Live updates: First day of testimony in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial ends

Daniel Phillip, the male escort who testified last today, will return to continue cross-examination tomorrow.

The judge ordered Phillip not to speak to his attorney, even overnight, before he comes back to testify again.

Court was adjourned just before 5 p.m. EDT as Judge Arun Subramanian thanked jurors and said he'd see them again at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday.

The day ended with the defense cross-examining Daniel Phillip, a stripper who testified that he was paid thousands of dollars to have sex with Cassie as Combs watched.

Asked if there was any other time Phillip could recall Combs yelling at Cassie, he testified that there was an incident he could hear while the couple was in a bedroom at the Essex Hotel.

"I heard her yelling, 'I’m sorry, I’m sorry,' someone was being slapped around and slammed around the room," Phillip said. "And I looked around the corner and I saw Mr. Combs walk out of the hotel altogether without clothes, he might have had a towel on."

Cassie then ran out of the room and jumped into Phillip's lap, shaking and terrified, he said. Phillip said he recalled wondering why Cassie stayed with someone who was "beating her like this."

"She basically tried to convince me that 'it's OK' and 'I’ll be OK,'" Phillip said. "And I said, 'It is not OK and you need to get help.'"

Phillip said he once saw Combs assault Cassie because she didn't come to the rapper's side as soon as he called.

"I heard him yell out, 'Babe, come here,'" Phillip said, adding that Cassie then asked for a moment more time as she finished working on her computer.

"Combs came out of the room and I saw a liquor bottle fly past her and hit the wall," he told jurors. "He grabbed her by her hair and dragged her by the hair into the bedroom. She was screaming and he pulled her into the bedroom. And what I heard sounded like him slapping her."

Phillip said Cassie apologized, but that Combs responded by saying, "'B---- when I tell you to come, you come now, not later.'"

Phillip said he was "shocked" and "terrified" but that he "didn't know what to do." He said he "did not intervene," and that "there were four or five bodyguards in the other room."

Phillip told jurors that Combs made it clear that he was to keep quiet about the alleged work.

"He asked for my driver's license and took a picture of it and said, 'It's just for insurance,' that if I spoke about it to anybody, I understood it to be that he was threatening me," he said.

Phillip told the court that Combs would often instruct him on how to have sex with Cassie.

"He started really directing us after the second time," Phillip testified.

Some of those instructions allegedly included role play scenarios, when to orgasm, where Combs wanted Phillip to ejaculate, and what sex acts to perform. According to Phillip, Combs would occasionally stop him so that Combs could have sex with Cassie.

He also alleged that Combs offered him drugs, but Phillip said he didn't use substances. Phillip described one time in which he said it appeared Cassie might have been under the influence of drugs.

"Combs opened the door, he said I don't think this is going to happen today," Phillip said. "She looked like she was completely passed out, half on the couch and half off the couch."

Phillip described a 2012 or 2013 gig when he was paid "a few thousand dollars" to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched.

The prosecution witness said he was "expecting to do a strip tease and leave" with $200 and a tip.

"At that point she gave me a few thousand dollars and said she would tip me when I leave," Phillip told jurors. "We ended up having sex, rubbed baby oil on each other for a couple minutes. He (Combs) was sitting in a corner masturbating."

After they had sex, Phillip said Cassie gave him "a couple of thousand more."

The prosecution has called a new witness: Daniel Phillip, who worked as a male escort and says he received money from Cassie to have sex in around 2012 or 2013.

Combs' attorney, Brian Steele, took up questioning Florez on the cross-examination and pushed the former guard on his belief that Combs was trying to bribe him.

"As far as the bribe, Mr. Combs held up a hundred-dollar bill. You took that as a bribe, you used the word bribe?" Steele asked.

"100%," Florez answered, later affirming the same belief when asked about the "sack of money" Combs held up.

Steele also pushed Florez about the report made for the hotel at the time of the 2016 incident. He asked Florez why he didn't include Combs' allegedly telling Cassie she couldn't leave.

Florez responded that he didn't think it was a "significant fact" to include.

Florez testified that he took some cellphone videos after responding to the hotel incident between Cassie and Combs.

He told the court that he made a video because he didn't think his wife would believe him if he went home and told her what happened. One video showed him motioning to Cassie to go into the room and another includes him picking up a phone and discussing the incident with his supervisor.

The former hotel guard testified that he hadn't reviewed video of the assault before writing the incident report. Florez said he didn't call the police because Cassie wanted to leave and no one was pressing charges.

Videos from the March 5, 2016, incident where Combs was seen beating Cassie in the hallway of the InterContinental hotel were officially submitted into evidence.

Prosecutors approached Florez with a thumb drive, which the former hotel guard said contained five videos from that morning. He was asked to describe the videos as he watched them on the witness stand.

Florez, describing one video, said Cassie comes down the hall and puts down a bag before "Combs comes up behind her in a towel and slams her in the head and drags her to the floor, starts to drag her back to the room."

In another video of the same hallway, Florez said Combs barrels down the hall toward Cassie and tries to grab the phone from her.

After describing the sack of money Combs offered him as "a bribe," Florez then testified that Combs attempted to take the phones of hotel security guards.

"He came to the door, closed the door behind him, he grabbed the phone my colleague was holding because he thought he was being recorded. He eventually gave the phone back," Florez said.

