Jury hears audio message Diddy sent to his ex-girlfriend
An audio message Diddy sent to his ex-girlfriend, Jane, was played in court during his sex trafficking and racketeering trial. (audio credit: US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of NY)
Juror issues continued to plague Sean "Diddy" Combs’ federal trial as the prosecution proceeded with the 24th day of testimony.
In a letter filed by the government on Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted it does not oppose additional fact-finding with a second juror due to possible communications with a former colleague regarding jury service.
The prosecution wrote that the defense argued that if the court removed Juror No. 6, who was dismissed from the case, this second juror should also be excused. The government said they disagreed with "linking the issues" involving these jurors, but said they are open to further questioning of the second juror.
Before testimony began Monday, Juror No. 6 was dismissed from the case. Discussion about dismissing juror No. 6 began last week after the prosecution pointed out inconsistencies in statements regarding his residency.
"There is nothing the juror can say at this point that can put the genie back in the bottle and repair his credibility…" the judge said in court ahead of trial testimony.
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A juror in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial was dismissed Monday morning. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
As to the concerns about diversity, Judge Subramanian said this jury does not raise those concerns. Combs' legal team had asked to keep the juror due to his ethnicity and requested a mistrial should the juror be dismissed.
"The court cannot and should not let race factor into what it should do," the federal judge noted. Juror No. 6 was dismissed and was replaced by the first alternate juror. Judge Subramanian also noted there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
"The court cannot and should not let race factor into what it should do," the federal judge noted.
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Juror No. 6 was dismissed and was replaced by the first alternate juror. Judge Subramanian also noted there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
During the testimony of summary witness Anaya Sankar the jury was shown text messages between Diddy’s ex Cassie Ventura and KK dated May 2, 2017. Cassie was telling KK that the "Last Night" singer allegedly locked the door and dragged her by her hair.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' former chief of staff's texts were read in court Monday. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
More text messages between Cassie and KK dated April 20, 2018, showed Cassie saying she can’t take the violence and being kicked out of her own home. KK responded, "I don’t know what else to say, but I’m here…" Cassie then wrote, "I just want to stay focused."
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The jury was then shown text messages between KK and Diddy’s more recent ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym Jane. She alleged Diddy forced her to have sex with male escorts during "hotel nights" and occasionally the sex session was recorded. During court Monday, a text message sent to KK from Jane and shown to the jury claimed Combs was threatening to release the alleged sex tapes. Jane wrote, "You’re his righthand woman…maybe he’ll listen to you…" The message was sent Feb.18, 2024.
KK’s phone also contained two recordings of calls between Diddy and Jane. The disgraced music mogul could be heard saying, "I need you…I need your friendship…"
In the first audio message, Jane sounded as if she was crying.
Sean "Diddy" Combs confers with his lawyers after a meeting with the judge during his sex trafficking trial on June 12. (Jane Rosenberg)
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On Friday, the prosecution said juror No. 6 in Combs' trial disclosed that he recently moved to New Jersey with his girlfriend and has been staying there for most of the trial. When he was questioned behind closed doors, the juror said he was staying in New York four to five nights. He also said his daughter was born in New Jersey and lives there, but he lives in New York City.
The government pointed out that during voir dire he said he lived in the Bronx with his fiancé and daughter.
Judge Subramanian noted that there were several inconsistencies in the juror's statements and either the juror was unable to follow simple instructions and answer the questions or there was deceit. He agreed that there are "serious questions" about the juror’s candor given the discrepancies in the record.
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Sean "Diddy" Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in the indictment unsealed in September 2024. He has pleaded not guilty. (Jordan Strauss)
There appeared to be an issue with a second juror as of Monday morning. No details on the issue were shared in court.
The juror was asked to stay at the end of the day following trial testimony for further questioning.
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Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.
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