Overview

• Prosecutors informed Judge Arun Subramanian on June 25 they would no longer pursue attempted kidnapping, attempted arson or aiding and abetting sex trafficking as predicate acts in the racketeering conspiracy charge.
• After presenting 34 witnesses over nearly seven weeks, the government rested its case on June 24 and the defense then rested without calling any witnesses, relying on selected text messages to argue that Combs’s relationships were consensual.
• Closing arguments are scheduled to begin on June 26, with jury deliberations potentially starting as early as June 30 under final instructions approved by the court.
• Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, charges that carry a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to life in prison if convicted.
• Key testimony driving the prosecution’s narrative included accounts from ex-girlfriends Cassie Ventura and a witness known as Jane, rapper Kid Cudi’s account of an arson-related dispute, and Homeland Security evidence of logistics for drug-fueled “freak-off” parties.