Tonya Simpson
Appearances
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
And I also think in my non-expert, non-legal opinion, I think that Cassie's testimony has done a lot for the charge of transportation to engage in prostitution. She has testified about multiple cases. escorts that they hired and how these same escorts, they would see them in different cities, in different states.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
She talked about how they would arrange travel for some of the escorts at one point internationally. She says they flew an escort to Ibiza for a freak off. I want to get your thoughts on that. And also, what about the racketeering?
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
So Cassie Ventura was considered, I think, pretty much by everyone to be the government's star witness, a key witness. She is one of the first people to testify. Are there pros and cons to having your star witness testify during the very first week of what is being estimated to be an up to eight week trial, six to eight weeks trial?
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
You know, my wrist is doing okay. My fingers were getting a little sore on the first day. I was starting to get a dent on one of my fingers from the pen. So I actually bought cushions to put on my pens while I'm writing, and that has helped a lot.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Yeah. Yeah. I am a very meticulous note taker. Shout out to my grade school teachers for the penmanship.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Sure. I think one of the first things that stood out for me in Cassie's testimony is when prosecutors asked her to walk through the hotel video. It was interesting to see her watching that video. I was paying very close attention to her face. I was also looking at Sean Combs' face while she was watching. Cassie Ventura's husband has also been in the courtroom.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
I noticed him watching Diddy, watching Sean Combs while the video was playing. But it was interesting to hear Cassie talk about everything that led up to what we saw in the video and then everything that came after. She explained that they were at the hotel. They were in L.A. She was getting ready for a big movie premiere.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
And she talked about how she didn't necessarily want to do a freak off that weekend, but she felt like she needed to because she wanted her premiere to go smoothly. She talked about the fact that that was one of the only times that she had ever actually tried to leave a freak off.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
And Cassie Ventura claimed that the reason she tried to leave that freak off is because at some point she was hit in the face. She had a black eye and she knew she had this movie premiere coming up and she didn't want to get any more injuries before she had to hit that red carpet.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Very, very red. And when he would look at Sean Combs and kind of look at Sean Combs' family, it was a very pointed stare. It wasn't a glance. He would look at them for stretches of time, like a few seconds, maybe even a minute or so.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Absolutely. I also thought it was interesting that from the moment that Cassie came into the courtroom, she would glance at her husband, Alex, when she walked in. While she's being questioned, she is looking very pointedly at the prosecutor. She does not look at Diddy. She is not looking over at the defense table. In between questions, I've seen her glance at the jury.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
I've seen her look down at her hands or at the screen in front of her, even when there's nothing on it. But it's notable that she hasn't made any eye contact with Sean Combs. So, Brian, one of the legal issues that has come up this week is exactly what to do with these explicit videos and still images from the freak-offs that prosecutors presented as evidence in the case.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
How to present them, who gets to see them, ABC was actually part of a coalition of news organizations that argued that the media, or at least a small pool of journalists, should be able to see these videos so that we can describe what's in it, report on it, but not to actually publish the images or videos. The judge said no.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
So only the jurors, the witness, Cassie, were able to look at these still images on screens in front of them. The attorneys had hard copies of the images in a binder. I wonder what you make of that decision.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
There were definitely reactions from the jury during some of the really graphic points. At one point when Cassie was describing being urinated on, I saw several jurors look down at the floor and shake their heads. They looked a little disgusted.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
During Cassie's testimony, when jurors were given the opportunity to see still images from videos of freak-offs, there were a couple of jurors I noticed would look at the screens in front of them and look away pretty quickly, like they didn't really want to look closely. Something else that I noticed during Cassie's testimony that wasn't as graphic, the jurors are riveted. Their eyes are on her.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
A lot of times in court, it looks like a tennis match. The jurors will look back and forth between the prosecution or the defense attorney and back to the person they're questioning. During Cassie's testimony, most of the jurors have been locked in. I've seen some of them leaning in. They're taking a lot of notes.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
During these graphic sections of the testimony, not a lot of note-taking, not a lot of looking at Cassie. It is a lot of looking down, looking uncomfortable. Like I said, looking a little disgusted and even a little sad for her.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Yeah. During the morning, it was a lot of what I would say technical questions that kind of the who's the what's the where. And you're right. She was soft spoken, but it was very monotone where she kind of ticked through some of the names and the places that the freak offs would happen.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
Wednesday afternoon, they asked her questions about how she was feeling and questions about her going to rehab and going to trauma therapy after her and Sean Combs' relationship ended. And we saw a very different Cassie. It started with her getting choked up a little bit when she talked about feeling like she has PTSD.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
And then she started sobbing when she recounted a story of how she didn't want to live anymore at one point. At one point, she apologized to the prosecutor and said, I'm sorry, I just need a minute. The prosecutor offered her a box of tissue and gave her a second before they continued. But you could tell that it was a really hard thing for her to talk about.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
And yeah, I think that was one of the most emotional moments that we saw from Cassie during her testimony.
20/20
Bad Rap: Star Witness
So I am not a lawyer, even though I've been spending a lot of time in court these past couple months. So I'm excited to be sitting down with someone who is because I really want to get your take on something. Again, incredible testimony from Cassie Ventura. But how do you think that her testimony fits into the prosecution's charges against Sean Combs?
