“Is baby oil and lubricant a federal crime? NO”- Diddy’s Defense | Day 1

[Music]. Bada bing, bada boom. Monday, opening. statements for the Diddy trial. There. are no cameras allowed in federal. courtrooms. So, I know you guys often. like to watch live streams of trials, but there's no cameras. So, I have two. Rotten Mango researchers inside the. courthouse with me. We are all. individually witnessing and experiencing. everything that's happening during the. trial. Individually taking notes and. then every single night we'll come home. and regroup and try to find all of the. things that we all saw and felt and. noted down because I thought that was.

the best way because sometimes we notice. things that the other person doesn't. notice and maybe it's like in our heads. We don't know. So these are all the. things that we noted on Monday. If you. guys were just here for the actual trial. and like maybe some of the transcript. stuff, skip ahead. This is like the. energy inside the courtroom. We sit. down. The press is sitting on the right. side again. So we are behind diagonal. Diddy. So like we can see the side. profile of his face and the back of his. head mainly. And I feel like the minute. that the defense attorneys start walking.

into the courtroom, it's already so. tense. The energy, everybody expected it. to be a lot more tense on Monday because. it's the last day of jury selection. They're finalizing a jury. They're going. to start opening statements. Two. witnesses are going to come to the stand. to testify. There's going to be. cross-examinations. It's going to be. tense, but it was it was really tense. Brian Steel walks in holding Tenny's bag. as well as his own bag. And I feel like. the minute that Brian walked in, we were. all taking notes because we have. discovered this new thing at Rotten.

Mingo, which is the fact that we can. kind of predict what's about to happen. in court next based off of Brian steals. eyeglasses. There's something about this. man's reading glasses. you look at his. reading glasses, if they are on his nose. bridge, I feel like whatever is coming. next in court is about to be very. serious or he's he's reading something, but like usually something very serious. is going to happen. When they're off, I. feel like he's relaxed. I feel like it's. about to be lunch and they are just. staying on his nose. They're not coming. off. He's like buried inside of his.

papers first thing in the morning. Usually he likes to do his little. posing, not posing, but he likes to do. his little stance while he greets. people, but he's just like buried into. the papers. Mark, the lead defense. attorney, also stressed. I feel like he. had a very approachable, almost like a. teddy bearish quality that just keeps. declining rapidly day by day. Seemingly, they're very stressed. the whole defense. team, they just look like they're. cramming for some sort of finals on the.

other side of the courtroom and we're. just in the back watching, kind of. stalking them is the feeling and like. taking notes. And then the prosecution. team walks in. This is the team that. Mark Geros, lead attorney Tenny. Garagos's famous celebrity attorney. father, has called a six-pack of white. women. But my understanding is you got a. six-pack of white women. They walk in. and I will say I don't know if it's the. fact that we heard him call them a. six-pack of white women on a podcast or.

if they just look so cool. They looked. so cool coming in. Yeah. The six of. them, they walked in together and they. are just no business. We One of us wrote. down, "If this were a soundtrack, it. would be a very depressing, motivational. anthem. They look depressing. So. depressing. They look so powerful and. it's so motivating and inspiring and I'm. like that's the look of justice, right? But they all look so sleepd. deprived. I feel like they're sleeping. under their desk. I feel like they're. being held hostage inside of the. courthouse. They look less tense than.

the defense attorneys, but they look so. sleepd deprived. All three of us wrote. down that the lead on this case, which. is Maren Comey, she was the lead on the. Maxwell case as well. She was assigned. the Epstein case, but um he selfexited. in jail, said nobody ever, right, debated. She went to Harvard Law School. She had really intense eye bags on her. And we say that with a lot of respect. But it is worth noting, by the way, that. the prosecution, yes, maybe it helps us.

sleep better at night to believe that. they are in it for the sole motivating. factor of just insatiable hunger for the. justice of the people. Clearly, it's a. huge stepping stone for a lot of people. Diddy's own successful defense attorneys. have worked for the DA's office at one. point. Mark Agnil, Alexander Shapiro, Xavier Donaldson. It's like a pipeline. Oh, they all worked in the Is it the. same? I don't think SDNY. So, I know. Xavier Donaldson worked in the Bronx. I.

don't think that maybe So, they were. kind of colleagues at one point, right? Alexander Shapiro did work SDNY if I'm. not mistaken. Yes. So they were. ex-colagues or but I don't know if their. timelines over overlapped but it it is a. pipeline. So former prosecutors have a. lot of knowledge of how evidence is. evaluated charging decisions are made. I. mean they're pretty good at anticipating. the weaknesses in the government's. cases. So just having even that. relationship with the DA's office is. probably successful which is very. interesting to note. That's another.

thing that's so bizarre is that I think. logically it makes sense when we walk in. there, but every single morning we see. the lead prosecutor, the lead defense. attorney, and all the defense attorneys. and prosecutors mingling, chitchatting, having a good time. You would think that. they're just like in the coffee room. like they're working for a corporation. together as best buds on the same team. or like maybe half of them are in. marketing and then the other half are in. engineering. They just chitchat like. they're good old pals. And then the.

minute that the judge walks into the. room, I feel like they want to kill each. other. And it's just like a really weird. shift of energy. And logically, it makes. sense. It's a job. They're doing their. job, but it's still very jolting to. experience because I don't know. I feel. like Yeah. Like even after the opening. statements today, the two attorneys that. did the opening statements, immediately. after they were like chitchatting and I. was like, "What's going on?" Huh. Yeah. Now, side note, just to put this out.

there, I believe the prosecutors make. around 150 to $200,000 a year. I. researched it. That's the number I. found. Right. It is believed that. Diddy's attorneys could be making tens. of millions of dollars on just. representing Diddy. And I think that's. like one of the attorneys and he's got. many attorneys. One TMZ clip which I. think TMZ is a very interesting source. for this information because Mark. Geragos seemingly has a very close. relationship with the outlet even. hosting a podcast on TMZ. So to clarify,

Mark is the father of Tenny Garagos. Okay, let me give you brief recap on. lore. Mark Agniflo is the lead attorney. with Tenny Garagos. Mark Agnif and his. wife Karen Agnif are representing Luigi. Manion. So, if the name sounds familiar, that's where it's familiar. Okay. And. then Tenny Gyaragos is working with Mark. Agno, but her dad is Mark Garagos. He. represented Hunter Biden, Chris Brown, the He's representing the Menendez.

brothers, Scott Peterson. Yeah, he is a. very famous attorney. A lot of people. call her the Nepo baby of the defense. side, but then like some people argue. that there is a Nepo baby on the. prosecutor's side. It's a whole thing. So Mark, he's not formally representing. Diddy for this trial, but he has a very. seemingly long-term close relationship. with Diddy. And he has a podcast on TMZ. where later without Mark in the room,

TMZ the outlet. They talk about how one. attorney turned down representing Diddy. for this case, but the number that they. wanted was 10 million. And that's just. for one attorney. Some of the attorneys. working on the case right now, it is. suspected that they asked way upwards of. $10 million to take the case. He was. offered 10 million to defend Diddy. And. the amount that you just mentioned, well, yeah, cuz that was just for one. lawyer. That one lawyer asked for way. more than 10 million. Oh, really? Way. more. Huh. Way more. So, what do you.

think? What do you think? So, let's just. say these prosecutors are making like. $200,000. The defense attorneys could be. allegedly be making like $10 million at. the very least. Side note, the lead. prosecutor, Maren Comey, her father is. James Comey, former FBI director. So, she's kind of, I guess, if you really. want to call her like the Nepo baby of. the prosecutor's side, technically. because there was a little bit of a. scandal that she got the Epstein case. assigned to her really early on into her. career at SDNY. But I don't even think.

that means anything because when I'm in. that courtroom, I feel like both of them. could just run miles around me in terms. of just cognitive function. It's like. not even a question. But I do feel like. I could do a deep dive episode lore on. every single person working on this case. because the water is deep every single. area. The defense attorneys come in, the. prosecutors come in, and I think the. next notable people, I mean, the pews. start filling up like these rock-hard. church pews start filling up with. people. And I think the next notable. people that everybody was anticipating.

to come into the courtroom were the. family. Diddy's family members. They. practically walk in birth order except. Christian and Justin are swapped and. they're all holding hands. So it's. Quincy, Christian, Justin, Chance, and. then the two twins. And I will say. they're all so tall. I don't know why. that was like my first impression. That. was like my first note. They're all so. incredibly tall and they all do have a. presence about them and they come in. dressed like they're going to a gala or.

something. Not overdressed, but. everything was just so sharp and. tailored is the feeling. Now, I will say. Christian Combmes, who also has. allegations against him, he walks in. kind of more nervous is what we wrote. down. He seems to have his jaw clenched. There is this one moment where this. could be nothing. This could be a. coincidence. This could be me. overthinking it, but he's walking in at. a later point during the day and he sees. one of the sketch artists in the front.

