Jury selection started in the trial. Sean “Diddy” Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to life in prison.

A jury of eight men and four women is seated.

Prosecution's opening statement: Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson said there was “another side" to Combs, the cultural icon, who “ran a criminal enterprise” with an inner circle of people who "helped him commit crimes and cover them up."

Defense's opening argument: Defense attorney Teny Geragos said that while Combs takes full responsibility for his violent behavior, “domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”

The jury heard testimony from Los Angeles Police Officer Israel Florez, a former security official at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016 who responded to the scene after Cassie Ventura was physically assaulted by Combs in the hotel hallway.

The second witness to testify was Daniel Phillip, who described receiving money to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched. Phillip recounted one incident where he saw Combs assault Ventura at her home, “dragging her by her hair into her bedroom.” He said he didn’t report the incident because he was afraid he may lose his life.

Cassie Ventura on the stand: Ventura, Combs’ former girlfriend and one of his accusers, testified about their years-long contentious relationship. She described Combs as controlling, quick to anger, and often violent with her.

In her second day of testimony, Ventura revealed, in detail, how her relationship with Combs became physically violent. She also testified about “Freak Offs,” or drug-fueled sex performances orchestrated by Combs. The jury was shown sexually explicit images from videos Combs filmed of her having sex with other men during a “Freak Off.” She said Combs blackmailed her with similar videos throughout their relationship. The jury also saw messages, recovered from her computer she gave to prosecutors, that showed Ventura’s frustrations and hesitancies about “Freak Offs.”

Ventura sought help for her drug use: Ventura said she was “heavily dependent on opiates” throughout her relationship with Combs, which took place off and on from 2007 to 2018. She said she sought professional help for opiate use five or six times during the span of their relationship. She said she last did drugs in 2022 and no longer uses narcotics.

Lawsuit settlement: Ventura said she received a $20 million settlement after filing a civil suit against Combs and his companies in November 2023.

Ventura cross-examined on the witness stand by the defense: In court, the jury saw affectionate messages between Ventura and Combs when she engaged with Combs intimately and planned “Freak Offs.”

Drug use: Ventura testified that she and Combs were both doing a lot of drugs during their relationship and that she experienced adverse side effects. Ventura said Combs was “explosive” at times when he’d find out she was doing drugs with her friends or took his drugs without him knowing. The defense attorney also asked a lengthy line of questions to suggest Combs was reliant on opiates and any withdrawal from them would negatively affect his mood.

Ventura acknowledged she never told her friends or any of Combs’ staff members about the “Freak Offs.” Assistants would often set up the hotel rooms beforehand, she said, but she didn’t recall a staff member walking in during a “Freak Off” session.

Ventura concluded her time on the stand: After testifying about the threats, drug use, and violence – including an alleged rape – she said she was subjected to throughout her relationship with Combs, Ventura’s nearly 20 hours over four days on the stand ended. She became emotional as she said she would give back her $20 million civil settlement to have never endured a “Freak Off.”

On re-cross examination Ventura confirmed that she expects to receive $10 million from a settlement with the InterContinental Hotel in connection to the March 2016 assault at the hotel.

Other testimony included Dawn Richard, a former member of Danity Kane, a musical group formed by Combs, who said she saw Combs attack Ventura in 2009.

The special agent who handled the logistics for Combs’ arrest in New York in September 2024, Yasin Binda, also testified. She said among the items photographed by investigators inside Combs’ hotel room at the time of his arrest were baby oil, lubricant, $9,000 in cash and two small bags with pink powder – one tested positive for ketamine and the other tested positive for both ketamine and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, according to a stipulation read in court. She also confirmed it appeared a woman was staying with Combs in the hotel room before his arrest.

Richard returned to the stand and testified she “frequently” saw Combs abuse Ventura, saying she’d seen him punch, choke, drag, slap and kick her.

Defense questioned Richard’s memory and motives: Defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland suggested Richard’s account of one incident and its aftermath has changed over time. Richard said she’s recounted it to the best of her recollection. Richard, 42, worked for Combs from 2004 to 2011 as part of two musical groups. She testified that she felt “saddened” by Combs’ decision to dismantle both of those groups and confirmed that the music she’s released since hasn’t reached the same level of success.

Kerry Morgan, Ventura’s former best friend, testified that their friendship ended after Combs assaulted her in 2018. “He came up behind me and choked me and then boomeranged a wooden hanger at my head,” Morgan testified. “I had finger marks on my neck."

Morgan also testified that she vividly remembers two incidents in which Combs assaulted Ventura and said she did not believe he was intoxicated or under the influence on either occasion.

