On Wednesday, New York federal prosecutors asked the court to remove a presiding juror in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
As reported by NBC, prosecutors requested on Tuesday that Juror #6 be dismissed from the trial, with this happening in the absence of the jury. Their request, articulated by Prosecutor Maurene Comey, was based on “a lack of candor with the court,” though they did not elaborate on the details.
Combs’ attorneys have contested the motion — with Alexandra Shapiro calling it a “thinly veiled effort” to oust a Black juror, CNN reported.
Judge Arun Subramanian said he will address the issue on Thursday.
The defense will resume its cross-examination of Combs’ former girlfriend this Thursday. The complainant, who uses the pseudonym “Jane,” was in a relationship with Combs from 2021 to 2024, and claims that Combs coerced her into having sex with other men while he observed. These encounters, referred to by Jane as “hotel nights,” allegedly took place without the use of protection, according to Combs’ insistence.
Jane is among three individuals who have accused Combs of either physical or sexual abuse. Ventura, another accuser who dated Combs between 2007 and 2018, has previously testified that Combs “stifled” her music career and compelled her to engage in “freak offs,” which involved her having intercourse with other men in his presence. Ventura described these drug-fueled events as exhausting and relentless, often lasting several days and leaving her severely sleep-deprived and dehydrated.
Another victim, who used the alias “Mia,” worked as Combs’ assistant for eight years. She accused Combs of forcing her to perform oral sex and sneaking into her bed to penetrate her without her consent. She also claimed Combs hurled objects at her and threw her against a wall.
Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail three times, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.
Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami in March 2024. Reports indicated that the raids were connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The raids also occurred four months after Ventura accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May 2024, CNN publicized hotel surveillance footage allegedly showing Combs assaulting Ventura. Two days later, Combs released a video expressing remorse for his behavior.
“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry,” he said.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
Days after footage of the Ventura assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four occasions between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. The accuser in that case had her lawsuit dismissed in February.
Combs turned down a plea deal days before jury selection began. His trial is expected to last two months.
[Feature Photo: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File]