She's sketching the family. Mhm. And he. looks not particularly happy about the. sketch. Really? Yeah. Is what all three. of us noted. And then the three. daughters, they also walk into the. courtroom holding hands. And this is. where we had a whole debate all weekend. of who's going to do opening statements. for the defense because Monday is. opening statements. And we thought it. was going to be Tenny. We're like, "It's. going to be Tenny. It doesn't make. sense. It can't be anybody else because. you're dealing with a lot of female. victims and she's kind of like the lead. female attorney on the case." Like, if.

they don't do Tenny, it wouldn't make. sense. But then later, Karen Agnif, Mark's wife, walks in into the. courtroom, and I will say she everybody. was looking at her. So, I think. everybody knows her, everybody. recognizes her. And there's this moment. where Mark looks back and he's smiling. at her across the courtroom. She's like. sitting in the very very back trying not. to disturb anybody. And then we had this. brief moment where we're like, "Wait, is. Mark doing the opening statements?". Because why is Karen Egnif here? And. then eventually the door opens and Diddy.

walks out. This time he did switch up. his wardrobe. He's wearing gray pants, gray sweater, white collared shirt. underneath. He does smile discreetly at. his family. He's blowing them kisses. He. does throw up a heart with both of his. hands. The sketch that we saw shows kind. of upside down heart, but all three of. us were like, "No, I swear it was a. regular heart." So, I think it was a. regular heart. And it was to the family. Yes. And it was pretty discreet. I will. say I didn't want to harp too much on. like his interactions with his family. I.

think he has relatively normal reactions. with his family, but there was this one. moment on Monday where he turns around. and he just nods at his sons and then. they nod back, but it's like a very. intense nod. I mean, maybe I was. mistaken. Maybe they're just like a. family of nodders, but it was a lot of. nodding. And I'm like, this is like. first thing in the morning. No, this is. like later in the day. And it's like. he's not smiling and they're nodding. back and like the nodding lasts a. second. And then there's another point.

where he whispers what we think look. sounds or looks like my son's and then. he's just like nodding. So, it was very. intense. But I know that some of you. guys come for trying to feel like the. camera is there because I feel like. there's a lot of things, a lot of. moments that happen that you could maybe. capture on camera that you're not going. to get in a court transcript. Yeah. Personally, I love it. I think I can it. helps me picture everything really and. like the energy and I feel like even the. energy shifting throughout the day, you. can kind of sense it. So, we tried our.

best to collaborate on our notes and. make sure these are the ones that all. three of us felt so consistent. Those. are the things that we noticed on. Monday. But Monday's a big day, so we're. just going to get. [Music]. started. A few disclaimers regarding.

content warnings. There's themes of. essay and DV and secondly certain. portions and quotes have been shortened. and condensed and or combined for. brevity there. This is a very quick. disclaimer but everything reported on in. this episode and throughout the trial is. public information but any descriptions. or observations regarding the defendant. or anybody else in the courtroom are. personally noted by myself and my two. researchers who are present most of the. times in the courtroom in person seeing. all of these things happen in real time.

with our own eyes. However, just because. we see something and feel something does. not mean that our experiences and. statements are valid reflections of the. truth. Our interpretations of these. random things that we see in the. courtroom could mean nothing. Like it. could be completely inaccurate. They. have no weight or bearing obviously on. the verdict of the trial, but it should. also not be a definitive source on how. you feel about a defendant, about a. victim, a witness, or really just the. case in general. this case right now.

Diddy is considered innocent until. proven guilty. The burden of proof is. the responsibility of the prosecution. and all the crimes that he has been. charged with are alleged until a verdict. is reached. We did four deep dives into. Diddy's case in 2024 after his arrest. So, if you want to know the whole the. backstory on everything, it's going to. be in four different videos that I'm. going to link below. And now we are on. the opening statements of his trial that. started Monday, May 12th. We're going to. be doing daily updates on Diddy's trial. He is facing one count of racketeering.

conspiracy, two counts of sex. trafficking, two counts of. transportation across state lines for. the purpose of sex work. He's rejected a. plea deal and he is facing a maximum of. life imprisonment if found guilty. This. is a federal case. So, like I said, no. cameras. We can't even bring our phones. in. Like, we're just taking handwritten. notes. So, with that being said, let's. just get started. The first part of. Monday starts with selecting the jury. So, the both sides still have to get rid. of all of their strikes. Basically, they. have a number of strikes that they can. get rid of jurors for technically no.

reason at all. And the minute that these. strikes start occurring, it seems very. hectic on the defense side. There's an. order in which they have to go. The. order behooves me, but it's like the. prosecutors strike one, the defense will. strike one or two. There's like a very. specific order and there's clearly a. pattern that they need to follow. And. Mark Agnif is not following the pattern. He's reminded by prosecutors like I. think you were only supposed to strike. one at that point. Linda Moreno, who is. the jury consultant for Diddy's team,

she's a little bit more involved today. Like the whole morning before they even. got started, she's been turning around. to Diddy, talking more intensely to him. She's have she was a lot more social. prior to this. I feel like in the. mornings before court really started, she would talk to other attorneys. She. did not come to play today. She looks. like she's on her game. She's wearing a. gold swirl brooch on her jacket and she. looks very serious. I mean, she's. clearly the jury consultant. They're. doing the strikes on the jurors. Mark. Agnil will keep going to her to verify.

and she'll go through her papers and I. feel like it's it's not that well. organized is the feeling that I got as. the press. Hm. Like it just seemed a. little bit and then all three of us. wrote this down like we had different. variations of hectic like just like. what's happening and then eventually. Mark Agnil states your honor I note that. the government has struck seven black. people out of nine strikes. By our count. the government struck seven black people. which we believe amounts to a pattern. and it's our request that the government.

give neutral reasons for these strikes. So, okay, side note, by this point, like. while it was very hectic before they got. to this point, I don't want to look too. into it, but we all did write it down. It does feel like every time the defense. attorneys are confused or are slightly. underprepared or are maybe not on their. agame, over the top, doing things before. the judge even asks for it. Diddy will. look at them, and it's not a menacing.

way. It's not like a sinister way. He's. not staring them down. He's not nodding. at them. He just will look at them like. hello. And it's like to us it's kind of. intense. Yeah. Like hello. He'll just. look at them while they're stressing. Like what's going on is the vibe we get. Okay. It felt like maybe they were. freaking out because they wanted to say. this statement and they were all trying. to agree because there's like seven. different attorneys and they all have to. agree on the statement. I guess I don't. know how it works. Now the lead. prosecutor on this case, Comey, she.

comes out swinging. I think this is the. first time I hear her voice. The whole. jury selection, she was not the one. doing most of it. Her voice reminds me. of there's a TV show called Bones. It's. like a forensic anthropologist played by. Zoe Des Chanel's sister. This is so. random. It's not that important, but she. is known to be this extremely logical. and rational person that obviously in. the show it benefits her professional. life. It's doesn't benefit her love. life. It's a TV show. I'm not trying to. say that's Comey, but she has a very.

similar way of communicating. Very. straightforward, very matterof fact to. the point where her voice is almost. monotone, but it's not boring. It's. monotone, but it's not boring. It's. monotone, but it feels powerful. Maybe. she has a pace. Yes, she has a very low. register. And I feel like a lot of times. when someone has a very low register, it's raspy or it's smoky. It's not that. It's very clear. It's very direct. I was. reading up on her this morning before. going to court and I guess when hearing.

her voice it just clicked. Her voice. carries such a presence and people say. she's she's intense. I would say her. voice might be more authoritative than. even Mark Agnifos. Yeah, she barely does. facial emotes. When she starts talking, she's not talking, she's swinging. I. don't know how to describe it really. She doesn't even do many filler words. She she doesn't have moments where she's. looking down like other attorneys will. have moments where they looking down and. they're like, "Okay, hold on." Nothing.

She just comes out. The government has. conducted itself completely neutally. throughout the course of jury selection. We have not demonstrated any sort of. bias, whatever. In addition, I would. note that the jury itself is composed of. a very diverse group of jurors, including a number of non-white jurors. I don't believe that a case has been. established. I am however for the sake. of the record prepared to offer neutral. reasons and reasons that far exceed. Batson's bar for why we struck the. jurors that we struck. Like that fast? Yeah, like pretty fast. Her cadence is. pretty addicting to listen to. The. energy that she carries is very intense.

