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U.S. government prosecutors returned from the holiday weekend and pressed forward in their racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking case against Diddy today. They called to the witness stand a former employee of the rapper who portrayed him as a ruthless and volatile kingpin bent on controlling the people around him with violence and threats. The highlights:
- Capricorn Clark, an aide to Diddy for years, described her harrowing experience working for him. She told jurors he threatened to kill her, subjected her to days of lie detector tests, shoved her at his Miami home in 2006 asked her to buy drugs and kicked his off-and-on girlfriend Cassie Ventura with “100% full force” in 2011.
- Clark recalled Diddy’s rage at Scott Mescudi (better known as rapper Kid Cudi) after learning he was dating Cassie. Clark said Diddy banged on her door one morning in December 2011 and, gun in hand, forced her to join him for a confrontation: “Get dressed,” Clark said Diddy told her. “We’re going to go kill Mescudi.”
- Clark testified that she took Cassie to Best Buy to purchase a burner cell phone she could use to communicate with Kid Cudi. The ex-assistant explained to jurors that she was concerned Cassie was sending text messages on a phone paid for by Diddy. Clark said she worried the relationship between Cassie and Kid Cudi was “going to get us all killed.”
The view from inside
By Adam Reiss, Chloe Melas and Jing Feng
Clark painted an emotionally wrenching and at times disturbing picture of her tenure as one of Diddy’s employees. In riveting detail, she recounted the sense of danger and fear she felt, portraying her former boss as an erratic and menacing figure who was prone to violence.
She repeatedly broke down in tears, including as she recalled Diddy lunging at her and shoving her at his Miami home nearly 20 years ago. She gestured with her hands to show jurors how he allegedly pushed her. The incident was “crossing my boundary,” Clark said through tears.
She sobbed again during defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo’s cross-examination, acknowledging she worked hard for Diddy because he was “tenacious,” broke glass ceilings and “matched wits” with people. Clark worked for him in two different stints, most recently from 2016 to 2018.
Clark at one point apologized to Judge Arun Subramanian for crying. You don’t have to apologize, he replied.
Diddy, wearing a blue sweater, seemed fully engaged during Clark’s testimony, leaning forward in his seat and frequently passing notes to his lawyers. He stared intently at Clark nearly the entire time she answered questions.
In other news: Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor, told Subramanian that the government’s case is moving ahead of schedule. She predicted the prosecution would rest after five weeks — rather than six, as originally planned.
What’s next
Tomorrow: Prosecutors are expected to call members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department.
PSA: Every night during Diddy’s trial, NBC’s “Dateline” will drop special episodes of the “True Crime Weekly” podcast to get you up to speed. “Dateline” correspondent Andrea Canning chats with NBC News’ Chloe Melas and special guests — right in front of the courthouse. Listen here.
