Jury selection begins in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial

These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion."

Combs' lawyers, in a statement to CBS News New York last month

I remember liking it because I thought it was funny,

said the juror, who Subramanian decided was qualified after they said

There is one defendant: Sean Combs.”

As his sex trafficking trial began Monday, the judge read off a list of his monikers to prospective jurors, telling them

I’m sorry your honor, I’m a little nervous today.”

After another juror was dismissed, Combs asked for a bathroom break, telling the judge

Can’t I just watch my daughter? I’m a helicopter parent,

he said jokingly as he entered court

He is permitted to have up to five button-down shirts, up to five pairs of pants, up to five sweaters, up to five pairs of socks, and up to two pairs of shoes without laces to wear to court."

The Mirror US cited a court order to quote the judge saying

I feel like Diddy’s appearance was the biggest story that happened inside that hearing. There was kind of an astonishing ‘woah’ when he walked inside that courtroom because he appeared noticeably greyer. I would even equate it a little bit to Santa Claus, but he just appeared greyer — his hair was a lot whiter."

She had said

Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman."

Combs' attorneys, in an October 2024 statement obtained by CNN

My dreams have always been to be successful in music, being obsessed with fashion and the greatest Black serial entrepreneur to ever live."

Combs, in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press

There's a lifestyle, call it swingers or whatever you will, that he thought was appropriate because it was common,

Agnifilo said

Damian Williams (lawyer)u.S. Attorney

As alleged in the indictment, for years, Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice,

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in statement following Combs' arrest

The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this only the beginning,

Ventura wrote on Instagram in late May 2024.

There's already a lot of negative publicity out there and that one video doesn't look pretty, so you know this case is going off with like at least one strike against [Combs] if not a strike and a half out of three,

defense attorney Arthur Aidala told the New York Post

Combs also threatened victims' careers and livelihoods, including if they resisted participating in Freak Offs,

the indictment continues

Freak Offs occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers,

the indictment reads

Arun Subramaniandistrict Judge

Absent a Court order, we expect the publicity to not only continue but escalate as trial commences,

they wrote in the letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian

The government should not be permitted to pollute the trial with decades of dirt and invite a conviction based on propensity evidence with no proper purpose by painting Mr. Combs as a bad guy who must have committed the charged crimes."

Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers, in a motion filed last month

That testimony powerfully establishes that the defendant made no mistake when he coerced other victims into unwanted sex. It proves that the defendant intended to take the sexual gratification he wanted, regardless of consent."

Prosecutors, in a memorandum filed last month

They can try to sweep in all of his bad behavior over decades and claim that it’s part of the charged conspiracy,

said Marc Fernich, a lawyer who has long defended people charged in racketeering cases

All the government really seeks to do is show that Mr. Combs is a violent, dangerous, and deviant person who deserves to be locked up regardless of whether it can actually prove the somewhat technical elements of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt,

the defense wrote in court papers