Sean Combs’ defense is about to get its day in court. Here’s what to expect : NPR

For more than six weeks, Sean Combs has sat amongst his nine attorneys in a lower Manhattan federal courtroom as more than two dozen witnesses who include ex-girlfriends, former employees and law enforcement agents have testified against him. Combs — who faces charges for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transporting for prostitution — has been accused by the U.S. government of running a criminal enterprise that facilitated and concealed abuse for decades. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Prosecutors are expected to finish laying out their case against the hip-hop mogul on Tuesday, and after they do, Combs’ defense attorneys will step into the spotlight to explain their client’s version of events — and they expect it to be brief, taking as little as one day.

“Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case,” defense attorney Teny Geragos said during opening arguments of the trial.

That brief timeline likely means that Combs — who has been reprimanded by Judge Arun Subramanian for nodding at jurors while his defense attorneys cross-examine government witnesses — will not take the stand. But over the course of opening statements and cross examination of the prosecution’s witnesses, the record producer and entrepreneur’s defense team has mapped out what they say this trial is really about: “unconventional” yet consensual relationships between empowered adults that were marked by jealousy, not coercion.

Domestic violence

One of the biggest pieces of evidence in the trial has been a hotel security video of Combs violently attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Ventura, who spent several days on the witness stand during the trial’s opening week, testified that Combs often beat her throughout their relationship, that he exhibited aggressive and controlling tendencies and pressured her to participate in highly-orchestrated sexual performances with male escorts, which he allegedly watched, choreographed and sometimes filmed. These encounters are at the center of the government’s sex trafficking charges.

While many of the events in question are not disputed, Combs’ team has painted a different picture of their meaning. Defense attorneys have admitted that while Combs might be guilty of domestic violence and physical assault, but say he did not sexually coerce or traffic anyone. Throughout cross-examination, the defense showed and asked Ventura about countless text messages in which she appears to be helping plan and coordinate the so-called “freak-offs.” Ventura responded that Combs expected her to set up and participate in these encounters, and she feared for her safety if she didn’t comply with his demands. The 2016 hotel security video, she said, was taken while she was trying to flee a sexual performance that had turned violent. Combs can be seen in the video coming up behind her as she approaches an elevator lobby, hitting and kicking her and attempting to drag her back in the direction of their hotel room.

Another witness for the prosecution, a man who worked as a security supervisor at the Los Angeles hotel, testified that Combs paid him $100,000 in cash in exchange for the video. During cross-examination of the witness, Combs’ defense attorneys argued that neither Combs or Ventura wanted the video to be released for fear it could harm their public image, and the payoff was to prevent a PR disaster, not to obstruct any kind of criminal investigation. Both Ventura and a former hotel guard testified that she declined to call law enforcement after the incident.

Jealousy and an ‘unconventional’ sex life

Combs’ defense attorneys say the mogul was often involved in multiple romantic relationships at once, which stoked intense jealousy and competition between his girlfriends. The defense has argued this in the case of both of Combs’ former partners who have accused him of sex trafficking: Cassie Ventura, who dated the mogul until 2018, and “Jane,” a woman who was involved with Combs until his arrest and indictment in September of 2024. (She testified using a pseudonym to protect her identity.) Jane, who told the court that Combs introduced “hotel nights” early into their relationship, said Combs pressured her to participate in these nights even after she told him she did not want to have sex with other men.

According to Combs’ defense, both Jane and Ventura agreed to Combs’ “unconventional” sexual fantasies because they wanted to grow closer to him and deepen their respective relationships. During cross examination of witnesses, they have asserted that the inclusion of other men in these activities was part of a “swingers’ lifestyle” that unfurled in the privacy of Combs’ bedroom. While prosecutors have gone through great lengths to describe the details of what Combs requested on these nights — numerous bottles of baby oil, candles, red lighting and specific kinds of lingerie outfits for his girlfriends — Combs’ defense attorneys emphasize that none of these things amount to illegal activities.

“You are not here to judge him for his sexual preferences,” Geragos told the jury at the start of the trial.

Towards the end of the government’s case, prosecutors showed videos that seemed to be of Combs and Ventura on these nights. They also showed explicit videos of Jane. Jurors were instructed to wear headphones, and privacy guards were implemented on their computer screens. The press and public were not allowed to observe the exhibits, which were admitted as sealed evidence.

While prosecutors showed short clips lasting between 30 and 60 seconds, defense attorney Teny Geragos requested to play longer selections of the videos, some of which lasted up to five minutes. The defense has argued that the videos are solid proof of willing sexual activities between consenting adults, and that these were loving yet toxic relationships that do not add up to the charges Combs faces.

A mogul and a ‘money grab’

In the fall of 2023, Combs was in the midst of a professional victory lap. He performed a medley of his biggest hits at MTV’s Video Music Awards, received a key to the city of New York from Mayor Eric Adams and earned a Grammy nomination for his project The Love Album: Off The Grid. That’s when Cassie Ventura filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of sex trafficking, rape and assault in November 2023 – which was settled out of court within a day for $20 million.

Throughout the criminal trial, Combs’ defense attorneys have taken many opportunities to highlight the record producer and entrepreneur’s successful career, and they’re likely to build on his reputation as they lay out their case.

When cross-examining several of Combs’ former assistants, the defense has emphasized that working for Combs and his many companies — which include spirits brands, a fashion line, a cable TV network and a record label — was often fun and inspiring. Some of the assistants have agreed with this characterization. George Kaplan, who testified that he quit working for Combs after seeing him behave violently against Ventura and another girlfriend, at one point told the court he “still keeps lessons from [Combs] to this day.”

Although many of those assistants testified that they bought drugs for the mogul, stocked hotel rooms with supplies like baby oil and lubricant and later cleaned up after Combs’ “hotel nights,” many of them said they considered this to be part of Combs’ “personal life” and separate from his businesses. The defense will likely continue to distance Combs’ drug use and sexual activities from his professional responsibilities to convince the jury there is no criminal enterprise to begin with.

Throughout the trial, Combs’ defense has argued that the mounting allegations against their client are nothing more than a “money grab” against a successful businessman. Since Ventura filed her lawsuit against Combs, dozens more men and women have filed civil complaints against the mogul. Many detail a similar pattern of abuse and control, alleging that Combs would promise career and employment opportunities and then sexually coerce the plaintiffs. Combs has denied all of the allegations.

The civil lawsuits against Combs are separate from his criminal trial — but the government called several witnesses who have filed civil complaints against the mogul, including Ventura, Dawn Richard and Bryana Bongolan. Combs’ defense has tried to discredit their testimony by claiming the women are chasing a payday from a man who did not commit the crimes he’s been accused of.