Throughout this trial it has been a case of highs and lows for the prosecution and defence teams.
I think the prosecution has been reasonably effective, but my only caveat is that most witnesses that they have put on the stand have quoted Kristina Khorram, who was Combs Chief of Staff (prosecutors are calling her the co-conspirator). It beggars the question, if she is so important as a witness to events why has she not taken the stand yet?
Now, we don’t know if she will be called, but you do feel that to provide a proper smoking gun to the jury, they will need her.
Hopefully she is a surprising witness, but my fear is that she is either avoiding being subpoenaed, or in what would be a disaster for the Feds, a star witness for the defence team!
The defence, especially in the earlier weeks have been prone to aggressive cross examining which has not gone down well with the judge, which must translate on to the jury. They did an okay job cross examining the prosecution witnesses (Bryana Bongolan – nickname Bana). She testified that Combs held her over a 17th story balcony in 2016 before throwing her onto the balcony’s furniture. Her testimony did cause a few inconsistences, such as not recalling what date the alleged incident took place, but the prosecution did iron out these lapses when they returned to clarify events with her.
The defence team have repeatedly asked for mistrials, the latest because of the witness above. The judge will probably dismiss this request like the others when the trial reconvenes on Monday. They are really clutching at straws.
Anonymous witness “Jane’, who is victim 2 was in a relationship with Sean Combs from 2021 until his arrest. We are using her alias for her protection. From her testimony I think the prosecution has done well highlighting the sex trafficking and racketeering charges needed to prove RICO (for run-down of RICO see my earlier article).
Sean Combs team and supporters are claiming the prosecution still haven’t proven the racketeering case, but Friday’s testimony (6th June) was damning. They showed texts from Sean to ‘Jane’ saying,
“You can be mad and have a spat, that’s all it is, you got me on my job, it will never work like that over here, you need to get on your job … I am trying to be clear; I am going to disappear on you.”
Its clear that her “job” was to collect drugs and participate in parties with prostitutes and that if she did not continue to do it, the house she lived in, paid for by Diddy, would be taken away from her. To this untrained mind that’s 3 RICO laws broken right there!
Jane has also testified that at the start of their relationship she didn’t mind the FO’s (Freak Off’s) however, later she told Sean Combs that she didn’t like it anymore and she felt frustrated and used.
The reason she said that she still did the FOs was because she didn’t want to make him unhappy and that she still loved him.
She was in love and had been groomed and then threatened and exploited by the music mogul.
Sean Combs briefly became the star of the show himself when it was reported that he was speaking animatedly during court proceedings, gesturing with his hands as if he was frustrated or trying to get a point across.
The judge had already warned the defence that Diddy was not allowed to look at the jury or try to communicate with them or use any hands gestures. It is clear the judge was not going to tolerate any antics from the rapper and told him that there will be severe consequences such as Sean not being able to be in the courtroom if they continue.
This provided some extra drama as it was felt that Combs might have been trying indirectly influence the trial.
Combs and his defence team are pushing their luck, the judge isn’t buying it, and it can’t be a good look with the jury looking on.
It will be very interesting to see what strategy the defence takes when they hold the floor and start introducing their witnesses.
There is bound to be a lot more twists and turns yet in this compelling courtroom drama.