The Defense Makes It's Closing Arguments Today At The Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial, After Last Week Saw Testimony That Diddy Liked To Refer To Himself and His Sex Partners As "The Jordan, Kobe, and Shaq Trifecta", And Prosecutors Dropped Several Of The Charges After Combs' Defense Called ZERO Witnesses, And Rested Their Case

There's quite a lot to unpack here. After six weeks of testimony, 30+ witnesses, and enough jaw-dropping moments to fill a mini-series, the prosecution has officially rested their case.

And if we're being completely honest, it kind of feels like a dud. This whole trial, it felt like everybody following it closely was continuously waiting for the other shoe to drop. A bombshell to drop. The prosecutors to slam the book shut, and nail Diddy to the wall. But it truly didn't seem like that ever came. Not saying the prosecution did a poor job in this trial. More so, that for how hyped up and massive these charges were coming into the trial, it ended up being really anti-climatic. It seems a tad overblown if we're again being honest.  Is Diddy unequivocally a depraved scumbag who thinks its ok to physically abuse women? Absolutely.  But did he oversee a criminal enterprise involved in sex trafficking and kidnapping? 

It’s no longer about what happened, it’s about what they can prove. Closing arguments dropped all day long yesterday, and they gave us a full, unfiltered picture of what the government thinks Sean “Diddy” Combs really is- not a misunderstood artist, not a complicated lover, but this "criminal kingpin" they tried painting him as over the last 2 months.

Coincidentally, we finally started to get some "leaked" photographic evidence over the last week as this trial comes to an end- including the notorious cases and cases of baby oil confiscated in one of the homeland security raids-

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik kicked off closing arguments yesterday morning by cutting straight to the core- “The defendant used power, violence, and fear to get what he wanted” she stated.

She didn’t present Diddy as some erratic celebrity who let fame get the best of him. She presented him as the head of a criminal enterprise. A guy who surrounded himself with an inner circle of loyal lieutenants, his chief of staff Kristina Khorram, his security detail, and various assistants, who allegedly helped execute and cover up a years-long operation of coercion, manipulation, and sexual exploitation. (This is where they're trying to frame the RICO charges… still a bit of a stretch to my law-school-drop-out-ass)

According to Slavik, this wasn’t about kinky consensual freak-offs. It was about control. And she alleged Combs used everything in his arsenal- money, surveillance footage, drugs, even his private jet, to trap his victims in an orbit they couldn’t escape.

The prosecution’s closing arguments leaned heavily on the testimonies of Cassie Ventura and “Jane.” The jury was reminded, again, of the 2016 hotel surveillance footage showing Diddy violently assaulting Cassie. We’re talking about the video he allegedly tried to pay $100,000 to bury.

Slavik later detailed three instances of Combs allegedly trafficking Cassie: once in 2015 at the InterContinental Hotel, once during a Cannes Film Festival meltdown, and once when he allegedly paid a male escort to have sex with her from 2012–2014 (which didn't really make a ton of sense considering it consisted of a three year period…). The charges? Sex trafficking, forced labor, and transportation across state lines for prostitution. 

As for "Jane", she described “hotel nights” that lasted days. Escorts lined up, one after the next, while Combs watched, filmed, and sometimes directed the chaos. She said "she fainted when she found out about Cassie’s lawsuit", not because she didn’t believe it, but because she’d lived it too.

The infamous instance that Diddy blew up Kid Cudi's car, aka "the arson plot", also made another appearance. 

Prosecutors pointed directly at Diddy as the one who orchestrated the 2012 Molotov cocktail attack on Kid Cudi’s Porsche. They showed photos of the burnt car again and quoted Diddy’s alleged threat: “I’m going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car.”

And then there was the former assistant who testified that Diddy kept dozens of unmarked pill bottles, including ecstasy pills shaped like President Obama’s face. Hard to believe? Yes. Too weird to make up? Also yes.

The prosecution once again tried to paint the picture of a criminal enterprise extending beyond merely physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, by highlighting three separate incidents of alleged kidnapping that were detailed:

1- Capricorn Clark, held for five days in NYC over missing jewelry.

2- Cassie, allegedly dragged to the London Hotel after being stomped on.

3- Clark again, allegedly abducted and threatened after Kid Cudi started dating Cassie.

The really confusing thing for my undereducated brain is how and why exactly the prosecution decided to drop several of the original charges- like attempted kidnapping, attempted arson, and aiding sex trafficking, right before closings, only to then refer back to them during their closing argument. 

I asked several friends who do have their JDs, and people I know closely following the case why? and here's what I was told: Because prosecutors wanted to streamline the charges for the jury. Instead of cluttering things with overlapping or redundant counts, they’re focusing on the big-ticket crimes- sex trafficking and forced labor, where the evidence is most damning. It’s a calculated move. Get rid of the distractions and hammer the hardest. (And yes, "forced labor" is a real thing with real consequences.)

As for the defense's gameplan in all this, it was very interesting to say the least.

Combs never testified. Never called a witness. His legal team wrapped up their case in under 30 minutes.

Why? That’s the million-dollar question. 

Maybe they didn’t want to risk cross-examination disasters? Maybe they thought the burden of proof hadn’t been met? Maybe they thought the prosecution's case was a total joke, and wanted to make a statement? Or maybe they knew any witness they brought up could open the door to more damning testimony?

Diddy, meanwhile, looked completely unbothered. (Allegedly). During Slavik’s closings, he supposedly leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, writing little notes to his lawyers. At one point, he even told the judge, “You’re doing an excellent job.”

Now let’s talk about the wildest sports metaphor ever dragged into a federal sex crimes trial. Jane testified that during their “trifecta” sex sessions, Diddy, her, and a male escort referred to each other by the nicknames Jordan, Kobe, and Shaq. 

Yes, seriously. 

According to Jane, Diddy allegedly referred to himself as Michael Jordan, (no surprise there). 

VINCENT LAFORET. Getty Images.

The male escort was “Shaq,” and she was “Kobe.” 

Vince Bucci. Getty Images.

The egomania writes itself. Diddy saw himself as the alpha, the GOAT, the one running the triangle offense. These weren’t just code names. They were projections of power, ego, and dominance.

The defense is expected to be wrapped up around lunchtime today, at which point experts anticipate the judge will give the jury instructions to begin deliberations and hopefully conclude the proceedings before the holiday weekend. 

I won't be surprised if Diddy is found guilty of some of the charges he's facing, but I will be surprised if he ends up facing any serious jail time. But I said the same thing about Comey's prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, and I was dead wrong, and she's probably going to die in prison. So who knows?