Sean “Diddy” Combs’ fate is now in the hands of the 12 people on his New York jury.
The eight men and four women in the Bad Boy Records founder’s six-week long sex-trafficking trial have officially begun their deliberations.
Arrested in September, as dozens of civil cases of abuse and assault piled up, the much-accused Combs is up against federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and more. Last week, the Department of Justice prosecutors dropped and downgraded some of the claims in what they called an move to “streamline” the case.
That turn did little to actually alter the composition of the matter, or its potential outcome.
In custody at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center for the past nine months, despite numerous failed attempts at getting out on a $50 million bail, the 55-year old Combs could spend the rest of his life behind bars if the jury delivers a guilty verdict.
“The evidence is the testimony and the exhibits,” Judge Arun Subramanian told the jurors in his lower Manhattan courtroom this morning.
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The eight words in that sentence by the judge raised by implication the sometimes gut wrenching tales of alleged violence and degradation at Combs’ hand given under oath by the likes of Combs’ former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura (who was heavily pregnant during her testimony), and, under pseudonyms used at trial by fellow sexual assault accusers “Jane” and former Combs employee “Mia.” As well, various ex-staffers to the Grammy winner, male escorts hired for the drug propelled and frequently filmed “freak-off” sex sessions, law enforcement, hotel security guards, and others took the stand during the trial.
“You are the sole and exclusive arbiters of the facts,” he added. The federal judge then advised them to carefully look at “each witness’ credibility, the truth and importance of their testimony. Size him or her up. You must decide.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs listens during opening statements on Day One of his trial in Manhattan federal court, May 12, 2025 (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
With closing arguments by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Southern District of New York and Combs’ 10-lawyer strong defense over late on June 27, the main business today for Judge Subramanian, besides reading the charges themselves, was giving the jurors their formal instructions. Dull but significant by definition, the instructional process in the proceedings at this point in any criminal trial is all about establishing parameters.
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The importance of those boundaries of sorts was made very clear last week by the effort and horse-trading by the parties on what the judge could and could not tell the jury to consider.
All said and done, it took Judge Subramanian just over an hour to read out the jury instructions Monday morning. As he has been every day of his trial and during most pre-trial hearings, Combs was in attendance today. Though some of the Combs’ children have been present at trial more than others over the past month and a half, a parade of vehicles dropped off a full contingent of Combs’ sons and daughters to pack the courtroom Monday.
Microphones are set up outside the Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering jury deliberations in Manhattan on June 30, 2025 (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Even before the heavily media covered and often horrifically sordid and harrowing trial began on May 12, Judge Subramanian had said he wanted to try to make sure things were done by the July 4 holiday.
In that sense, he successfully made his own deadline. Certainly, the judge was helped in no small part by the defense’s case lasting around 30 minutes last week, with no witnesses, no testimony and, most telling and unsurprising, no Diddy taking the stand.
However, with all the nastiness and nuances of this matter, a verdict by the non-sequestered jury in the next three days seems a long-shot — but not impossible. Not impossible at all.