So she starts going through all of the. jurors that they struck that maybe there. might be questions about which the. Batson's challenge is basically saying, "Yeah, you have a certain number of. dedicated strikes that you can strike. potential jurors for no reason, but you. can't strike them for their race. Like. you cannot discriminate." So there now. the defense is saying, "Wait, there are. so many black jurors that you guys just. struck out. So maybe maybe we raise the. Batson's challenge. And Comey is just.

listing them off one by one. And she. does not stutter. She does not miss a. beat. She does not even throw in a. singular filler word. Okay, I don't. think that's factually correct. I'm sure. that there's filler words, but barely. any. And she begins, and this is. condensed. Juror 51 knew 17 names out of. the list of people that were provided to. her. she knew all the defendants's. children and she knew the names of one. of the witnesses we expect to testify at. this trial. She explained that she knew. many of those names from watching a. television program. Comey argues that.

the juror likely watched Making the. Band. It's a reality TV series if you. guys remember where some of the members. on the show have filed lawsuits against. Diddy or they've spoken out against. Diddy accusing him of inappropriate. touching andor predatory business. practices where some of them have even. accused Diddy of threatening violence. but also cannibalism to some degree. One. former participant in the making of the. ban went on a documentary that is called. the making of a bad boy. They accuse. Diddy of threatening them, saying things. along the lines of, "You make me so mad.

that I want to eat your flesh. I could. go get a crackhead and pay them $20 to. smack the [ __ ] out of you." Now, to be. fully transparent, Diddy and his. attorneys have filed a $100 million. lawsuit against NBC and Peacock for that. very documentary, but take that as you. will. Comey continues, "We expect there. will be testimony about this during the. trial, and she appeared to have. favorable opinions of all these people. that raised us to have concerns that she. would bring outside knowledge into her. deliberations in this case. They also. note that she has a fiance that served. four years in prison with Comey saying.

there might be some unconscious bias in. favor of a defendant who risked. incarceration given that close relative. had spent some time in prison. There. were the neutral reasons which far. exceed the bats and requirements of any. reason, not even a good reason, but. these are good reasons that we exercise. that strike. As for juror number 216, she states, "We had moved to strike that. juror for cause as your honor might. recall. To summarize, he had been. arrested three times, including for. harassing a police officer. He also said. that his sister had reported to him that. she had been abused in a domestic. violence situation, but he had said that.

he had not been there, so he couldn't. know who was right and he couldn't know. whether to believe her. That also raised. red flags for us about how he would. evaluate potential victim testimony in. this case. Side note, he also did refer. to the police as [ __ ] which he. continues. So again, that very easily. clears the bar of any reason. There are. good reasons why we exercise that. strike. Our fourth strike was a juror. whose ex-husband had spent 21 years in. prison for attempted murder and she had. not broken the relationship as a result. of it. She remained close with him. Comey also mentions that that juror said. that she worked with people with bipolar.

and manic disorders. She said that she. believed that everyone with bipolar and. manic disorder have some sort of trauma. Now the prosecutors state that there. will be some text message evidence where. the defendant's behavior is described. colloially as bipolar or manic. So they. are concerned that that juror might. bring those outside experiences and. infer that the defendant is traumatized. Then the fifth strike, the juror has two. brothers who did time in prison for. felony convictions. Also, he admitted. that he watched news about the case the. morning of jury selection, which.

concerned the prosecutors. They said it. was strange. Okay, so this juror wanted. to be on the jury, but he said if he. serves, he's going to lose 30% of his. income, but that's okay. and they felt. like he expressed no concerns about. losing that much money. She says, quote, "That made us worry that he has an. agenda and is trying to get on this. jury." Again, easily clears the bar of. any reason. Those are good reasons to. exercise that strike. Then another. strike. She says, "I believe we moved to. strike this individual for cause given. his English language difficulties. He. also had a nephew who he said was a gang.

member who had been in prison for about. 2 years, I believe, for being involved. in shooting a police officer." that. another alternate they struck for being. in the same high school as Diddy or. having gone to the same high school for. not the same time but in just in case. And she states, "So the totality of. those reasons in addition to the reasons. that we moved on for cause with that. juror again easily clears Batson's bar. for of not just any reason, but good. reasons." Which, side note, I do think. that there's a lot of room for healthy. debate on jury selection and including.

or andor excluding jurors based on their. bias against police officers. I feel. like a lot of people have been talking. about in today's age, how do you even. find a jury where people have not had. somewhat negative or fully negative. interactions with police? So, I do. believe that the larger conversation. that I don't necessarily know I'm the. most qualified for right now or the most. well-versed in. However, in terms of the. law, it does appear that the prosecutors. came just ready for whatever the defense. was about to put out because even Judge.

Arun says so the defendant's challenge. under Batson's is denied. The defendant. has failed to show purposeful. discrimination as required by Batson. So, the application is denied. And with. that, the jury is set and they are sworn. in. A few side notes. Judge Arun becomes. very friendly when the jury comes into. the room. Like there's this very. noticeable shift in his energy when it's. just all of the attorneys. He's very. firm. He's very professional, but he's. very firm. He doesn't play games, but.

then when the jurors are in the room, he's usually very like a lot more. approachable, a lot more accommodating, a lot more friendly. Yeah, I think he. does take the jurors serving eight weeks. as like a very high thing. Oh, like he's. all about getting them out on time every. single day. He's all about making sure. that the trial finishes in 8 weeks so. that they can go back to their lives. Wow. Yeah. He's like very intense about. it and I kind of love him for that. So, I will say that as the jurors are. getting sworn in, Diddy is like kind of.

nodding. Maybe it's coincidental. All. three of us did write it down. It's not. like a scary nod. It's just like the nod. that he did every time that they walk. into the courtroom. I don't know what. kind of nod that is. I'm not really a. big nodder so I can't say for sure but. he's kind of nodding and he is looking. at them and another thing that we. noticed and again maybe it's coincidence. maybe it's opinion maybe my eyes are. deceiving me but there is this moment. where okay well the whole day actually. Ryan and Steel and Diddy I feel like.

they used to have best friend necklaces. cut in half type of energy and I feel. like this um they were a little bit more. stressed today but there's this part. where the jurors are getting sworn in. Brian Steel Bill pushes his chair back. and it's carpet so he has to kind of. lift his chair and then push it back. So, it's not an easy process. It's not. like you just scoot it back. He moves. his chair all the way from the table. He. sits with his hands in his lap showing. and he's watching the jury get sworn in. And Diddy almost instantly mirrors. Brian. Like it was almost instant. Like.

moving the chair back. Yes. And then. sitting with his hands in his lap. I. wouldn't say it was like identical. mirroring, but moving the chair back on. the carpet was like pretty instant. Yeah. And I have just never seen someone. more on their best behavior than Diddy. on Monday. I would say the most notable. things about Diddy, he a he was asked if. he has enough water and he reaches into. the mic and he says, "I could use a. little more if you don't mind." And his. voice is slightly raspy, but his tone is.

it's like, "I could use a little more if. you don't mind." It's like very sweet, very accommodating. It's like if you. were to go to your very wealthy aunt's. twice removed house and you just know. everything is so expensive so you can't. even like sit on the couch and you just. sit on the edge and you just hope that. your jeans don't stain the white couch. They're like I guess if you have some. more water like I could I would love. some. It's kind of that vibe. Even when. Tenny, the lawyer on his right, has to. sit back down after a statement, he full.

on both arms like a moving company mover. is pulling out her chair onto the. carpet. But it's just like it's like the. Brian Steel jacket lapel thing. It's. just like it feels like too much. I feel. like I don't know if the queen, rest in. peace, got this type of treatment when. she wanted to sit down on a chair. It. was a lot. And then once the opening. statements start, Didd did is a literal. statue. We wrote down two two out of. three of us wrote down statue because.

his eyes will move. His eyes will dart. about, but other than that, this like. he's he's a marble statue. He's a wax. figurine. I don't know how else to. explain it. I did a comparison that. honestly should not be taken seriously. at all. Don't take it seriously, but I. took it seriously because I don't know. why I was taking these notes, but I did. a comparison of the physical moving body. of Brian Steel. The way that I always. end up sitting, I feel like I mainly. just see Mark Agnifil and Tenny's the.

back of their heads, but I get like a. and I think cuz they move around a lot. more, I get a better view of Diddy and. Brian Steel. And then Alexander Shapiro. is on Brian Steel's other side, but. she's usually very lowkey. Yeah. And so. I did a comparison of the physical. moving body of Brian Steel and Diddy. And in the span that it takes Brian. Steel to look up. And he's not doing. this weird like he's just doing this as. he's moving his neck. He's looking up. He kind of rolls his head side to side. He kind of lulls it. He looks down. He. kind of purses his lips. Then he looks.

back up. He lifts his chin. Then he. purses his lips again. And then he sucks. in his cheeks. Looks away. And then he. puts his index finger near his eyes. Then he kind of like flexes his face and. then he kind of moves his neck around. And in all of that, Diddy has not moved. but his eyeballs inside of the sockets. Like he is rigid and his back is not. even to the back of the chair. So his. back is erect and he's like statue. rigid. Wait, this is during opening. statement or Yes.

during opening statements. Very rigid. Now, opening statements. The podium. where the attorneys are going to be. speaking directly to the jurors is. literally facing the jurors. I would say. the first row of jurors, you could reach. out and caress their hair. You would not. be able to do that. I think you would. get kicked out of court, but like that's. how that's how close it is. And usually. opening statements, they say it's a very. good way for the defense and the. prosecutors to build rapport with the. jury, build credibility, sell their. story, shape the juror's perceptions.

and I'm going to try and describe. everything and be your camera. The. prosecutor start. Diddy is focused on. the prosecutor. His back is straight. His head is up. He's he's scooted the. chair all the way up. So, his stomach is. touching the table at this point and his. posture is good. Well, erect. And his. his elbows are resting on the table and. he is just watching in full focus. Later, he will readjust where he leans. into his chair, but he's still watching. the prosecutor intently during the.

