Sean "Diddy" Combs sat nervously in a grueling Manhattan federal courtroom on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in the afternoon as the jury delivered him news that was good, but not great, in his widely reported federal trial. Jurors said that they had come to unanimous decisions on four of the five charges against the music mogul, but were hopelessly deadlocked over the most serious: racketeering conspiracy.
At exactly 4:05 p.m. ET, Judge Arun Subramanian, a federal district judge, read a note from the jury stating that they had agreed on Counts 2 through 5, but remained undecided on Count 1, the crux of the case.
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That initial charge alleges that Diddy ran a criminal enterprise smuggling women, laundering money, and using violence to stay in charge. It is the bedrock of the federal government's case, the one that carries the most oomph both in the eyes of the public and in its expected prison terms.
Although the judge has received decisions on the other charges, including two sex-trafficking counts stemming from alleged abuse that prosecutors say took place between 2003 and 2005, and two other counts relating to the transportation of women across state lines for prostitution, he decided to keep them under wraps for now. He instead sent the jury back under orders to resume deliberations on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in the morning, in hopes of reaching a unanimous verdict on the racketeering count.
The deliberations, now in their second day, have already prompted five notes to the court. A juror's competency to follow legal instructions has been questioned, and one note asked if providing someone the drugs they requested could legally qualify as distribution. That line of questioning came as jurors went back over testimony about reported drug use and encounters in private.
Jurors also asked for transcripts of testimony from the critical witnesses among them, ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and sex worker Daniel Phillip. Ventura provided lengthy explanations about a disturbing 2016 incident at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, as well as a visit to the Cannes Film Festival. Phillip's testimony referred to incidents at the Essex Hotel and parties Diddy had allegedly attended, including "freak offs."
The jury requested the precise lines of Phillip's stories where those encounters occurred, which could be a sign they're really (as in, very, very) down in the weeds on Diddy's questionable behavior.
Diddy, who has so far entered a plea of not guilty and has repeatedly refuted all complaints, is facing up to a minimum sentence of 10 years and perhaps, if convicted on all charges, life in prison.
And with Wednesday's session approaching, the court is facing one of two possible developments: a resolution on the racketeering charge, which has proved contentious, or a hung jury on that count and the spectacle of a court that must decide whether to declare a mistrial on Count 1 as it moves forward with the other verdicts.
It's a high-stakes moment not only for Diddy but also for the broader public conversation about power, abuse, and accountability in the entertainment industry. Stay tuned because this story is still unfolding.
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