddy’s trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, as the judge commends both sides for exceptional lawyering.
The jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s federal trial has retired to begin deliberations after a seven-week trial that featured intense closing arguments from both sides.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting individuals for prostitution, now faces the prospect that jurors must decide whether the government has proved any—or all—of these charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to Variety, Judge Arun Subramanian spent more than two hours on Monday morning carefully instructing the twelve jurors—eight men and four women—on how to apply the law to the evidence they’ve heard.
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Before sending them to choose a foreperson and start deliberating, he praised both the prosecution and defense for “exceptional” advocacy and “great lawyering,” noting that younger attorneys on each team had been given meaningful roles throughout the proceedings.
If Convicted:
- Racketeering: Possible life sentence
- Sex trafficking: Minimum of 15 years
- Transporting for prostitution: Up to 10 years
Last week’s closings spanned roughly five hours apiece. Prosecutors portrayed Combs as the mastermind of a criminal enterprise that exploited his celebrity and staff to facilitate illicit sex parties.
In contrast, defense lawyers maintained that his gatherings—branded “freak-offs”—were consensual “swingers” events, fueled by drugs but not coercion.
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As the court broke for deliberations, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo secured the judge’s permission for Combs to have books in his holding-cell while he waits—a small humanizing moment after weeks of high-stakes testimony and legal wrangling.
Now, all eyes turn to the jury room, where days—or potentially longer—of deliberation will decide the fate of one of hip-hop’s most influential figures.