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endorsement compensation provides. incentive to positively promote Acorns. Tier 4 compensation provided. Investing. involves risks. Acorn Advisors LLC and. SEC registered investment adviser. View. important disclosures at. acorns.com/rotten. [Music]. Emily Johnson is from the prosecution. She starts the government's opening. statement and I'm going to try to do it. in the tone that she does. This is Shan. Combmes. To the public, he was Puff.

Daddy. Or did he? A cultural icon, a. businessman, larger than life. But there. was another side to him. a side that ran. a criminal. enterprise. Okay, going into opening. statements, I think the content of the. opening statement matters, right? But. also the delivery, um, because the. jurors are the ones hearing it and. they're the ones either getting moved, shaped, not moved by it. I think the.

opening statements were kind of. disappointing. I know that the opening. statements, I looked it up, they're not. supposed to be overly passionate. You. don't want to come off as you're trying. to sell someone or something or an idea, but it just felt so flat. The opening. statement from the prosecutor goes, "During this trial, you were going to. hear about 20 years of the defendant's. crimes, but he didn't do it alone. He. had an inner circle of bodyguards and. high-ranking employees who helped him. commit crimes and helped him cover up. kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery, and obstruction. These are just.

some of the crimes that the defendant. and his inner circle committed again and. again. You are going to hear about all. of them during this trial. Let's start. now with just one night. The prosecutor. states the defendant was on the hunt for. his girlfriend, a woman named Cassie. For years, the defendant physically. abused Cassie. He also sexually. exploited her, forcing her to have sex. with male escorts while he watched and. recorded it. She also doesn't make a lot. of eye contact with the jurors, we.

noted, and she seems to be more so. reading. But that night, the defendant. learned that he had lost control of. Cassie. He found out that Cassie was. seeing another man. Furious, he set out. to find Cassie and that other man, but. he couldn't do it by himself. So, he. took his gun and he took his bodyguard, one of his most loyal lieutenants, to. wake up one of the defendants employees, in the middle of the night. So, she goes. on to state that after finding Cassie, he quote, "When he finally found her, he. did what he had done countless times.

before. He beat her brutally, kicking. her in the back and flinging her around. like a ragd doll. So, she tells the jury. he threatened her. The defendant told. Cassie that if she defied him again, he. would publicly release the videos of her. having sex with male escorts that he. kept as blackmail, souvenirs of the most. humiliating nights of her life. She. continues, "This was just one in the. defendant's two decades of crime. And as. you will learn, this was just the tip of. the iceberg. These are not the only. crimes the defendant committed. That's. not the only time he kidnapped someone.

And Cassie is not the only woman he beat. or sexually exploited. For 20 years, the. defendant, with the help of his trusted. inner circle, committed crime after. crime. That's why we are here today. That's what this case is about. 20 years. of crime is a lot to cover. So, at this. point, Diddy did shake his head a tiny. bit. No, about the 20 years. I don't. know if it's about that. Maybe there's a. fly. I don't know. Maybe it's. coincidental. I will say though, the. opening statement did not evoke any. emotions considering how emotional I. feel like a lot of the allegations are.

And I feel like even listening to some. of the press and like listening to some. of the public talking about it, everybody is like ready to cry non-stop. when Cassie hits the stand, you know? So. it just it just felt very flat. Mhm. Considering how like emotional people. already feel about the case. Yeah. It. just felt kind of I mean all the words. used were slightly vague. I mean we did. have a whole debate about it. So we were. thinking maybe it's vague because it.

resonates more with the larger audience. or maybe it's vague because I did notice. that the jurors were taking notes. So. maybe she's talking in a note. takingaking speed. I don't know if you. guys are attorneys. let me know in the. comments. But she'll say things like, "You'll learn that the defendant was a. musician who created an empire. He had a. record label, Bad Boy Records, and other. businesses that he ran or controlled. Those businesses made the defendant. rich. And he used money and resources. from those companies to build his.

reputation and to feed his every. desire." It just felt kind of like, yeah, like not passionate, you know? But. maybe the words are more easily. digestible. He sometimes called himself. the king and he expected to be treated. like one. He expected his inner circle. to cater to his every desire, including. his sexual desires. Now, at this point, we did note that I don't know if this is. like in our heads, but we did see. Diddy's cheeks kind of perk. So, we. don't know if maybe he's like clenching. his jaw or maybe he's hiding a smile. I.

don't know. Or maybe his cheeks just go. up because our facial movements do weird. things. She continues, "Let me be very. clear on this next point. This case is. not about a celebrity's private sexual. preferences. The evidence will show that. the sexual conduct at issue in this case. was coercive and criminal because the. defendant made women have sex when they. did not want to because he threatened. them, he drugged them, he lied to them, and he even used violence to make them. do it. She does mention the freakoffs, but she mentions that later he called. them king nights or hotel nights.

allegedly, right? And the defendant had. particular demands for freakoffs. states. that he would get his staff to come into. the hotel room and we kind of already I. feel like a lot of the public already. went through this type of information, but he would control the lighting. He. liked extra linens, lubricant. His staff. would remain on call to allegedly. refresh anything in that room, including. drugs and cash for the male escorts. She. says the hotel rooms are dark. The.

defendant instructed Cassie and Jane, which is another victim who's going to. testify, how to dress in lingerie, wear. tall platform, high heels, and have. manicured white nails. The defendant. selected drugs for Cassie and Jane to. take, usually MDMA, also known as Molly. or Ecstasy. She says the defendant fed. Cassie and Jane drugs throughout the. freakoff so that they could stay awake. and perform for him for hours and days. at a time. So, she talks about how Diddy. and Cassie met when they were 19 years. old. Well, Cassie was 19 years old. Diddy was 17 years older. and he signs. her to a 10 album deal with his label.

They're on and off dating from 2006 to. 2018. The defendant starts abusing. Cassie early on. Initially, Cassie. fights back. This is like through the. prosecutor. The prosecutors alleged that. Diddy was incredibly violent with. Cassie. So, these are a lot of the. allegations that I feel like the public. already knows about. But then they also. state the defendant also introduced. Cassie to freakoffs early on. Soon the. defendant made it Cassie's job to find. and book escorts for freakoffs. freakoffs that were happening as often. as once a week for days at a time.

Meaning that for almost half of every. week, Cassie was in a dark hotel room, high and awake for days, performing sex. acts that she did not want to on male. escorts. Wow. Cassie will tell you how. she felt like she was choking when the. defendant made an escort urinate in her. mouth, and how she overdosed at a. freakoff when she still had an open. wound on her face from the defendant's. most recent assault. The prosecutors. state that if Cassie didn't do what the. defendant wanted, the consequences were.

really severe. Um, they say that he. would beat her when she didn't answer. the phone when he called. He beat her. when she let a left a freak off without. his permission. He beat her when she. took too long in the bathroom. The. defendant taught Cassie that defying him. could and often would end in violence. The prosecutors state that Jane went. through similar things that Cassie went. through and that that started around. 2020. Diddy and Jane started spending. time together in 2020 and that the. prosecutors state that Diddy asked Jane.

for a freakoff and then it it snowballed. into similar allegations and violence. The prosecution does state Jane tried. twice to make it through these nights. without drugs. The first time she broke. down and had took ecstasy to finish. performing for the defendant. The second. time Jane vomited after having sex with. an escort. How did the defendant. respond? He told her to hurry up and get. back into the room where another escort. was waiting. The prosecutors go on to. detail that one night Jane and Diddy get. into this altercation where Jane is.

upset that she's doing all these. freakoffs while Diddy is vacationing and. taking his other girlfriends on trips. And quote, "Jane hit the defendant and. threw things at him. The defendant. became enraged, so Jane tried to get. away from him and hide. She ran to her. bedroom and locked the door. He kicked. it open. She ran to her bathroom and. locked the door. He kicked it open. She. ran to her closet and locked the door. He kicked it open. She ran to the guest. bedroom and locked the door. He kicked. it open. She tried to run out the front. door, but he grabbed her in a chokeold, lifted her off the ground by her neck,

and kicked her to the ground. Later that. night, they fought again. And just as he. had with Cassie, the defendant viciously. attacked Jen. He punched her in the. face, kicked her while she was curled up. in a ball on the ground, dragged her by. her hair and her arm, and slapped Jane's. face so hard she fell over. And when all. of this was over, the defendant still. did not let Jane be. Instead, he told. Jane, "You're not going to [ __ ] up my. night." The defendant instructed her to. put on an outfit and call up an escort. for a freakoff. He made Jane cover her. black eye and bruising and take an. ecstasy pill and perform for the.

defendant with that escort. The. prosecutors also state that an employee. that worked for Diddy, Mia, will tell. the jurors about the years that Diddy. would force himself on her sexually, putting his hands up her dress, unzipping his pants, forcing her to. perform oral sex, and sneaking into her. bed to essay her. Wait, this is a. different Mia, you said. Yeah. So, that's another victim, the third one. now. Mhm. And so, the prosecutors state. Mia will tell you how she could not talk. about what happened to her until. recently. how she wanted to take the.