Former assistant testified he got drugs, baby oil for Combs, and detailed working conditions: David James, a former assistant to Combs from 2007 to 2009, testified that he at times would gather supplies for Combs’ hotel rooms, including items that prosecutors say were used in Combs’ sex parties known as “Freak Offs.” One of Combs’ personal assistants had to go to the hospital for dehydration after working with Combs for 24 hours straight, James testified.

Ventura’s mother wired $20,000 out of fear: Regina Ventura, the mother of Cassie Ventura, testified that she took out a loan and wired $20,000 to Combs’ record label on Combs’ request in 2011 because she was “scared about my daughter’s safety.” Combs had demanded the money saying he needed to be paid back for the money he spent on Ventura, her mother testified. Ventura’s mother said the money was returned to her account a few days later, but she did not have any communication with Combs about it.

A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” testified he was paid to have sexual encounters with Ventura in hotel rooms while Combs watched and told them what to do. The encounters, which generally lasted about four hours, typically escalated into sex with Ventura, Sharay Hayes testified. Hayes usually received $1,200 or $2,000 after a session. He said he never used drugs with Ventura and Combs and never saw Combs take drugs or appear intoxicated.

Gerard Gannon, special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, continued testimony he began the day prior about the search of Combs’ Miami Beach home last March. He said they found disassembled guns, including AR-15s, ammunition, baby oil and lubricants.

Gannon also said a Gucci bag found in a closet contained an assortment of pills, white powder, a “crystal rock-like substance,” a plastic straw, a $100 bill and other items. The powder, residue from the straw and residue from the $100 bill tested positive for cocaine and ketamine, according to a stipulation read in court. Various pills tested positive for MDMA, alprazolam, ketamine and methamphetamine, according to a stipulation read in court.

Dawn Hughes, a psychologist who testified as a “blind expert,” told the jury that it’s very common for victims to stay in abusive relationships, and that perpetrators often use various abusive methods, beyond just physical violence, to make victims feel trapped

George Kaplan, a former executive assistant to Combs, testified he worked 80 to 100 hours a week, once working from the morning until 7 a.m. the next day. Kaplan said he would prepare hotel rooms for Combs by bringing items like clothes, a speaker, candles, liquor, baby oil and Astroglide. Kaplan’s understanding was that Combs would have guests or a female partner join him in the hotel rooms, Kaplan testified. After Combs left a hotel room, Kaplan would enter and pack up Combs’ belongings and tidy the place up, he said. Kaplan said part of his role was protecting Combs’ image.

Kaplan continued testifying and talked about instances where he witnessed violence from Combs: One incident was in 2015 with Ventura on Combs’ private jet, though Kaplan doesn’t recall seeing any injuries on her and another incident later in the year where he said he saw Ventura with visible injuries at one of Combs’ homes. Kaplan said he also saw an altercation between Combs and another girlfriend, Gina, that shook him.

Scott Mescudi, aka “Kid Cudi,” who previously dated Ventura, testified. Mescudi recalled on the stand that Combs broke into his house and his Porsche was lit on fire by a Molotov cocktail after Combs learned he and Ventura were dating. Combs denied any involvement in the car’s destruction following the incident, Mescudi testified. Mescudi said he did not believe Combs’ denial. No one was prosecuted in connection with either incident. Kid Cudi described feeling “played” and “upset” after learning that Ventura ultimately went back to Combs, he testified.

The jury heard testimony from Capricorn Clark, a former employee of Combs, who worked as his personal assistant from 2004 to 2006, as the marketing director for Sean John Women’s, and then global brand director from 2007 to 2012. Clark was Ventura’s creative director from 2016 to 2018.

Combs said he planned to kill Kid Cudi, according to testimony: Clark said that in December 2011, Combs showed up to her house between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. and began banging on her door. When she opened it, she noted he was holding a gun and was furious. As he entered her home, he asked her about Mescudi, she said.

“Get dressed, we’re going to go kill this n***a,” Clark testified Combs told her.

While Clark was on the stand under cross-examination, Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo asked her to confirm that she told defense attorneys at a meeting in April 2024 that Combs “wouldn’t be in this mess if he had kept (her) around” in discussions about her returning to work for him.

Police and fire investigators who looked into Kid Cudi’s allegations testified. The arson investigator determined that his car was targeted and the fire was not random.

