Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs faces a pivotal moment in his ongoing s3x trafficking and racketeering trial, as a federal judge is expected to decide on Tuesday, June 10, whether to declare a mistrial following fresh claims from Combs’ defense team.
The trial, now in its 19th day, took an unexpected turn over the weekend when Combs’ lawyers filed a motion seeking a mistrial. The defense argues that key testimony from prosecution witness Cassie Ventura was misleading and contradicted by newly surfaced text messages.
Ventura previously testified that she personally witnessed Combs holding alleged victim Bryana Bongolan over a balcony. However, messages she sent to Kristina Khorram, a former employee of Combs, suggest otherwise. In one text, Ventura wrote:
“I just found out some crazy sh**,”
indicating she may have only heard about the alleged incident after it happened — not witnessed it firsthand as she claimed in court.
Combs’ legal team also challenged the prosecution’s timeline of events. They pointed to photos showing Bongolan’s injuries, with metadata revealing the images were captured on September 26, 2016. According to the defense, Combs was on the East Coast that day, far from Los Angeles, where the alleged assault reportedly took place.
Judge Arun Subramanian confirmed on Monday, June 9, that he will reserve judgment on the mistrial motion until Tuesday, June 10. Prosecutors are expected to submit their response by the end of the day.
Meanwhile, courtroom proceedings continued with testimony from a witness known only as “Jane”, a former girlfriend of Combs testifying under a pseudonym. On her third day on the stand, she reiterated claims of drug use and medical complications allegedly stemming from what she described as coercive “freak-off” s3xual encounters involving Combs and other individuals.
This is the second mistrial motion filed by Combs’ defense. A previous motion last month challenged fingerprint evidence connected to an investigation involving rapper Kid Cudi.
The court’s forthcoming decision on the mistrial request is expected to have a significant impact on the direction and outcome of this high-profile trial, which continues to draw nationwide attention.