secret of what the defendant did to her. to her grave and how everything was. covered up by Diddy's inner circle, even. the hotel footage of Cassie. The. prosecutor states, "In exchange of the. video from the hotel, the defendant gave. the security guard a brown paper bag. full of $100,000 in cash while the. defendant's bodyguard and his chief of. staff stood by. This is far from the. only time that the defendant's inner. circle tried to close ranks and do. damage control." And just preemptively, I think the prosecutors are stating, "You will learn that some of these. witnesses and victims, including Cassie,

have already received financial. settlements from the defendant or have. filed lawsuits against the defendant. But these witnesses will tell you that. they trade any money from the defendant. for not having been abused." She ends. the statement with, "First, please pay. close attention to the evidence. Second, please follow the judge's instructions. on the law. And third, please use and. trust your common sense. If you do all. that, you will reach the only verdict. that is consistent with the law and the. evidence in this case. That is the. defendant Shawn Combmes is guilty. It.

was not as powerful as I think what it. could have been, but I don't know. I. felt like we had this whole conversation. about it of I feel like we've heard a. lot of other opening statements and. other cases that had a lot more emotion. I don't know if maybe this is so. high-profile that they tried to keep it. as professional and unemotional as. possible. I don't know. If you know, let. me know. The whole time near the end, Diddy is in what we thought in our. notes, eyeing Tenny, his attorney on his.

right, like her paper, as if he's. copying her homework. And then. immediately after, Tenny Garagos gets up. to do the opening statements for the. defense. She's wearing a white. turtleneck, a black pants suit that's. completely pleated in the back. She is, I would say, much more in control when. she walks up. She doesn't look like. she's reading as much as the prosecution. did. She's looking at the jurors more. often. She seems a lot more prepared. than the prosecutor did during the.

opening statements. One thing that I did. notice that a lot of people noticed. where I was sitting is that it appeared. that she had white nail polish on. I. know like in the last one I was like, I. feel like it was pink in her interview. It looked pretty white and I was like, I. don't know if it's me. But then like. both my researchers were like, "No, it. looks really white." And that's a choice. she made, I guess. Yeah. If it's white, yeah, it's a choice. Yeah. Yeah. Let me. read you parts of her opening statement.

Good morning. Sean Combmes is a. complicated man. But this is not a. complicated case. This case is about. love, jealousy, infidelity, and money. This case is about voluntary adult. choices made by capable adults and. consensual relationships. This case is. about real life relationships and the. government is trying to turn those. relationships into a racketeering case, a prostitution case, and a sex. trafficking case, it will not work. I. think given the circumstances of the. allegations, the accusations, even just.

the hotel footage, I think a lot of. people can't think of many other ways. that many like maybe Tenny Gargos could. have done an opening statement. But. yeah, she continues, "You will hear the. evidence. You will get the truth. You. will see the witnesses and evaluate them. one by one. And finally, finally, the. story about this case can finally come. out." Why do I say that? I say that. because this case is not about what. you've heard on the news, read in the. news, or have seen on social media for. the past year and a half. This case is.

not about what civil attorneys looking. for a payday are trying to make my. client out to be. There has been a. tremendous amount of noise around this. case for the past year, and it's time to. cancel that noise and hear and see the. evidence that will be presented in this. courtroom. The story of Shawn Combmes is. a fascinating one, but it is a human. one. We are going to tell you a story. over the next two months in this. courtroom. So, by now you've heard the. government say a lot of things about my. client. It's time for me to introduce. you to him. His name is Shawn Combmes.

And at this point, I almost peed myself. because Sean Diddy stands up and it's. like kind of abrupt like I wasn't. expecting him to stand up. It like it. feels okay. So, there's two ways that we. are trying to describe it and we don't. know which one's more accurate. So the. first way it's it almost feels like. maybe because he was so statuesque the. whole day he forgot how his limbs move. and then he just like shot up out of his. chair like a little rocket heading into. space or it feels kind of like a. military roll call just like shoots up.

back straight posture straight and I do. think it's awkward because it's not like. he can I don't think he can just like. wave at the jurors that comes off very. high right so he's just stands up okay. okay and she's like this his name is. Shawn Combmes. You may have heard of him. by Puff, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Puffy, Diddy. But standing in this courtroom at. 55 years old, in the same place he was. born and raised, he's going by the same. name he was born with, Shawn Combmes. My.

name is Tenny Garagos, and I am one of. the attorneys honored to represent him. By this point, he sits back down. His. hands are folded in his lap. The. prosecution will bring in those same. employees and others into this courtroom. and have them testify that Shawn Combmes. has a temper and when he drank or when. he did the wrong drugs, he would get. violent. My client is not proud of that, but it is one of the many things we are. going to own and fully admit right up at. the front of this trial. Sean Combmes. has a bad temper. He sometimes gets so. angry or so jealous that he is out of. control. You will see evidence and you.

will hear some testimony that does not. portray my client in a good light. You. will hear some text messages, some voice. notes, and some witness testimony that. may make you think, I don't think this. guy is a great guy. I don't like how he. just lied to his girlfriends. I don't. like the things he just said in that. text message. I want to tell you now, there may be one point, there may be. multiple points at this trial where you. think, I think he is a jerk, and I think. he is kind of mean, but he is not being. charged with being mean. He's not being.

he's not charged with being a jerk. He's. charged with running a racketeering. enterprise. I did peak at people in the. courtroom. Okay. The press or you. talking about the families? Um public. Okay. Yeah. And I will say um I don't. think a lot of women were happy with. some of these like they're visually. showing some like Yeah. Like I'm going. to try to reserve my own personal. feelings. Although I feel like I make my. personal feelings very clear throughout.

the years. I'm gonna try to reserve them. because I'm trying to be like the. camera, you know? So, but yeah, I I did. see some people that were either doing. like slight lookaways or like gh kind of. face, but I it's to be expected like I. think this is what everybody expected. from the opening statement for the. defense. And she continues, and though. there was violence that you are going to. hear about, you already have. That. violence is not part of any RICO. That. violence is not connected to sex. trafficking and that violence is not.

prostitution. There was a name in. criminal law for the violence that we. will hear about and we will see at this. trial. It is called domestic violence. It is called assault. Domestic violence. is a very serious matter. I want to say. that now. It is a bad illegal problem. and it is something that the law. addresses. We take full responsibility. that there was domestic violence in this. case. Domestic violence is not sex. trafficking. I want to say it again. Domestic violence is not sex. trafficking. Had he been charged with. domestic violence, had he been charged. with assault, we would not be here right.

now. We would not be sitting through an. 8-week trial. However, he has been. charged with different crimes. Sex. trafficking, prostitution, racketeering. These are federal crimes with their. different statutes. They charge. different elements and he is simply not. guilty of those crimes. One of the. central themes of my statements to you. will be personal accountability and. personal responsibility. As the trial. goes on, we will see that with each. witness, we are going to take that on. ourselves. We will not shy away from the. things Mr. Combmes did, but we will not. we will not deny his personal.

responsibility or own the things that he. did not do. We are telling you right now. that he is physical, that he is a drug. user, and I'm telling you he had a bit. of a different sex life. For example, you may have not heard any evidence in. this case, but the prosecutors already. told you about lubricant, and you may. know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No. You will. hear that he got IVs after ingesting. drugs. Is that a federal crime? No. He. will be responsible. He will be. accountable for the things that he did.

But we will fight for his freedom. throughout the next 8 weeks for what he. did not do. And he cannot be the only. person in this case who accepts personal. responsibility and accountability for. his actions. The alleged victims who. will testify in this case are capable, strong adult women. They are all getting. something each of them wanted from him. and from being in a romantic. relationship with him. And those adult. capable strong women will have to take. on the same level of personal.

responsibility for their lives that he. is going to take on for his. When any. person in life makes an adult choice, that is a free choice. A free choice has. pros, it has cons. You may think there. are better choices. You may think there. are worse choices, but that does not. eliminate the personal responsibility. behind those choices. And each of the. women you will hear from, they all had. the personal responsibility and the. freedom to make the choices that they. made. You will hear from these women. You will see these women. You will meet. them. They will sit in that witness.

chair a few feet away. And you will. evaluate them for yourselves. You will. see that they are capable. You will see. that they are strong. you will see that. they made free choices every single day. for years. As you are listening to the. evidence and you listen to them testify, I want you to ask yourselves, what are. all the ways that this individual had. the ability to make that choice? Ask. yourself, what are they getting from. being with Shawn Combmes? They are not. with him because they are stuck or. because they are without a choice.

