A jury was selected Monday (May 12) to hear the evidence against Sean “Diddy” Combs. The 12-person jury includes eight men and four women.
Opening statements also began on May 12 for the trial – which is presided over by Judge Arun Subramanian.
“This is Sean Combs,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said on Monday, May 12, after the jury was finalized. “But there is another side to him. A side that ran a criminal enterprise … but he didn’t do it alone.”
Combs pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Testimony got underway on Monday as well. Daniel Phillip, a male escort, alleged that he had been paid by Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to engage in intimate encounters with her while in the presence of Combs.
On Tuesday, Ventura took the stand and confirmed remarks given by Phillips on the stand. She recalled physical assault so severe that she would “get knots” in her forehead, along with allegations of psychological abuse.
Combs’ attorney Mark Geragos said Combs takes full responsibility for acts of domestic violence in this case. “Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” Geragos said in his client’s defense.