Legal expert questions why Diddy jury wasn't sequestered
Attorney David S. Seltzer told Fox News Digital that in his opinion, Diddy's judge made a mistake overseeing the case, as juror issues continue to plague the federal trial as the prosecution proceeded with the 24th day of testimony.
Judge Arun Subramanian gave the defense and prosecution in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial a stern warning Tuesday morning as the juror drama continued in court.
The federal judge noted that one or more people in the courtroom violated the court’s sealing order and revealed information about Friday’s private proceeding. Judge Subramanian referenced an article in the media.
He reminded the parties that the defense requested the gag order. Judge Subramanian continued that a violation of that order could result in contempt charges at the most extreme level.
DIDDY TRIAL JURY IN DISARRAY AS DEFENSE SEEKS TO BOOT ANOTHER JUROR
A sketch portrays Sean "Diddy" Comb hugging defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland in federal court on June 16. (Jane Rosenberg)
The federal judge told lead counsel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey and defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, that they are personally responsible for the conduct of the teams. "The buck stops with you…," he said in court.
Judge Subramanian said this was the only warning he would give and wanted each side to affirm they would adhere to the rules of this court.
DIDDY'S ALLEGED 'SEXUAL DEVIANT' BEHAVIOR DISTRACTS FROM GOVERNMENT'S CASE: EXPERT
In court Tuesday, the jury was seemingly shown videos of "freak offs" between Diddy, his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a male escort. The screen for exhibits was shut off and the witness, special agent DeLeassa Penland, along with the jurors were given headphones to watch some videos from Oct. 14, 2012.
At one point, the sound from the videos was audible in the courtroom. The court fixed the problem by making sure headsets that were not in use were turned off and away from any mics. Diddy's defense lawyer, Teny Geragos, played several minutes of videos for the jury. Geragos then played clips of videos from December 2014. While the videos were being played, Diddy sat at the defense table, occasionally tapping his fingers on his legs. The clips were played for about 30 minutes.
Penland also testified about credit card charges, which included hotel bookings and travel for Diddy, Cassie and male escorts.
A sketch portrays special agent DeLeassa Penland in federal court for the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial in New York City, New York. (Jane Rosenberg)
During Penland's cross-examination, the jury was shown text messages between Cassie and Diddy regarding the "freak offs."
There was a text message from Diddy to Cassie dated September 2014 asking what she wanted to do. Cassie then sent a screenshot of a message from a male escort named Keith, who they knew from the website Cowboys for Angels, asking if she was in town. Cassie wrote to Diddy, "I want to make love and drink wine…whatever makes my love happy." Combs responded, "Why did you show me the Keith thing?" She replied, "Because I never show you…" Diddy asked if she wanted to have a "freak off."
In a later message, Diddy asked, "Wanna freak off for the last time?" Cassie responded, "I wanna freak-off for the rest of our lives."
A sketch portrays witness and paralegal specialist Ananya Sankar in federal court for the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial on June 16. (Jane Rosenberg)
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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Combs' legal team had asked to keep the juror due to his ethnicity and requested a mistrial should the juror be dismissed. As to the concerns about diversity, Judge Subramanian said this jury does not raise those concerns.
"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.
WATCH: LEGAL EXPERT QUESTIONS WHY DIDDY JURY WASN'T SEQUESTERED
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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 Diddy trial 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.
Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking plus racketeering. (Gareth Cattermole)
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