The government will try to show you that. Shawn Combmes is the only one getting. something from each of the alleged. victims who testify in this case. But. with each of these individuals, ask. yourselves, what is this person getting? They are with him or they are working. for him because they are getting. something they want from being with him. Now, with each person that something may. be different, and it usually is, but. with each person, they are all getting. something. Combmes is one of those men. that I'll submit to you. We all know the. evidence is going to show that he is. somebody who never married but he needed. to always have a woman around. He is a.

manywoman man. He has seven children by. four different women. And he is the kind. of guy who is always in relationships. In fact, he was always in multiple. relationships. But critically, he was. not always honest about the fact. And. you'll find that even when he was, even. when women knew he was in multiple. relationships, this would drive a primal. jealousy in people. It would drive a lot. of the choices you were going to see in. this case. You will see that these women. are strong, capable, and that they were. in love with him. You will see that. breaches of trust, infidelity, and.

jealousy are what drove the domestic. violence you will hear about. You will. see that alcohol and drugs played a. major role in his temper. And the. evidence is going to show you a very. flawed individual, but it will not show. you a racketeer, a sex trafficker, or. somebody transporting for. prostitution. So, as we've said, you're. going to hear from two women, Cassie and. Jane. This case is in large part about. his sexual relationships with these two. women. And you're going to hear that. they went to private hotel rooms to. engage in what I expect some witnesses. at this case to call the swinger's.

lifestyle, which is essentially just a. fancier terminology for threesomes by. adults. You might hear about his kinky. sex or his preferences about sex that. may make you uncomfortable and may not. be what you like to do in your own. bedroom. But you are not here to judge. him for his sexual preferences. You are. not here to judge him for all purposes. You are here to evaluate whether the. government can prove beyond a reasonable. doubt what they actually charged him. with. They cannot. But as you evaluate. the evidence in this case, remember that. he is not being charged with being a. flawed individual or having a flawed.

relationship. The defense states that. Cassie started dating Diddy while he was. still in a relationship with Kim Porter, the mother of his four children. They. state after the two fell in love and. started dating, she broke up with her. producer boyfriend, but Combmes, for his. part, did not break up with Kim. He. remained in a public relationship with. her and that is something that caused. extreme jealousy with Cassie. He. continued that relationship with Kim. Porter until her tragic untimely death. from pneumonia in 2018. Regarding the. hotel video where Cassie is seen in the.

hallway being assaulted, they say this. assault happened almost 10 years ago on. March 5th of 2016. I expect that we are. all going to see this video many, many. times throughout this trial. You are. going to see it later today and I expect. you to see it many more times throughout. this week. You're going to see it a lot, but I want to start by saying two. things. First, what Combmes did to. Cassie in that videotape is. indefensible. It is horrible. It is. dehumanizing. It's violent. It's. virtually every bad word you can think. of. And while it's dehumanizing and. violent and terrible, the second most.

important thing is that it is not. evidence of sex trafficking. It is. evidence of domestic violence. You will. see that it's also evidence of the. central theme in this case, which is. jealousy. That's what the video tape. will show you. So the defense states. that what Diddy really wanted that day. was the phone and that the DV is over. the phone and not because of sex. trafficking. Further asking what causes. a fight about a phone. We can all use. our life experiences to show us that. phones keep the secrets of infidelity. And you will hear that there was another.

fight even later that year again about a. phone. The defense states that the two. of them stayed together for 2 years. after that hotel footage. And the real. reason that Cassie and Diddy break up, according to the defense, is that they. were on and off for years. Finally, they. break up because, according to the. defense, Cassie was very jealous and. broke up with Diddy and then started. dating her now husband. And then. eventually, Kim Porter passes away. And. the defense states, "Then in November of. 2018, Kim Porter tragically passed away.

from pneumonia. Knowing that Combmes. would be distraught and wanting to be. there for him, she did everything she. could to be there. She came to his. memorial service at his home. She flew. to Kim's home state of Georgia to be at. the funeral. Don't lose the sight of the. fact that admits to break up all the way. at the end of 2018. She flew to a. funeral service to be there for him and. support him and his family during this. trying time of their lives. And at the. service at their home combs to a group. of loved ones, former employees and. others, and to many people who on social. media were paying respect, said, and I.

quote, "Kim was my soulmate." In. Cassie's presence for everybody to hear, he said, "She was my soulmate." The end. of the relationship between Cassie and. Combmes is important, and I want you to. focus on the evidence of how and why it. ended. When Combmes publicly stated, Kim. Porter was his soulmate to all the. people around him who were there. For. the first time, maybe ever, Cassie. realized all the things she would not. be. I expect many witnesses at this. trial to tell you she wanted to becomes. his wife. I expect even she may tell you. that. That is what she spent 11 years.

trying to get. And in one day, it became. very clear to Cassie she was never going. to be that. And if she was never going. to becomes his wife, if she was never. going to be the love of his life, then. she would leave. And that is what she. did on her terms, her choice for reasons. that for her were the right reasons. The. defense does state when she made the. decision to leave, there were no. repercussions, as the government hinted, she made the choice to leave. She. communicated it to him and then she ran. into the arms of another man, which a. lot of nizens felt like that part was. very interesting. But continuing, oh,

and side note, the defense states that. the freakoff videos that they found were. not on Diddy's electronics, but on. Cassy's, saying, "You will hear that the. government raided two of his homes. You've already heard that over a year. ago. They seized countless electronic. devices. The only freakoff videos you. will see or hear about at this trial. came from her devices that she kept for. 5 years." So, when the government talks. about power and control, who had the. power? Who had the control? Who? I guess. they're hinting at maybe Cassie has the.

power because she has those videos and. could blackmail Diddy. What they continue after Kim's funeral, they never saw each other again. The. very first time that this former couple. will see each other after 6 and 1/2. years of a breakup is in this courtroom. later today or tomorrow. We are all. going to witness their closure and that. is because she moved on with her life. and he moved on with his. You will see. that she married the trainer. She had. two children with him and she's pregnant. with her third and Combmes also moved on.

with his life. As for Jane, the defense. states that you will see her jealousy on. full display at the trial and you will. see that she was willing to engage in. these nights with Combmes and then she. would be on social media after and she. would see that he was with another one. of his girlfriends either out at dinner. or traveling and she would send messages. of regret afterwards. They state these. were born out of jealousy which were the. which was the root of their troubles and. regret does not mean that she was. coerced. Her jealousy drove her to make. the moves that she made. They also go on.

to alleged state that Cassie was living. in her parents' home when she filed the. lawsuit against Diddy. They're kind of. insinuating that she had financial. troubles and that's why that she didn't. go to the police and went to sue him. instead. They stayed. Cassie, for. example, will tell you that she first. made a demand on Combmes for 30 million. Another witness will tell you that in a. breach of contract case, she made a. demand for 22 million. And as you listen. to these witnesses, and there will be. many, as the prosecutor told you, who. made civil demands against him, I want.

you to ask yourself, how many millions. of reasons does this witness, swearing. to tell the truth and nothing but the. truth, have to lie? How many hundreds of. thousands of reasons does this witness, swearing to tell the truth and nothing. but the truth, have to lie? So, in. closing, I ask you once again to listen. very carefully to all of the evidence. You are not here to judge or impose your. moral beliefs onto this man. You are. here as a jury of his peers to determine. whether the government can meet its. burden of proving beyond a reasonable. doubt that he has committed these. crimes. So, one thing that's very.

interesting to note is that prior to all. of this, like prior to opening. statements, Mark Agnif and Comey, so the. lead prosecutor, they were in the robing. room with the judge. So, this is not in. the courtroom, but it's still on the. court transcripts as public record, but. Mark is requesting on the record that he. um to summarize it, he wishes and hopes. and is requesting that Cassie is already.

seated at the witness stand before the. jurors come in. And they don't want. Cassie to walk in front of the jurors. Yes, this is a quote. Only because of. her physical condition. I mean, there. are certain things we can't control. about a juror who is h 8 and a half. months pregnant. I think he means. witness, but I think there is a quality. to her walking in front of the jury that. I think is easily avoidable. I'm not. making an application for any of the. other witnesses. So, there was a whole. back and forth between the judge, the. prosecutor was like, "That doesn't even.

make any sense. Why would we be doing. that?" The prosecutor says, "Your honor, we would object. If your honor is. considering it, I would like to be heard. on that. I don't think there's any basis. to treat any witness differently because. of a medical condition, most notably. pregnancy. I think that would be deeply. inappropriate. The judge says that he. will think about it, but he does think. that Miss Comey makes a very good point. and he says that we wouldn't treat. people differently based on any other. sort of medical condition or physical. impairment or any other attribute, right? Why would we treat this. differently?

