Jury selection in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial begins today

Jury selection for the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will begin in New York City today. The media mogul, who’s been in custody since his arrest last September, faces criminal charges for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transporting to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

The selection process is expected to last a week, with opening statements slated for May 12. Last month, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York adding two additional counts to the existing charges. Combs’ attorneys requested for the trial to be delayed by two months, citing a need for additional time to respond to the new indictment, but the request was denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.

The federal government is accusing Combs of using his power across the music, fashion and entertainment industries to run a criminal organization that facilitated and concealed sex crimes dating back more than a decade. This includes sex trafficking, which they claim occurred when Combs would lure women into his orbit — often under the pretense of a romantic relationship — and would then coerce them into commercial sex acts.

“With these high profile cases like Harvey Weinstein and the NXIVM cult case, courts are willing to define commercial sex as an exchange of sex not just for money, but for anything of value,” says Aya Gruber, a criminal law professor at the University of South California. “It could be promises to help your career in entertainment. It could be moving up in the hierarchy in the cult. It could be various things.”

Combs is also being charged with transporting alleged victims across state and international lines to participate in commercial sex acts. The racketeering portion of the indictment alleges that Combs directed his employees to solicit victims, solicit illicit substances, clean up and conceal the alleged criminal activity, including through forced labor, bribery, arson, kidnapping and obstruction of justice.

In the lead-up to the trial, a hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting singer and ex-partner Cassie Ventura was highly debated by both the prosecution and the defense. Ventura, who signed to Combs’ record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 2006, filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging that Combs trafficked, sexually assaulted and abused her throughout their relationship. Combs denied the allegations, but settled the lawsuit out of court within a day of its filing for an undisclosed amount.

Months later, CNN published the hotel footage from a 2016 encounter in which Combs can be seen kicking, beating and physically dragging Ventura down a hallway. After Combs’ arrest, prosecutors pointed to the video as evidence that he could be violent and should await trial in custody. Combs’ lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, argued that the video was not evidence of trafficking, but of an isolated domestic dispute.

“It’s our defense to these charges that this was a toxic, loving 11-year relationship,” Agnifilo stated during a pre-trial hearing.

Combs’ attorneys also argued that the CNN video had been altered and should be dismissed as evidence, but their motion was denied by Judge Subramanian. The mogul has been denied bail multiple times.

Several alleged victims are expected to testify throughout the course of trial.

 

HBO’s new Billy Joel documentary is revelatory — even if it pulls some punches

The new two-part documentary, which premieres Friday on HBO, is a good example of the tension between access and objectivity that filmmakers face in making documentaries on celebrities.

A wildfire destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge. It burned down once before

The Grand Canyon Lodge is the only hotel on the park's North Rim, which is closed for the rest of the season due to wildfire risk. The hotel was already rebuilt once, after a kitchen fire in 1932.

Why the Federal Reserve’s building renovations are attracting the White House’s ire

The Fed's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation is attracting mounting criticism from the Trump administration, which had been already attacking the central bank for not cutting interest rates.

Supreme Court says Trump’s efforts to close the Education Department can continue

The Trump administration had appealed a decision that had directed it to stop gutting the U.S. Education Department and to reinstate many of the workers the government had laid off.

24 states sue Trump admin to unfreeze more than $6 billion in education grants

The lawsuit comes two weeks after the Trump administration first notified states it was withholding previously approved funds for migrant education, before- and after- school programs and more.

Where to start? This week’s new releases are an all-you-can-read buffet

This week, new horror from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a funny college do-over from Jeneva Rose, and autofiction from Hannah Pittard. Plus, stories about the American South, and a deep dive into the Earth.

More Front Page Coverage