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      Woman Expected to Testify That Sean Combs Held Her Over a Balcony

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      Bryana Bongolan, a friend of the mogul’s former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, is set to give her account of being dangled from a 17th-floor balcony.A woman is expected to take the stand at Sean Combs’s federal trial on Wednesday to give her account of the music mogul dangling her over a 17th-floor apartment balcony.Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Casandra Ventura, Mr. Combs’s former girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against Mr. Combs last year. In her complaint, Ms. Bongolan said she had been staying in Ms. Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment when, early one morning in 2016, Mr. Combs stormed in, yelled at Ms. Bongolan and held her over the balcony railing — “with only Combs’ grip keeping her from falling to her death” — before he pulled her back and slammed her onto a patio table.Her full account has been anticipated for months. The indictment that charges Mr. Combs with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy made brief mention of what appears to be Ms. Bongolan’s account, saying that “on one occasion, Combs dangled a female victim over an apartment balcony.” Her story was also referenced in Ms. Ventura’s bombshell civil suit in November 2023, which led to the government’s investigation and Mr. Combs’s arrest.The racketeering charge against Mr. Combs involves accusations that the mogul engaged an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees to help him commit a series of crimes over two decades.Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyers have said that he and his employees were involved in legitimate business operations, not a criminal conspiracy, and that the sex at issue in the government’s case was entirely consensual.Prosecutors, nearing the halfway point of what they expect to be an eight-week trial, said they will soon call “Jane,” the second woman — after Ms. Ventura — who the government says was a victim of sex trafficking by Mr. Combs.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Mia’ to Continue Her Testimony as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Trial Nears Midpoint

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      The former assistant will be questioned by Mr. Combs’s lawyers, who say her account of sex abuse and violence is at odds with the warmth she showed him on social media.The federal trial of Sean Combs is entering its fourth week, the midpoint of what is expected to be an eight-week trial, with prosecutors still filling out the particulars of a case that charges the music mogul with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.Jurors have heard from 21 witnesses in support of the government’s case that Mr. Combs was a violent and abusive man who controlled, intimidated and sexually violated women, and that he directed employees to commit arson, bribery, forced labor, obstruction of justice and other crimes on his behalf as part of a “criminal enterprise.”Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, and his lawyers have strongly denied that any of his sexual arrangements were nonconsensual, arguing that the women who are part of the government’s case willingly consented to sex with Mr. Combs. If convicted of all charges, Mr. Combs, 55, could face life in prison.The witnesses in the case so far have included Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, who said she had been coerced intro drug-fueled sex marathons, and a former assistant, testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” who said that her boss sexually assaulted her and subjected her to sleep deprivation and violence.Another witness, Deonte Nash, a stylist, described witnessing Mr. Combs’s violent attacks on Ms. Ventura, and said she told him that Mr. Combs had threatened to release explicit videos of her with other men in “freak-offs,” the sexual encounters that are at the heart of the government’s case. Ms. Ventura had called those videos “blackmail materials.”At a news conference at the White House on Friday, President Trump said that, if asked, he was open to reviewing a possible pardon for Mr. Combs — whom he crossed paths with decades ago on the celebrity scene in New York — if he was convicted.“I would certainly look at the facts,” Mr. Trump said.Mia, who testified on Thursday and Friday last week, will return to the stand on Monday for what should be the conclusion of her testimony. Under cross-examination on Friday, Brian Steel, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, showed Mia dozens of social media posts in which she repeatedly expressed affection and admiration for the music mogul. Mr. Steel asked how she could write such things if he had also abused her in the way she said.“I was young and manipulated and just eager to survive,” Mia said.The next witnesses suggest the government will further examine the circumstances of freak-offs. One witness, Eddy Garcia, was a supervisor at an InterContinential Hotel in Los Angeles, where a security camera recorded Mr. Combs attacking Ms. Ventura in 2016. Another expected witness, Frank Piazza, is a forensic video expert who examined that hotel footage. Other expected witnesses include Sylvia Okun, a hotel custodian, and a man named Enrique Santos. More

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      At Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial, ‘Victim-4,’ His Ex-Employee, Set to Talk of Sex Abuse