And Mark says there is a prejuditial. quality. Pregnancy is a beautiful and. wonderful. It also is a source of. potential sympathy and the judge is just. like they're going to see the witness, you know, like they're going to see the. witness. Like what what do you mean? Are. you are that doesn't make any sense. Like what are we trying to achieve? So. at this point, I think Mark might try to. find support to plead his case to make. sure that Cassie is not like walking to. the witness stand in front of the. jurors. That's so interesting, right? They're playing on, hey, we don't want.

to we don't want people to see the. visual of her and feel some type of way. a long walk. Okay. Okay. So, the. defendant comes out the door right next. to like the defendant chair and then the. jurors come out the other door, right? And it's they all stay in that side of. the courtroom. The witnesses, they come. in from the door that we come in from. the double doors behind us. So, it's. like a m not saying that I agree with. this. I think Cassie should do whatever. she wants to do, right? But also like. no, we should follow the law. Okay, that's what I meant by.

that. But also maybe both. Okay. But the. double doors open and like everybody is. just staring and then you have to walk. down the aisle and like there's press, there's family, there's everybody and. then you like she's 8 months pregnant. Yeah. And then you walk past the jurors. and then you sit right next to the judge. at the very opposite end of the room. Yeah. So it's definitely an intense. Yeah. Yeah. So that was requested. Now,

with that being said, the witnesses are. starting. Like, they just went into it. So, the first witness gets called onto. the stand. And there is a longer hotel. video of Diddy and Cassie that was shown. in court today. So, you're going to see. this the next day. So, this is you're. seeing this probably Tuesday. It was on. Monday. Okay. And the first witness to. testify is a security guard, former. assistant director of security at the. Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles, Century City, by the name of Israel. Flores. I've never taken the time to.

like truly think about what a security. guard looks like in my head, but if I. did take the time to picture and draw. him out, it would probably be this. witness. I thought he was going to rip. out of his suit. If he was the security. guard in any establishment, I just can't. imagine someone not following the rules. Like, he's very built, very built, very. tall. But like the way that he's built, I know that in Korea we have like the. saying, I don't know if it's like the. most appropriate in this setting, but. like to give you a visual picture. They. call them like the fridge body, right? I.

think that he I've never seen someone. that built. Okay. Yeah. No, his. shoulders were incredibly broad. And so. he walks in as the prosecutor's witness. and he's there to recount the events of. March 5th, 2016. This is the infamous. hotel video footage. He says, "I was at. the security base. I received a call. from instant services saying there was a. woman in distress on the sixth floor.". Basically, the hotel has like each floor.

has a phone. So, if you pick it up, it. goes directly to them and it pretty. much, you don't have to dial anything. You just pick up the phone, it goes to. instant services, and she pretty much. directs the call. So, like if you need. housekeeping, if you need security, she. will direct the call. So, he says he. gets a call to the sixth floor. A woman. is in distress. Before he even goes, he. doesn't know what he's getting into. So, he says he checks the cameras and sees a. black man just pacing back and forth on. the sixth floor. He doesn't rewind the. footage. He just sees a man pacing back. and forth. He says, "I got the call. saying that there was a woman in. distress." I look at the camera. I see a.

man walking back and forth. There was no. woman in the video. So, I'm thinking. something happened because I didn't see. any I didn't see a female in the. footage. So, I wanted to get there as. fast as possible to make sure that. nothing was going on. When he gets to. the sixth floor, he responds to the. call. He says, "When I got out of the. elevator, I observed a male and a female. in the elevator lobby of that floor, like the elevator area." He says, quote, "Mr. Combmes in a towel and some like. colored socks sitting down um further. away from me on my right side, and I see. Miss Cassie in the corner kind of like. covering her face and bundle bundled up.

in the corner." He describes Diddy as. quote, "It was so he was on the chair, slouched down, and he was like, it was. like a bank blank stare." And yeah, as. soon as I walked out, it was the best. way to describe it was he had a devilish. stare. He was just like looking at me. So when I got out of the elevator, I. kind of was stuck because I'm looking at. him, he's looking at me with like no. movement. And then he starts to move. And Cassie, well, she was in the corner. and she was she had her hoodie on. She. was pretty much covered up. I couldn't. see her face. And she was just, you. know, pretty much in the corner. On the.

floor, he sees a destroyed flower vase, just glass shattered everywhere, which. clearly something is happening. But the. security guard states I advised them. obviously like first I was like hey. what's going on? Obviously they were. arguing so I told them like hey if you. guys are going to argue you guys have to. take it back to your room and then I. told them the mess that was there it was. going to be charged to their room. He. says Cassie tells her that she just. wants to get her phone in her bag and. she wants to leave. So he starts. escorting them back to their room likely. to grab her stuff. But even as he's. escorting them he states that they're.

arguing. he says. And we were walking. towards the room and then he eventually. started he like tried to re-engage and I. was pretty much like reminding him like. hey there's other guests in the hotel. just out of respect for them. Let's get. back to the room. He states that he. hears Diddy tell Cassie that she can't. leave that she's not going to leave. To. which he's like well if she wants to. leave she's going to leave. Like that's. pretty much it. They walk into the room. He says I put my foot in between the. door again. She wanted she wanted to. leave. He said that he had mentioned I. don't want her to leave. Well I don't. want you to leave. So, I knew if I let.

the door close, something could happen. So, I put my body in between the door. before it closed, and I watched her get. her stuff. He says he never fully. entered the room. He's just kind of like. half in, half out at the door. And then, um, he does see majority of the room. And he does notice that there is a man. in dark clothing sitting on the corner. of the bed in the room. He doesn't. recognize him. He's clothed. He's doing. nothing. He's not talking. So, he says, you know, he's fully clothed, male, black. He wasn't engaging in any. conversation with either of them. and he. was just sitting on the corner of the.

bed. He says while he's standing there, there's a lot of going there's a lot. going on between Diddy and Cassie. He. says so they were going back and forth. First she was like you can't leave. Then. he was telling her to leave. So it was. just like back and forth between the. both of them. Ultimately Cassie leaves. the room. Quote so after she left I told. him like hey stay in the room again. Everything is going to be charged to. your room. As I started walking away he. called for me and he said hey turn. around. He said hey. I turned around and. with his he's pretty much holding like a. stack of money pretty much. I don't. know. That's the best way I can describe.

it. He was just pretty much telling me. like, "Hey, take this. Don't tell. anyone." Pretty much. The witness says. he felt like this was a bribe to not. tell anybody. And as for the cash. itself, okay, I did the math. He. describes it as being like he holds up. his pinky and his thumb. So then I stuck. my pen that I was using in between my. pinky and my thumb. And like this man. has ginormous hands. This is a pretty. big dude. So I imagine it's actually. bigger than my pinky and my thumb. But I. measured the pen and then I calculated. how much it would be. So he describes. the top bill was a $100 bill and the.

rest he doesn't know because he didn't. go through it. He didn't accept the. money. But I did the math. If it was a. stack of all hundreds that's $120,000. to be what he described. If it was all. 50s, 60,000. All 20s 25,000. 10 12,000. Five 6,000. And if maybe it's just a h. 100red on top and all dollar bills, it. would be 1.2,000. So he just pull out like 120 grand of.

cash just like whoop, here you go. Yeah. And regardless, well, that's what the. security that's what the witness claims. right now. The witness turns it down. He. says, I told him, I don't want your. money. Just go back into your room. Everything is going to be charged to. your room and stay in your room. And I. left. He says after declining a. mortgage, he just goes downstairs to. find Cassie where he notices her in the. valet area. He says that he he hasn't. seen any footage, so he only knows that. there's a broken flower vase. There's.

some sort of disagreement happening. between the couple. He he starts asking. her what happened. He notices that she. has a purple eye. And then he says, I. asked her, "Did he do that? Do you want. me to call the cops?" And all she kept. saying is, "I just want to leave." After. speaking to her, she didn't respond to. any of my questions. She was just. saying, "I want to leave. I want to. leave. And when I offered her like, hey, the cops can go to the back of the. building. Nobody's going to see. She. just kept saying, I want to leave. So. there was no victim there. Obviously, nobody was pressing charges. And then by. the time I did draft up the email, nobody I mean, everybody was gone. because Mr. Combmes had already.

left. So when she leaves from the valet. area, he goes back up with his manager. to talk to Diddy. And he claims that he. goes into Diddy's room. And the way that. his friend manager talks, he likes to. hold his phone up to his chest almost. like he's recording. And he claims that. Diddy starts freaking out thinking this. man is recording him. So he's like. trying to grab the phone. He's like, "Are you recording me?" He's like. reaching for the phone. The security. guard pins him up against the wall and. he's like, "What are you doing?". Eventually the whole situation.

deescalates because he's like, "I'm not. recording. Like I can show you my. phone." and it deescalates. In the. incident report that was entered into. evidence, it states that after he was. shown that there was no recording, did. he deescalates and that he just felt. scared like I guess that he was going to. lose everything was the general. consensus. So then he states, quote, just told him the same thing I told him. The security guard is saying, "I just. told him like everything that happened. in the lobby is going to be charged to. your room." And he reminded and we.

reminded him that it was checkout. So, he needed to check out by 3 p.m. I've. never seen someone so more diligent. about charging damages to somebody's. room. But one thing to note is that the. guard says he never sees that mysterious. man from that hotel room ever again. Like, he wasn't there when they went. back. So, they leave the room, they take. pictures of the broken glass, the broken. place on the sixth floor. The guard will. eventually send those attachments along. with his incident report to the hotel. staff and security. Now, there are a few. things that he leaves out of his. incident report, like the random man in.

the room, to which he explains he was. irrelevant. Like, when I got there, he. wasn't he wasn't at the incident. Like, when we got to the room, he didn't talk. to nobody. He was just not someone. He. was just someone that was there. Which, side note, the incident report when they. showed it to the press, there is a part. where, oh, this is the quote where Diddy. says, "I just don't want to lose. anything and I could lose it all.". That's the alleged quote that was. written back in 2016 by the security. guard into the incident report. So, did. he say that to him? Allegedly. Now, he does take videos of some like.

