NEW YORK (AP) — The final stage of jury selection for the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was postponed until early next week, right before opening arguments begin, a federal judge decided on Friday.
Prosecutors allege that Combs, 55, used his fame and power at the top of the hip-hop world to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024. He pleaded not guilty after his September arrest and has remained held without bail at a federal lockup in Brooklyn.
Judge Arun Subramanian granted the defense lawyers' request to delay the last step in jury selection until Monday, when both sides will narrow down the pool of 45 people to 12 jurors and six alternates. Generally, lawyers do not have to explain why they are ejecting individuals from the panel.
The defense said striking prospective jurors could take as little as 10 to 15 minutes, so why not do it on Monday when they will be present. The jurors weren’t required to be in the Manhattan courtroom on Friday, but Combs was there.
Prosecutors objected, saying the whole process could get gummed up if several jurors panic after being chosen and decide they don’t want to take part in a high-profile trial that's expected to last two months.
Would-be jurors were asked questions earlier this week to help the judge and lawyers determine if they could be fair and impartial. And they were also questioned to ensure they could decide the case on the facts — even after seeing explicit videos of sexual activity that some might find disturbing.
On Monday, prosecutors will be permitted to strike six prospective jurors from the jury while defense lawyers were allowed 10 strikes before the jury is finalized. The process is expected to take up to an hour.
If Combs is convicted on all charges, which include racketeering, kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking, he would face a mandatory 15 years in prison and could remain behind bars for life.
Prosecutors allege the Bad Boy Records founder used his fame and power at the top of the hip-hop world to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024.
An indictment includes descriptions of “Freak Offs,” drugged-up orgies in which women were forced to have sex with male sex workers while Combs filmed them.
The charges against him also portray Combs as abusive to his victims, sometimes choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them, often by the hair. Once, the indictment alleges, he even dangled someone from a balcony.
His lawyers say prosecutors are trying to criminalize sexual activity between consenting adults. They concede that Combs had abused various substances but say he has undergone treatment.
A centerpiece of the evidence against him are recordings of Combs beating a longtime girlfriend in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
After a video of the encounter aired on CNN last year, Combs apologized, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
Numerous prospective jurors told the judge they'd seen the video and some were deemed too affected by it to be impartial.
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
