Combs's defense team objected to prosecution questions about fingerprint evidence from Kid Cudi's Hollywood Hills home that was destroyed in the custody of the LAPD. "They were suggesting to this jury that someone in this courtroom had something to do with the improper and suspicious destruction of these fingerprint cards and that's outrageous," said defense attorney Marc Agnifilo. But the judge refused to call a mistrial.If you want to read NBC's coverage of the trial, check out our newsletter, “Diddy On Trial”: NBCNews.com/Diddy
Chapter 1: What is the focus of the Sean Combs trial?
This is On Trial, a special series from Dateline True Crime Weekly, bringing you daily coverage from the Sean Combs racketeering trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. I'm Andrea Canning, and it's Wednesday, May 28th. Just a heads up, in this episode, we're going to be talking about some graphic details and harrowing subject matter.
Chapter 2: Who are the key witnesses in the trial?
The witnesses testifying today at the federal courthouse ranged from LAPD officers, one in the Hollywood division, to a fashion stylist. Much of what they told the jury touches on accusations we've heard before. Crimes the prosecution argues Sean Combs committed during his relationship with Cassie Ventura. Arson, violence, trespassing. But he's not on trial for any of that.
So how much of the testimony we've heard so far adds up to the prosecution's argument that Combs was using his businesses to carry out illegal activity? We'll be talking to NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalas about the racketeering conspiracy charge in a little bit.
First, let's find out more about that celebrity stylist, a close friend of Cassie, who said he saw Combs beating her again and again and saw Combs using his security team to control her. NBC News correspondent Chloe Malas is joining me from outside the courthouse to tell us what she has learned from today's court proceedings. Hey, Chloe. Hey, Andrea.
Today, the stylist we mentioned, Chloe, Deontay Nash, is his name. He took the stand. He said he got close to Cassie. He worked for both Sean Combs and Cassie, but he got close to her and testified about how he says Combs treated her.
He testified about alleged emotional and also physical violence that he witnessed between Cassie and Diddy. He said that Diddy called Cassie all sorts of terrible names, called her a slut, called her a bitch, called her a hoe.
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Chapter 3: What allegations are made against Sean Combs?
that he threatened to beat her up, that he told her that he was going to release explicit sex videos from freak-offs, not only to the public, but also to her parents' jobs to try to get them fired. And it just was incredibly heart-wrenching to listen to his testimony because it was clear he really cares about Cassie and that they're still friends and that he witnessed a lot of abuse.
this stylist is saying that Sean Combs would threaten Cassie and say, then your music won't come out. You know, he's really threatening her career as well, which to me is a form of control.
Absolutely. I mean, we've heard about Cassie being signed to Bad Boy early on in her career to this 10-album deal, but she never put out any albums. And it's been this big question. And during Cassie's testimony, we heard her talk about how
Combs would control her by saying, I'm not going to release your music unless you do X, Y, and Z. And today, listening to Deontay talk about the fact that he would actually hear Combs on speakerphone say things like, I'm not going to put out your little mixtape or, you know, I'm not going to put out your music unless you do this, really goes to illustrate this control.
Chapter 4: What did the stylist witness regarding Cassie's treatment?
Yeah. And Chloe, it even extends, according to Deontay, it extends into Sean Combs telling Cassie how to wear her hair. For example.
He talked about an incident that took place at a Vanity Fair Oscars party and that Cassie looked so beautiful and they had styled her hair down. And he actually said she looked bomb to one point where everybody kind of laughed.
Well, she's beautiful.
She is beautiful. And it was this kind of light moment as he was talking about very sobering things during his testimony. But he said that when they showed up, that Diddy came over and said, I told you I wanted her hair up. And he actually grabbed Deontay by his jacket and lifted him up in the air.
And then Deontay said he went and grabbed his bobby pins and they ran to the bathroom and they started to pin her hair up. And then Diddy came over and he was like, oh, you were right. Her hair looks better down.
Deontay also talked about Combs' security team, and, you know, he's mentioning names.
Yeah, we're hearing some of the same names over and over, one of which is D-Rock. Deontay talked about a time in which he witnessed Diddy kick and hit Cassie, and this is the incident that we heard Cassie testify about where he allegedly threw her into the side of a bed frame, and she got this terrible gash, almost like a hole. Mm-hmm. on the side of her forehead.
I mean, the pictures are just gruesome.
I remember seeing the photos.
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Chapter 5: How did the LAPD officer's testimony impact the case?
But that's all you saw. That's not... kidnapping. There's no forced entry.