him arriving on the sixth floor. The. security guard takes videos of him. arriving on the sixth floor to see Diddy. and Cassie. So, at this point, he hasn't. seen the actual assault footage cuz that. would require him to rewind. He just. wants to see when he starts interacting. with Diddy. He said that he wanted to. take a video of the camera monitor. because he didn't think that his wife. would believe him. He said, "Uh, again, I was going home and if I had told my. wife, hey, this is what happened," she. wouldn't have believed me, so here's a. video. The video of him, it was played.

in court and it was pretty uncomfortable. because it's clearly just for his wife, but he's giggling when he sees himself. exit the elevator and then at one point. he zooms in on his dress shoes and goes. like, "Hella shiny shoes or something. along those lines." Now, there is more. to the hotel footage, but it's generally. like the same stuff that we saw, just. different angles. I do think that this. situation, the security guard could have.

handled it a lot worse, but yeah, I. guess I just that just makes me sad for. Cassie, I guess, because after he takes. these videos, he just kind of moves on. And his whole thing was, you know, Cassie didn't want to file a police. report. She didn't want to press. charges. What could I do? Did he already. left? It's not like this isn't really my. hotel that I'm running. I took these. videos for my wife. And then the. incident just kind of left his mind for. a little bit. The cross-examination. starts because the direct examination.

was done by the prosecutors cuz he's the. prosecutor's witness. But Brian Steel. walks up to the podium in his candy cane. colored tie. This is like his very first. cross-examination. I will say that he. does have a presence when he. cross-examines. He has kind of like a southern flare. It's not overly southern. It's not like. um because I know a lot of southern. attorneys, they can fall into the. southern religious leader trope that a. lot of attorneys talk about, but.

apparently he he is not one of those. The first question that he focuses on. with the security guard though is on the. incident report you said that you have. to cover who, what, why, where, when, what. And Brian Steele says, "And the. reason that you do every detail is. because or significant detail is because. it's important because later other. people who did not witness what you. witnessed may want to review your. notes." That's fair to say. Yeah. The. hotel staff. Yes. Brian Steele argues. that the incident report is to. memorialize the incident because it's. been 9 years. Now, I would like to ask.

you a couple of things about that. report, that incident report that you. did. Just explain if you don't mind. You. mentioned that when you got off the. elevator the first time, you get off the. elevator approximately 11:14, 11:15 a.m. Pacific time that day. Okay. You. describe Mr. Combmes as having a. devilish scary look on his face. Do you. remember saying that to the jury? Yes. Where in the report do you describe Mr. Combmes like that? It's not It's That's. my opinion. So, it had nothing to do. with the incident. Okay. That has. nothing to do with what happened that. day. Is that what you're saying? Yeah.

With the incident. That is just your. opinion now. Correct. No, it was my. opinion then and now. But you didn't put. that in your report again. It was my. opinion. Answer my question if you don't. mind. It's not in the report. True. No. So Brian Steel then brings up the next. thing that was not included in the. incident report. Now you say that the. young lady Cassie has a purple eye. Do. you remember telling the jurors that? Yes. Tell the ladies and gentlemen of. the jury where it in your report if you. need to see it. It's no problem. You. wrote that she has any type of. discoloration in her eye. Uh I don't.

recall that on my report. They bring up. the incident report. Point to the jurors. and where you say that Cassie has a. purple eye. It doesn't. He's like, "I. couldn't hear. I apologize." It doesn't. It doesn't. Now, that would be. significant, wouldn't it? Yeah. Because. you have to know if somebody gets. injured on your property. That's. important for not only you, but your. co-workers to know. True. Correct. Then. he has the guard read through the second. paragraph of the report which reads and. then when we went so he's saying that.

when he took Diddy and Cassie back to. the hotel room he quote Miss Cece was. told to leave by Mr. Combmes so she did. And so Brian Steel is like do you see. that? Yeah. At that point I didn't. believe it was a significant fact. because again they were just going back. and forth. So I'm not going to put. something like he told her off. I'm not. going to say that. Like he's he said. leave eventually and then she left. So. you wrote down what you just said that. Mr. Combmes told Cassie to leave. Yeah.

And she left. But you didn't write down. that Mr. Combmes told her that she could. not leave. Yeah. Because it's not. important. It that's him just telling. her don't leave and me telling him she's. going to leave and then he says you're. going to leave. So of course I don't put. he told her that she needs to leave. Officer, if it's not important, we're. talking about 9 years later. Yeah. You. remember the unimportant detail 9 years. later, but it's not important enough. I. remember most of the incident, sir. He. also tries to briefly bring up the idea. that perhaps maybe the bribe or what the.

guard thought was a bribe was perhaps. just Diddy paying for the damages of the. hotel room through cash. And then he's. like, "We don't accept cash." Basically, Brian Steele also gets the guard to talk. about how he pinned up Diddy up against. the wall for freaking out about that. alleged believed recording, right, that. his manager was taking. And he says that. he put his forearm up to Diddy's chest. and then pushed him up against the wall. But the incident report reads, "When I. grabbed his hand, I told him to back off. as we took his hand away from the MOD,

like the manager to which so Brian Steel. is trying to argue that he doesn't. remember clearly or making stuff up or. um just challenging his credibility.". Okay. You know, I think the jurors are. under a different set of rules than. everybody else is, right? The court of. public opinion is always different from. the court of justice. I think that Brian Steel is probably. doing the best with what he's given, but. I think after like we watched that.

footage like five times in the hotel. room or the hotel lobby. I don't know. The security guard could have lied that. Pikachu was falling from the sky and I. don't think that it would have at least. in a lot of public opinion. I don't. think that it would have changed much. Got it. Yep. But I know like technically. it's the charges that's being argued, not the domestic violence in the video, but it it was just um yeah, it just felt. like not as serious after watching that.

video to be like, "But why didn't you. put it in the incident report?" But. again, I think that he was doing the. best that he could. However, yeah, they. also kind of have a back and forth about. the hotel room itself. The security. guard is stating that it's a room where. he saw the man on the bed. Brian Steel. is stating that it's a suite with the. living room, so he wouldn't have been. able to see a man sitting on the bed if. he was only half into the room because. there's another door that leads into the. bedroom. The security guard is saying it.

was a pull out sofa then. And it's just. like this back and forth. And then. eventually Brian Steele is like, "Did. you realize that this was a presidential. suite in that hotel?" And it felt like a. very big moment where I was like, "Oh my. gosh, it's a presidential street like. suite. Something's about to happen." And. then the security guard just hits back. like just quip. Presidential suite on. the sixth floor on the corner. I don't. think so. And then we just like never go. back to the presidential suite. It It. irked me so much. I tried calling the.

Intercontinental Hotel. They're closed. because I'm like I need to know now if. it's a presidential suite. I don't I. don't think it was from what I can tell. I don't know. But it does seem like. there's lots of suites in the. Intercontinental Hotel. It's very. complicated, but they're closed. They're. being renovated. But eventually it is. redirected with prosecutor Slavic where. the guard explains that he didn't. include every single detail in the. incident report. And so I guess that. explains the purple eye, the other. things that he didn't include. But not.

only that, he also explains that he did. not believe that Diddy was high or on. drugs at the time. He states that he. seemed pretty sober. And they start. playing that hotel video footage again. because I think the one one of the. bigger arguments with Brian Steel's. cross is that he just kept not kept, but. he was trying to argue that the incident. report says that Diddy told Cassie to. leave, right? And the prosecutors, they. go up, they start playing the video, the. hotel footage where Diddy grabs Cassie. by the hoodie, slams her down, stomps on.

her, and then at 31 seconds going to 56. seconds during that time frame, the. prosecutor asks the guard, "Officer. Flores, towards the end of that snippet, did you see Mr. Combmes dragging. Cassie?" Cuz I don't know if you recall, but he was dragging her Yeah. Mhm. "Uh, yes, ma'am. What direction was he. dragging her in to the room?" and she. states nothing further and steps away. from the podium. And that is the first witness. So I know.

you guys are probably hearing about the. second witness that went up and. testified. He is the he was someone that. participated in the so-called freakoffs. with Cassie and Diddy and he's been. testifying and there's been like a lot. of salacious stuff that's been coming. out and a lot of like headline snippets. of his testimony. We're going to do that. tomorrow because his cross- examination. hasn't been completely finished and I. feel like it's only fair to show both if. possible at the same time. And then I. also know that Cassie is testifying. So. yeah, stay tuned for that. Um, let me.

know in the comments what are your. thoughts on the first witness. Do you. think that it really mattered much? And. also the opening statements. I do think. a lot of people are upset by both. parties. I feel like the internet is. upset by the defense's opening. statement, which was to be expected. I. think a lot of people inside the. courtroom like kind of expected that, but then were kind of disappointed. because a lot of people had high hopes. for the prosecutor's opening statements. I don't know. What are your thoughts? Leave it in the comments and I will see.

you in the next one. [Music].