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
And I also think in my non-expert, non-legal opinion, I think that Cassie's testimony has done a lot for the charge of transportation to engage in prostitution. She has testified about multiple cases. escorts that they hired and how these same escorts, they would see them in different cities, in different states. She talked about how they would arrange travel for some of the escorts.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
At one point internationally, she says they flew an escort to Ibiza for a freak off. I want to get your thoughts on that. And also, what about the racketeering?
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
So Cassie Ventura was considered, I think, pretty much by everyone to be the government's star witness, a key witness. She is one of the first people to testify. Are there pros and cons to having your star witness testify during the very first week of what is being estimated to be an up to eight week trial, six to eight weeks trial?
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Hopefully their notes are as good as mine are.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
You know, my wrist is doing okay. My fingers were getting a little sore on the first day. I was starting to get a dent on one of my fingers from the pen. So I actually bought cushions. to put on my pants while I'm writing and that has helped a lot.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Yeah. Yeah. I am a very meticulous note taker. Shout out to my grade school teachers for the penmanship.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Sure. I think one of the first things that stood out for me in Cassie's testimony is when prosecutors asked her to walk through the hotel video. It was interesting to see her watching that video. I was paying very close attention to her face. I was also looking at Sean Combs' face while she was watching. Cassie Ventura's husband has also been in the courtroom.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
I noticed him watching Diddy, watching Sean Combs while the video was playing. But it was interesting to hear Cassie talk about everything that led up to what we saw in the video and then everything that came after. She explained that they were at the hotel. They were in L.A. She was getting ready for a big movie premiere.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
And she talked about how she didn't necessarily want to do a freak off that weekend, but she felt like she needed to because she wanted her premiere to go smoothly. She talked about the fact that that was one of the only times that she had ever actually tried to leave a freak off.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
And Cassie Ventura claimed that the reason she tried to leave that freak off is because at some point she was hit in the face. She had a black eye and she knew she had this movie premiere coming up and she didn't want to get any more injuries before she had to hit that red carpet.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
He turned red. Very, very red. And when he would look at Sean Combs and kind of look at Sean Combs' family, it was a very pointed stare. It wasn't a glance. He would look at them for stretches of time, like a few seconds, maybe even a minute or so.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Absolutely. I also thought it was interesting that from the moment that Cassie came into the courtroom, she would glance at her husband, Alex, when she walked in. While she's being questioned, she is looking very pointedly at the prosecutor. She does not look at Diddy. She is not looking over at the defense table. In between questions, I've seen her glance at the jury.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
I've seen her look down at her hands or at the screen in front of her, even when there's nothing on it. But it's notable that she hasn't made any eye contact with Sean Combs. So, Brian, one of the legal issues that has come up this week is exactly what to do with these explicit videos and still images from the freak-offs that prosecutors presented as evidence in the case.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
How to present them, who gets to see them, ABC was actually part of a coalition of news organizations that argued that the media, or at least a small pool of journalists, should be able to see these videos so that we can describe what's in it, report on it, but not to actually publish the images or videos. The judge said no.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
So only the jurors, the witness, Cassie, were able to look at these still images on screens in front of them. The attorneys had hard copies of the images in a binder. I wonder what you make of that decision.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
There were definitely reactions from the jury during some of the really graphic points. At one point when Cassie was describing being urinated on, I saw several jurors look down at the floor and shake their heads. They looked a little disgusted.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
During Cassie's testimony, when jurors were given the opportunity to see still images from videos of freak-offs, there were a couple of jurors I noticed would look at the screens in front of them and look away pretty quickly, like they didn't really want to look closely. Something else that I noticed during Cassie's testimony that wasn't as graphic, the jurors are riveted. Their eyes are on her.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
A lot of times in court, it looks like a tennis match. The jurors will look back and forth between the prosecution or the defense attorney and back to the person they're questioning. During Cassie's testimony, most of the jurors have been locked in. I've seen some of them leaning in. They're taking a lot of notes.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
During these graphic sections of the testimony, not a lot of note taking, not a lot of looking at Cassie. It is a lot of looking down, looking uncomfortable. Like I said, looking a little disgusted and even a little sad for her.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Yeah. During the morning, it was a lot of what I would say technical questions that kind of the who's the what's the where. And you're right. She was soft spoken, but it was very monotone where she kind of ticked through some of the names and the places that the freak offs would happen.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
Wednesday afternoon, they asked her questions about how she was feeling and questions about her going to rehab and going to trauma therapy after her and Sean Combs' relationship ended. And we saw a very different Cassie. It started with her getting choked up a little bit when she talked about feeling like she has PTSD.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
And then she started sobbing when she recounted a story of how she didn't want to live anymore at one point. At one point, she apologized to the prosecutor and said, I'm sorry, I just need a minute. The prosecutor offered her a box of tissue and gave her a second before they continued. But you could tell that it was a really hard thing for her to talk about.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
And yeah, I think that was one of the most emotional moments that we saw from Cassie during her testimony.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
The Trial: Star Witness
So I am not a lawyer, even though I've been spending a lot of time in court these past couple months. So I'm excited to be sitting down with someone who is because I really want to get your take on something. Again, incredible testimony from Cassie Ventura, but how do you think that her testimony fits into the prosecution's charges against Sean Combs?