NEW YORK - Sean "Diddy" Combs was back in court April 25 before his federal sex crimes trial begins May 5.
Less than two weeks before the trial kicks off, Combs' attorneys met with Judge Arun Subramanian at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan to hash out trial preparations with federal prosecutors. At the hearing, both sides scored wins ahead of one of the most talked-about celebrity trials in recent history.
The pretrial conference came as attorneys for Combs dispute key aspects of the legal proceedings with the U.S. government, such as the identities of Combs' alleged victims on the witness stand and the scope of expert testimony presented to jurors in the case.
The rulings come before prosecutors and Diddy's legal team meet again on May 1 as remaining questions from the two camps are expected to be discussed.
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Combs was arrested in September 2024 at a Manhattan hotel and was subsequently charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
The criminal trial emerges as a series of civil lawsuits from dozens of accusers have been aimed at Combs, accusing one of the music industry's most recognizable figures of a pervasive pattern of sexually and physically abusive behavior. The allegations span decades and include claims of rape, sexual assault and physical violence.
The April 25 pre-conference sets the stage for the much-anticipated trial as Combs faces spending the rest of his life in prison.
A prosecutor said Combs had rejected a plea deal. The attorney did not share terms of the plea offer, but indicated she wants Subramanian to confirm with Combs directly that his lawyers told him about the offer and that he made the decision to turn it down.
Subramanian indicated he will do that direct questioning of Combs at a May 1 hearing.
An exchange between the lawyers Friday offered a window into a possible defense for Combs: He lived the life of a swinger.
The prosecution argued Combs' lawyers shouldn't be able to tell jurors that he is being targeted in a vindictive or novel way.
Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo said the defense team needs to be able to say that there is "a lifestyle" that Combs had. "Call it swingers," Agnifilo said.
Agnifilo suggested portraying Combs' activities as part of that lifestyle will be relevant to demonstrating to jurors that Combs didn't have the criminal intent that's required to be guilty.
Federal prosecutors and Combs' legal team have sparred in recent weeks about expert witness testimony that will be shown before the jury during the Combs trial.
Prosecutors want to bring forth a witness to discuss a mystery medical procedure to show the "degree of control" and the "horrors this victim incurred" through forced sexual activities they say took place at the hands of Combs.
Subramanian said the witness is allowed to testify, but the judge will decide what prosecutors can ask the witness on the day of their testimony.
Subramanian determined that psychologist Dawn Hughes, a much-contested witness, is not allowed to discuss coercive control - a form of domestic abuse - but is allowed to discuss coping strategies for victims and why victims stay in relationships with patterns of domestic violence.
One piece at the center of the trial is security footage video from 2016 that allegedly shows Combs beating, kicking and dragging his ex-girlfriend and "Me & U" singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine at a now-closed luxury hotel in Los Angeles.
The video surfaced after an exclusive CNN report last May and went viral on social media before Combs later apologized in an Instagram post, saying he was "disgusted" by the behavior.
Combs' attorneys presented their case for excluding the footage from the hip-hop mogul's upcoming criminal trial earlier this month, arguing a forensic analyst they'd hired as an expert confirmed none of the videos they were able to obtain "accurately depict the incident."
At the April 25 hearing, Subramanian denied Combs' lawyers request to exclude the footage, allowing prosecutors to use it as evidence.
Combs' team previously cast doubt on the hotel video as evidence of what U.S. attorneys allege was a widespread sex trafficking enterprise spearheaded by the rapper. In November, his team accused prosecutors of presenting an "altered" video of him attacking Ventura to convince a judge he should not remain detained.
The rapper's lawyers at one point accused government agents of leaking the footage to CNN, but the judge rejected the claim.
Federal prosecutors also seek to show sealed evidence, including video of sexual encounters that feature Combs. The U.S. attorneys want the jury to at least hear videos but not allow the public to see or hear. In court on April 25, prosecutors said the videos are "extremely sensitive."
Subramanian has said he would decide this week about the scope of expert witness testimony ahead of May 5 jury selection. Expert witnesses would not tell jurors about the facts of the case but would rather draw upon their professional experience and research to testify about concepts that can help them understand the subjects at play.
Federal prosecutors want to call psychologist Dawn Hughes to testify about how victims of sexual abuse may sometimes remain loyal and committed to their perpetrator and stay in relationships with them due to emotional manipulation or a fear of violence.
Hughes has testified in other high profile sex trafficking cases, including R&B singer R. Kelly's trial in 2021.
Prosecutors say Hughes' expertise is necessary to contextualize Combs' argument that victims willingly participated in "Freak Offs" given that they at times expressed affection for him and chose to stay with him.
"The defense will then argue that these victim responses are incompatible with the victim being a victim of abuse," prosecutors wrote in a court filing Wednesday. "Dr. Hughes would testify that it is the dynamics of interpersonal violence that result in such behavior."
Combs' lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said at an April 18 court hearing that the government was improperly seeking to use Hughes' testimony to bolster the credibility of the alleged victims who are expected to testify against him.
Diddy is charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations contributing to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" - sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
In March, prosecutors submitted a second superseding indictment (updating the amended indictment from January that added three unnamed women who were allegedly victims of his so-called sex trafficking enterprise), which claims Combs subjected employees to forced labor under inhumane circumstances.
In a third superseding indictment, prosecutors added two additional counts - one count of sex trafficking and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution of "Victim-2" - to the previous three charges against him.
After the judge left the courtroom and reporters began to disband, Combs acknowledged certain people who attended the hearing in the audience benches with small smiles and taps of his fist to his chest. Before exiting through a door on the left, he pumped his fist above his shoulder in a seeming expression of strength to a young man in the audience, who gave Combs a fist pump back.
There was a glaring gender dynamic to Friday's hearing that could play out in front of the jury when Combs goes to trial in May.
Combs was flanked by three women and two men at his defense table, including his lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo.
The prosecution table, by contrast, didn't include any men, even though it was large. One by one, six women were introduced at the start of the hearing, beginning with prosecutor Madison Smyser.
That could