Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found not guilty on the majority of counts against him and has been found guilty of only the two least serious crimes he was charged with. There is little question that this is a defeat for the prosecution.
The Verdict
The two counts on which he was found guilty are transportation to engage in prostitution with respect to Cassie Ventura and “Jane” (who testified under a pseudonym). He was found not guilty of racketeering and not guilty on sex trafficking with respect to Cassie Ventura and Jane. Both of those sex trafficking counts would have required a minimum 15-year prison sentence. The RICO count would have carried a sentence of 20 years to life, though it didn’t have a mandatory minimum. He has escaped criminal guilt on both of those.
The evidence was overwhelming in the transportation to engage in prostitution charge. There were receipts. There was testimony by the escorts. It was very clear that Sean Combs did pay these male escorts to cross state lines, come into his various hotel rooms, and have sex with his girlfriends Cassie and Jane. They had him dead to rights on that. I mean, he really should have pled guilty on those.
But it is stunning to me that he managed to escape a guilty verdict on sex trafficking, where I believe the evidence was overwhelming that he did threaten, at least, Cassie and Jane over and over again and he beat both women when they would not comply with his demands.
But clearly, what we are seeing here is the jury believed the defense argument that these women had agency, that these women were not forced to do anything. The defense got up there and argued that they were engaging in a swinger lifestyle, notwithstanding the beatings it took to get them to comply in certain instances. The jury clearly bought that.
I don’t mean to scoff at the conclusion entirely. There was testimony to support a not guilty verdict, including text messages from Cassie Ventura basically saying, ‘I can’t wait to freak off’ or ‘I love our freak offs when we both want them.’ There was testimony that Cassie stayed with Combs, in part, because she loved the lifestyle. She loved the trappings of life with Diddy. Jane is still having her apartment paid for by Sean Combs to this day. There definitely could be a takeaway that Jane was in it because she wanted the apartment; and she wanted to be connected with somebody famous and rich; and not because she had any fear for her life or retribution.
Inside the Courtroom
The New York Times reported that, after the verdict was read, Sean Combs was smiling as he shook one of his lawyers hands and turned to look at his family. He put his hands together in prayer and mouthed “thank you” at the jury. He pumped his right fist. This is exactly the right attitude for Sean Combs, who, in my opinion, just got away with serious felonies. I believe he is guilty as sin and this jury just gave him a total pass.
According to The New York Times – this won’t surprise you – Combs’ body language is totally different from yesterday when he seemed “crestfallen and grim” after the jury said it had reached a verdict on four of the five counts. Now acquitted of the most serious charges, Combs reportedly appears “energetic and relieved.”
As the defense team argued he should be released from prison pending sentencing, the Times reported the judge, “with a touch of levity,” said he assumed Combs would not want to return to the Brooklyn jail where he had been held. Combs shook his head vigorously and put his hands together in prayer.
‘I am Disgusted’
It is apparently just so chummy inside the courtroom for this disgusting pervert female abuser who I can’t believe is about to roam our streets again. I’m sorry, but I am disgusted by this verdict. This is f-cking ridiculous. I just find it absolutely outrageous the amount of crime this guy just got away with.
I believe he committed arson. He definitely battered Cassie. He battered Jane, too. The statute of limitations for battery in Los Angeles, California, is one year. So if they didn’t charge him for battery within one year, they couldn’t.
He bought the security footage at the Intercontinental Hotel, and it remained hidden thanks to those security guards. There is no question he dragged Cassie back into that hotel room. Why wasn’t that kidnapping? They only talked about the kidnapping of Capricorn Clark, who was his sort of main assistant because she said he grabbed her and made her go with him over to Kid Cudi’s house.
In my view, there is no question he broke into Kid Cudi’s house, opened up the Christmas presents, knocked the door in, and made a threat. There is no question in my mind he was behind the arson of Kid Cudi’s car. There was plenty of proof. The prosecution admitted he didn’t do it himself, but he said, ‘I’m going to bomb Kid Cudi’s car.’ Cassie Ventura emailed her mother saying, ‘Oh my God, he is threatening to bomb his car.’ And two weeks later, it got bombed. Oh, gee.
The proof was there for the beatings and the threats that, if these women didn’t go back into those room and get off with the male escorts, they were going to get beaten. One of the male escorts, Daniel Philip, testified he heard Combs abusing Cassie behind a closed door. She was screaming, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ as he heard him slapping her. When she came out of the room, she got back into the escorts lap physically shaking. She was scared to the point where that guy couldn’t perform sexually because this was so horrifying to him.
I am so confused on what the jury has done here, especially when you factor in the notes we got. Late yesterday, we heard they reached a verdict on counts two through five, but they couldn’t agree on count one (i.e. racketeering conspiracy).
Now we find out that, at that time (we assume it didn’t change), they thought he was guilty of the prostitution stuff, but they did not think he was a sex trafficker who forced Cassie and Jane to perform sex acts under threat of coercion or fraud. They were about to be a hung jury on the RICO count, and then today, I guess, the holdouts who said I think he’s guilty of RICO turned around and said, ‘Alright, he’s not,’ because they acquitted him of that.
This is a win for Sean Diddy Combs. There is no question about it. Yes, Combs has fallen as a revered figure for a large portion of America. But he also has die hard fans who want to pretend this is a Johnny Depp-Amber Heard situation. It is not. Cassie Ventura was an extremely sympathetic witness. She was traumatized by this guy. She remains suicidal to this day, given all that was done to her. I will make it my personal mission to maintain his humiliation in the minds of all Americans.
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with analysis by tuning in to episode 1,100 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.