This was supposed to be the beginning of the end, the point when the jury finally began to debate whether Sean (Diddy) Combs walks out that door a free man or spends the rest of his life in prison. But just six hours into deliberations, things are already turning ugly behind closed doors.
Tempers flared during proceedings in a Manhattan federal courtroom Monday, June 30, as jurors in the high-profile federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Diddy began to spin their wheels. The 12 jurors, eight men and four women, had only just started the process when they sent a note to the presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, that abruptly threw a wrench into it.
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According to the note, one of the jurors, a 51-year-old Manhattan veterinarian, may be refusing or unable to follow the judge’s instructions. That’s not just a hiccup. In a high-profile trial like this one, such obstinacy could undermine the entire process.
So serious is the concern that jurors haven’t just argued with each other, but have also bypassed each other and gone directly to the bench to ask what to do about a fellow juror who refuses to apply the law. Rare and not a good sign for anyone interested in a fast verdict.
Judge Subramanian, unflappable, did not dismiss the juror or declare a mistrial just yet. Instead, he delivered a stern opening reminder: Pay attention to the evidence and the law.
Prosecutors spent the last seven weeks sketching a portrait of Diddy, describing him as the mastermind behind a criminal enterprise that exploited and trafficked women for sex. Among the charges are drug-fueled “freak-offs,” threats, and coercion, with male sex workers said to have been used. Five federal charges remain pending: conspiracy to commit racketeering, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transporting people for prostitution.
Diddy has denied the accounts and pleaded not guilty, insisting that all of his sexual encounters were consensual. He acknowledged domestic violence in the past, a rare and bold statement, but said he had not planned or facilitated any trafficking or criminal enterprise. His lawyers contended that this trial is less about justice and more about revenge and dollar signs, depicting him as an easy-to-smear high-profile target.
Jury members have heard throughout the trial from various ex-ladies among them, Cassie Ventura, ex-staffers, and a Homeland Security agent, at multiple points, on various dates, and in different orders. There have been texts, videos, and photos, all of them part of a case that has been as disturbing as it has been complex.
Now, supporters sit in the gallery, waiting, some praying, while others hope, as the deliberation continues. As deliberations are expected to last into the coming week, the question on everyone’s mind has never been more ominous: Will Diddy be convicted, or is this just the latest of a series of celebrity trials to collapse under the weight of its spectacle?
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