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      Prosecutors say the woman, who will testify under the pseudonym “Mia,” was forced into sex when she worked for Sean Combs.Jurors at Sean Combs’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial have heard gripping testimony from Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, who described in lurid detail the violence and coerced sex that she suffered at the hand of the music mogul.On Wednesday, they are set to hear from a second woman, testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” who prosecutors say had her own harrowing experience with Mr. Combs.For months before trial, little was disclosed about Mia — then identified only as “Victim-4” — other than that she is a former Combs employee who prosecutors say was coerced into sex with him. In one filing last month, the government redacted virtually an entire page-long passage about her.But in opening statements this month, lawyers for both sides fleshed out the woman’s profile somewhat. Emily A. Johnson, a prosecutor, described Mia as a former personal assistant whom Mr. Combs “worked to the bone for years.” At some point, she said, he then “forced himself on her sexually, putting his hand up her dress, unzipping his pants and forcing her to perform oral sex, and sneaking into her bed to penetrate her against her will.”“Mia will tell you how she could not talk about what happened to her until recently,” Ms. Johnson added, “how she wanted to take the secret of what the defendant did to her to her grave.”Mr. Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, has denied having anything but consensual sex with women, and his defense team has suggested it will pursue that approach in countering the testimony of Mia when she appears on Wednesday, likely in the afternoon.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      At Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial, Former Employee Expected to Describe Being Kidnapped

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      Prosecutors are set to present the testimony of a onetime assistant, who they say was twice held against her will. The defense denies she was kidnapped.A former employee of Sean Combs who, prosecutors say, was kidnapped twice by the music mogul or his bodyguards, is expected to testify on Tuesday at Mr. Combs’s racketeering and sex-trafficking trial.The woman, Capricorn Clark, has been a frequent character in testimony at the trial, figuring prominently in the much-discussed fallout over Mr. Combs’s discovery that Casandra Ventura, his longtime on-and-off girlfriend, and the rapper Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, were romantically involved.The government contends that after Mr. Combs discovered evidence of the budding relationship in late 2011, he went — armed and with a bodyguard — to wake up Ms. Clark in the middle of the night and force her to take them to Mr. Mescudi’s home. On Thursday, Mr. Mescudi gave his account of Mr. Combs’s jealous meltdown, which he said escalated to his Porsche being set on fire with a Molotov cocktail in early 2012.Lawyers for Mr. Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, have denied Mr. Combs’s involvement in any kidnapping or arson — and have said there was never any criminal conspiracy. They assert that Ms. Ventura and another woman that Mr. Combs is accused of sex trafficking are not victims, but rather former girlfriends who agreed to participate in sex that, while “kinky,” was entirely consensual and legal.Capricorn Clark, a former employee of Mr. Combs, is expected to testify this week.U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New YorkThe kidnapping accusations are meant to buttress the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs, which accuses him and members of his inner circle of a series of crimes dating back to 2004. The crimes cited in the indictment include sex trafficking, arson, drug violations, bribery, obstruction of justice and two acts of kidnapping — both of them involving Ms. Clark.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial Draws Long Lines and Limited Seating

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      Without any livestreaming of the often graphic testimony, securing space inside the federal courtroom has meant long lines and long waits.Hours before sunset, the line begins to form outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. By the time the sun has risen again, some 13 hours later, the sidewalk is quite full.Queue psychologists, who study things like how to keep the hordes happy in lines at Disney World, would have a field day at the trial of Sean Combs.Since the trial started two weeks ago, folks have been showing up at ungodly hours to wait for a seat in the room where the music mogul is facing racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.News reporters assigned to cover the trial are joined in equal numbers by vloggers who have made the case their subject of the moment and members of the public who are simply interested in hearing the courtroom testimony.During the first two days of the trial, when the crowds were bigger, one YouTuber, Mel Smith, said he would leave his house in Beacon, N.Y., at about 3:30 p.m. to get a seat for the next morning’s testimony. When he arrived at about 5 p.m., he said, there were already a half-dozen people waiting in front of him.“Everybody knows P. Diddy — he’s a household brand — and everybody’s clicking all day to see what’s the latest updates,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      If You Want a Seat at the Trial of Sean Combs, Leave Yesterday