Deonte Nash, a celebrity stylist, testified that on multiple occasions he saw Combs assault Ventura and heard him threaten to withhold her music or release sex tapes of her. Nash also testified that Ventura told him that she had sex with other men while Combs watched even though she didn’t want to, though she never explicitly explained the term “Freak Off” to him. Nash, who worked for Combs’ company for years, also testified about times when Combs was violent toward him.

An ex-employee of Combs testified under the pseudonym “Mia.” She said the music mogul physically and sexually assaulted her repeatedly when she worked for him, and testified she felt “trapped” with no safe way to report the abuse. Mia said she never initiated sexual contact with Combs or told him she wanted to have sex with him.

Mia continued direct testimony and testified that she tried to “run away” from the job multiple times but felt she would never be able to be hired again.

Later in cross-examination, defense attorney Brian Steel challenged Mia to explain why she still worked there from 2009 until 2017.

“In an abusive relationship there’s a cycle of violence,” she said. “I was young and manipulated and eager to survive."

The defense also confronted Mia with about three dozen warm and friendly social media posts she made about Combs in years after the alleged sexual assaults she described to the jury. The jury also saw loving texts Mia sent Combs years after she stopped working for him, some sent as recently as 2023.

The testimony of Mia concluded following a morning of cross-examination by Combs’ defense attorney. Sylvia Oken, area director of sales and marketing at the Beverly Hills Hotel, took the stand later as a custodial witness for the prosecution to testify that some of the bills for Combs' hotel stays included extra charges for cleaning and damage.

Eddy Garcia, who worked as a security officer at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016, testified that Combs gave him $100,000 in cash to obtain surveillance video of Combs assaulting Ventura. Combs had Garcia sign a non-disclosure agreement on company letterhead at the time and a declaration maintaining that there were no other copies of it.

Derek Ferguson, the former chief financial officer for Bad Boy Entertainment, testified this afternoon about how he helped Combs manage his finances.

A forensic video expert testified that the March 2016 surveillance video showing Combs assaulting Ventura at a hotel in Los Angeles was not manually altered. Frank Piazza, the expert, also testified that he enhanced 10 “sex videos” originally recorded in 2012 and 2014 that were recovered from a laptop Ventura gave the government under the user profile Frank Black, an alias used by Combs.

Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Ventura’s, testified that Combs held her over a 17-story balcony and threw her onto the balcony furniture in September 2016. Attorneys for Combs previously denied Bongolan’s allegations in a statement to CNN. Bongolan testified that the incident occurred after Combs began banging on the door of Ventura’s apartment in Los Angeles while she was asleep. On cross-examination, the defense challenged Bongolan’s memory of the balcony incident and noted Ventura described it differently in her lawsuit against Combs.

During continued cross examination of Bongolan, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Combs was on tour on the East Coast and Ventura was with him at the time when Bongolan said the balcony incident occurred. Westmoreland showed the jury records from the Trump International Hotel in New York City reflecting expenses listed under “Frank Black,” an alias used by Combs — including hotel dining receipts on those days.

The judge said that he could exclude Combs from court if he makes any further attempts to interact with the jury. Combs was nodding in their direction during testimony from Bongolan.

Enrique Santos, a forensic analyst, testified about extracting data from three iPhones belonging to Ventura.

A woman using the pseudonym “Jane” testified that Combs pressured her to participate in sexual “hotel nights.” She said that these sexual encounters, which included a male “entertainer,” always followed a pattern and sometimes lasted over 24 hours. She also testified that she just wanted to have sex with Combs, not with other men, but went along with it because she “wanted to make him happy” and “feared losing him,” she said.

She said she felt obligated to participate in these encounters in part because Combs paid her rent. She testified that it got to a point where money from Combs was her main source of income aside from the child support she got from her son’s father.

“Jane” continued her time on the stand. She testified she didn’t know how many times she told Combs she wanted to stop their “hotel nights,” but typically it was in text messages. When she tried to tell him over the phone or in person. he would overpower the conversation and get “defensive, belittling and dismissive,” she testified.

Jane described feeling heartbroken and “so cheap” after Combs showed off a new dating relationship with another woman shortly after participating in a “hotel night” on her birthday, she testified. “I didn’t want to do those things with you on my birthday but I wanted to make sure we had a good time,” Jane wrote in a text message to Combs and read aloud in court, “I feel so cheap once again.”

Jane testified that her shoulders and back would hurt during every “hotel night” because she would have to stay in certain positions for many hours, adding “that’s what my partner wanted to see.” She testified that she often got urinary tract infections and yeast infections as a result of the “hotel nights” and at times couldn’t fully recover before the next “hotel night.”

She'll return to the stand on Monday.