1 month ago
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NEW YORK ( AP ):
Jury selection resumed for a second day on Tuesday in the sex trafficking trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs as a federal judge and lawyers worked to find a dozen New Yorkers who believe they can be fair despite any opinions they may have developed about the music mogul.
Prosecutors say Combs exploited his fame and fortune to sexually abuse women and destroy young lives while defence attorneys say he engaged in sexual activity with consenting adults.
The majority of prospective jurors questioned on Tuesday morning were disqualified after lawyers for Combs and prosecutors cited flaws in their answers to questions designed to see if they can be fair and unbiased.
Several who were eliminated from the jury pool had seen or heard media reports related to the case, including some who said they saw a video in which Combs was hitting and kicking one of his accusers in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
But one man who had written on a questionnaire that the video left him with the “impression of an angry hostile person who is entitled” was not dismissed from the jury pool.
After the video aired on CNN last year, Combs apologised, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
Judge Arun Subramanian was seeking to build a pool of 45 prospective jurors from which a panel of 12 jurors and several alternates can be chosen. Nineteen were chosen on Monday and six more by noon Tuesday.
Opening statements are scheduled to be presented on Monday for a trial projected to last up to two months.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with leading a racketeering conspiracy from 2004 to 2024 that resulted in various crimes, including kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking.
He has acknowledged one episode of violence that is considered a key piece of the prosecution's case. In 2016, a security camera recorded him beating up his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel. Cassie filed a lawsuit in late 2023 saying Combs had subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, did.
The Bad Boy Records founder has been held without bail since his arrest at a Manhattan hotel last September.
'A LITTLE NERVOUS'
Combs said on Monday that he was "a little nervous" as his sex trafficking trial got under way.
As he sat with his lawyers in a sweater over a white collared shirt and grey slacks, which the judge had allowed rather than jail clothing. He's been held in a grim federal lockup in Brooklyn since his arrest last September. His hair and goatee were almost fully grey because dye isn’t allowed in jail.
Unlike other recent high-profile celebrity trials, Combs’ court case won’t be broadcast live because federal courtrooms don’t allow electronic recordings inside — meaning courtroom sketch artists serve as the public’s eyes in the courtroom.
If convicted of all charges, he could face a maximum of life in prison.
Several prospective jurors also indicated they'd seen news reports featuring a key piece of evidence in the case, with one prospective juror describing the still image she saw from the video as “damning evidence". That woman was rejected from consideration.
After another juror was dismissed, Combs asked for a bathroom break, telling the judge, “I’m sorry your honour, I’m a little nervous today."
English (US) ·