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      Without any livestreaming of the often graphic testimony, securing space inside the federal courtroom has meant long lines and long waits.Hours before sunset, the line begins to form outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. By the time the sun has risen again, some 13 hours later, the sidewalk is quite full.Queue psychologists, who study things like how to keep the hordes happy in lines at Disney World, would have a field day at the trial of Sean Combs.Since the trial started two weeks ago, folks have been showing up at ungodly hours to wait for a seat in the room where the music mogul is facing racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.News reporters assigned to cover the trial are joined in equal numbers by vloggers who have made the case their subject of the moment and members of the public who are simply interested in hearing the courtroom testimony.During the first two days of the trial, when the crowds were bigger, one YouTuber, Mel Smith, said he would leave his house in Beacon, N.Y., at about 3:30 p.m. to get a seat for the next morning’s testimony. When he arrived at about 5 p.m., he said, there were already a half-dozen people waiting in front of him.“Everybody knows P. Diddy — he’s a household brand — and everybody’s clicking all day to see what’s the latest updates,” he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      3 Unsettled Questions in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial

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      The major outlines of the prosecution of the music mogul Sean Combs have taken shape in a Manhattan courtroom. But several issues at the core of the case remain unanswered.After two weeks of testimony in the racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking trial of Sean Combs, the rapper and producer known as Diddy, much of the prosecution’s central narrative is clear. Mr. Combs, they say, used his power and wealth, along with violence and threats of blackmail, to coerce women into complying with his elaborate sexual demands that included commercial sex workers.Such coercive behavior was enabled, the government argues, by members of his staff, who helped to arrange and stock the marathon sex sessions known as “freak-offs” and to clean up any fallout from Mr. Combs’s entanglements.The groundwork of the defense’s counternarrative has been laid firmly, as well. Mr. Combs, they have argued, while jealous, aggressive and drug-addicted, had nontraditional but consensual sex with long-term girlfriends. That may have led to damaging, interpersonal chaos but it was not sex trafficking, Mr. Combs’s lawyers have argued.Even as some of the contours of the case have become more clear through the testimony of Casandra Ventura, Mr. Combs’s former girlfriend, and others, major lingering questions will remain when the trial continues next week. Below are three unresolved issues that could affect how the trial, which is estimated to last about six more weeks, pans out.What happened to ‘Victim-3’?Before trial, the government repeatedly referred to a woman it called Victim-3, saying that she was subjected to sexual coercion by Mr. Combs outside of any freak-off activity. She was listed prominently in the indictment as an additional person whose experience would demonstrate that Mr. Combs’s conduct hurt people beyond Ms. Ventura, the singer known as Cassie who is the prosecution’s star witness.But for reasons that have yet to be explained publicly, Victim-3 is no longer expected to take the stand, according to the lawyers involved. The trouble first surfaced two weeks ago when prosecutors told the court they were having a hard time reaching her lawyer.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kid Cudi Will Soon Take Center Stage at the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial

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      Casandra Ventura had testified that the mogul threatened to have the entertainer’s car blown up after learning about their relationship.Prosecutors confirmed this week that Kid Cudi, the rapper whose romance with Casandra Ventura is said to have sent Sean Combs into a jealous, threat-filled rage, will be testifying in the music mogul’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, could take the witness stand as soon as Wednesday, but the precise timing of his testimony is uncertain.Ms. Ventura, who is known as the singer Cassie, testified last week that after Mr. Combs discovered her relationship with Mr. Mescudi in 2011, Mr. Combs made a series of threats to her, including that Mr. Mescudi’s car would be “blown up” in his driveway.In 2023, after Ms. Ventura filed the lawsuit that kicked of Mr. Combs’s legal troubles, Mr. Mescudi confirmed that his car had exploded. But he has yet to speak publicly about the details of his role in the case.As part of the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs, the government has accused him of running a criminal enterprise that helped him commit a series of crimes dating back to 2004. Among the list of allegations is that Mr. Combs’s associates set fire to a rival’s car with a Molotov cocktail.A lawyer for Mr. Combs, Teny Geragos, said in the defense’s opening statement that Mr. Combs was “simply not involved” in the allegations of arson put forward by prosecutors.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More