It's just placing a vehicle registered to bad boy at the scene, but nothing else that the officers saw. Interesting. Prosecutors then, Chloe, they called an arson investigator. And this is important because this also comes back around to Combs and Kid Cudi again, right?
Right. So about Two weeks after this alleged trespassing, Kid Cudi's Porsche is parked in his driveway and there's an explosion inside the car. Someone cut the roof of his convertible and dropped something called a Molotov cocktail inside, which we've talked about before.
So the reason today we heard from someone from the Los Angeles Fire Department is this person investigates fires and he found the Molotov cocktail and he sent that off to be tested for DNA and fingerprints.
Chapter 6: What was revealed about the Kid Cudi incident?
After the break-in, fingerprints were taken by LAPD. They were sealed and put into evidence.
Yes, Andrea, you're right. There were these fingerprints that were taken at Kid Cudi's home in December. This firefighter, who's also an arson expert, he wanted to look at those fingerprints, but those fingerprints that were sealed into evidence... They were gone. According to this investigator, they were destroyed.
And so the prosecutors start asking him, did you order the destruction of that evidence? He said no. And then they said, well, have you ever in your long career had someone destroy evidence that wasn't at your directive? And he said, absolutely not. And that's where Combs' team swooped in. Objection. And this is huge because the defense... moved for a mistrial. This was such an explosive moment.
My head was like a ping-pong ball watching Diddy's legal team get into this massive argument with New York prosecutors. They sent the jury out of the room, and Combs' team was like, we're moving for a mistrial. This is outrageous prejudice to the jury because you're insinuating that Diddy, because he's so powerful and he has connections...
to potentially the LAPD or the LAFD that somebody at his directive went in there and destroyed it. And even if you strike this from the record, the jury still heard it and they can never unhear it. And it was this back and forth.
Prosecutors said that they weren't doing anything improper with their line of questioning with the firefighter and arson expert, that they were actually just trying to get ahead of what they expected Diddy's legal team's cross-examination of this guy to be. and assuming that they were going to be talking about the fact that these fingerprints were gone.
But the judge, he was very calm, but he was stern, and he said, look, I'm denying the motion for a mistrial. Basically, there's no turning this massive 18-wheeler around here. But he did say, but I will tell the jurors when they come back in the room that they need to disregard this particular part of the testimony.
Oh, what a day. All right, Chloe, well, we're not done. When we come back, NBC News legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Savalos is back to help us understand why the prosecution is so focused on the Molotov cocktail that was dropped into Kid Cudi's Porsche. Welcome back, everybody. Danny Savalos is here as promised.
Hey.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the evidence presented?
Kidnapping, arson, violence, drug trafficking. You don't have to prove that he actually participated in them. You don't even have to prove that he was physically present when these crimes were committed. The mere agreement is enough for a conviction on racketeering conspiracy charges.
So let's talk about why the prosecution is so focused on this firebombing of Kid Cudi's Porsche. Their allegation is that Combs ordered that Molotov cocktail. Someone working for him, they believe, carried out this act.
Right. All of this testimony about allegedly firebombing a car or drug use during the freak-offs or his former assistant claiming that she was kidnapped, those are critical to the elements of the case the prosecution must prove. But... importantly, they don't need to show that Combs kidnapped anyone. They don't need to show that he threw the Molotov cocktail.
They just need to show that he agreed to participate in some criminal enterprise and that these crimes were committed in furtherance of that enterprise.
Let's talk about the sex trafficking charge. Today, the prosecution asked Cassie's stylist, Deontay, to testify to her frame of mind that she didn't want to have these freak-offs, but felt like she had to. Does that fit the legal definition of coercion?
Coercion is commonly understood under the statute to mean the threat of physical harm, not merely haranguing, harassing, bothering, or even threatening with loss of job or any kind of social pressure. That wouldn't be enough. But it certainly is helpful to the government to show this overall atmosphere.
of sort of threatening, harassing, hostile environment where these witnesses saw not only Combs be nasty to people, but physically violent as well. It's all part of the big picture and it helps the government.
The defense, Danny, has asked for a mistrial a couple of times now. We talked about those fingerprints. Do you see anything happening that could make a guilty verdict reversible on appeal or something the defense can use down the road?
Yeah, the mistrial request today, they preserved it for the record. But if Combs is convicted, I don't see this being a particularly appetizing appellate issue. It seemed to me that the prosecution was basically trying to ask questions that to confirm that that witness didn't lose the fingerprint cards. I understand the defense's argument, and they have to make that argument.
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