NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs’s legal team flipped the script Tuesday, using the government’s star witness to argue that the hip-hop mogul’s “freak-offs” were consensual adventures, not organized exploitation. While they worked, a surprise fight over Juror No. 6 threatened to upend the already volatile trial.
1. Cross-Examination Playbook: Turn Romance into Reasonable Doubt
Attorney Teny Geragos walked “Jane” — the ex-girlfriend testifying under a pseudonym — through a montage of voice notes, heart-emoji texts, and all-expenses-paid getaways. The aim: convince jurors that Jane voluntarily embraced Combs’s polyamorous lifestyle because it matched her stated preference for “successful, protective providers.” apnews.com
Jane conceded she once felt “very loved” and called Combs “my baby,” but bristled when Geragos probed her jealousy over other girlfriends, snapping, “What does that have to do with this?” cbsaustin.com
2. Prosecutors’ Core Narrative Still Intact — for Now
On direct examination Jane recounted drug-laced “hotel nights,” male escorts, and a June 2024 chokehold that left her with a black eye and “golf-ball” bruises. She says she endured the encounters to keep the penthouse and legal bills Combs covered. Prosecutors frame those payments as leverage in a racketeering scheme that could net the 55-year-old life in prison. 6abc.com
3. Juror No. 6: A Side Show with Serious Stakes
Before testimony resumed Wednesday, prosecutors asked Judge Arun Subramanian to remove a Bronx juror for “lack of candor.” Defense counsel blasted the motion as a thinly veiled attempt to strike one of the panel’s few Black members. The judge promised a ruling by Friday, and trial watchers whispered about appellate landmines. abcnews.go.com
4. Why It Matters
- Credibility chess: If Geragos persuades jurors that Jane had meaningful autonomy, the trafficking counts wobble.
- Optics of bias: Ejecting Juror No. 6 could hand the defense a narrative of prosecutorial overreach, useful should a conviction head to appeal.
- Clock is ticking: The prosecution expects to rest next week, and the defense must soon decide whether Combs risks testifying.
5. Looking Ahead
Jane’s cross-examination is slated to finish Thursday; two additional accusers wait in the wings. Judge Subramanian has warned both sides to keep closing arguments inside June, hinting at a July 4 verdict window.
If convicted on the lead RICO count, Combs would trade Bad Boy Records for a federal jumpsuit—proof that even rap royalty can’t remix the rulebook.