"We said we are not recording you and de-escalated the situation," he continued. Florez then said that when Combs tried to grab his phone, he pinned Combs to the wall.

At least 20 fans of Combs camped out overnight ahead of the court’s doors opening at 8 a.m., including some who slept in tents.

The circus-like atmosphere — dozens of cameras and spectators outside — suggests this trial has a ton of interest from the public.

The turnout serves as a stark contrast to the relatively muted turnout for former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s retrial.

Florez testified that he was on shift the day at the InterContinental hotel in March 2016, where surveillance video showed Combs dragging and kicking Cassie in the hallway.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. and Florez was called to a woman in distress on the sixth floor. He testified that he recognized Combs, who was in a towel, but did not recognize Cassie at the time.

"She was scared," Florez testified. "She was in the corner, hood on, covered up. I couldn't see her face, she was pretty much in the corner. On the floor was a destroyed flower vase."

Florez said that Combs told him they were arguing at the time. He noticed Cassie trying to walk away and get her phone, but Combs told her she wasn't going to leave.

The former hotel guard said he put his body in the doorway and stood for a few minutes until Cassie left the room.

"I started to leave and (Combs) called for me," Florez said. "He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, 'Don't tell anyone.'"

The government called the first witness of its case: LAPD officer Israel Florez, who once worked in hotel security.

He was on duty the day Combs was caught on camera attacking then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.

NOW: First witness takes stand in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

05:01

Before lunch began, Combs' attorneys spoke to the judge about objections they had regarding evidence that the prosecution wanted to submit into evidence along with its witness.

Comey told the judge the witness is a security guard who worked at the InterContinental hotel who would testify to incident reports and personal observations following an incident between Combs and "Victim-1."

Combs' attorney, Brian Steele, argued that the witness had "no personal knowledge" of the incident and includes speculation. Steele told the judge that the documents have prejudicial elements and doesn't believe they are trustworthy.

Subramanian ruled against Combs' attorneys and said that so long as the government establishes a foundation, the exhibits would be allowed into evidence.

There is a circus-like atmosphere outside of U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan with dozens of cameras roaming around looking for family members who stepped outside for lunch.

The defendant's son, Justin Combs, was chatting with supporters of his father who have been attending court long before today.

They were then swarmed by TV news cameras and he was forced to escape into a sprinter van with other family members.

There's been much speculation about the anonymous victims mentioned in the Combs indictment, and today we have a few more answers.

Prosecutors have provided pseudonyms for two of the victims: Victim 2 is referred to as Jane and Victim 4 is referred to as Mia.

During opening statements, Jane was described as a single mother who met Combs in 2020. Prosecutors said she "fell in love" with Combs quickly and had a nonexclusive relationship with him, which included alleged abuse and coercion.

Mia was described as a former personal assistant who worked for Combs for years, according to the prosecution during openings. She allegedly is "just beginning to grapple with" the times that Combs forced himself on her and "wanted to keep the secret to her grave."

The jury had the Combs family's undivided attention during the opening statements.

Combs' mother and children all had their bodies turned right to face the jury box, keeping their eyes on the jury and Combs' defense attorney this morning.

Combs too focused on the faces of the jury, but didn't provide reaction himself. His only notable moment was when Geragos introduced him, standing up when she said, "This is Sean Combs."

Janice Combs, mother of Sean Combs, arrives at court today. John Lamparski / Getty Images

The jury was excused for its first lunch break of the trial.

They'll return at 1:15 p.m. ET and possible testimony once the defense, prosecutors and judge hash out evidentiary issues.

Opening statements finished in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial

02:56

Geragos ended the defense's opening statements by asserting that the victims, including Cassie, were motivated to "lie" because they were seeking a "money grab."

"They will tell you they were victimized. Ask yourself, what is their motive?" Geragos said. "The answer is simple: money."

Combs' attorney insisted that Combs was conspiring with "no one" and that the drugs were obtained for personal use. Combs also did not knowingly pay sex workers to travel for commercial sex acts, his lawyer insisted.

"It is money for time, he was paying money for that experience," Geragos said, noting the specific charge.

Geragos told the jury they are not there to judge as "the moral police," but only to see if the evidence meets the burden for the charges.

Combs' defense told jurors it will show how his accusers were not forced into sex and could've parted with him at almost any time.

"She was a willing participant in their sex life," Geragos said of alleged victim and likely prosecution witness Cassie Ventura.

The accuser known as "Jane" had her eyes open during her relationship with Combs, according to the defense.

"After a period of time, their relationship becomes mostly sexual," Geragos said. "She was a capable, strong adult woman."

Cassie ended her relationship with Combs because she realized she would "never" mean as much to him as his former girlfriend, Kim Porter, Combs' attorney Teny Geragos alleged her in opening statement.

Geragos told the jury that when Porter died of pneumonia in 2018, Cassie went to the funeral to support Combs.

"When Combs said Kim Porter was his soulmate, Cassie realized all the things she would not be, she wanted to be Combs’ wife," Geragos said.

Porter and Combs had an on-and-off relationship for over a decade and share multiple children. Geragos alleged that there were years of "jealousy" at the center of Combs' relationships with Cassie and Porter.

Cassie then left on her own terms when it was clear "she would never be that, never be his wife, never be his love of his life," Geragos added.

The defense won't fight allegations that Combs has committed acts of domestic violence or used baby oil during sex — saying none of those actions amount to potential federal crimes being adjudicated here.

Combs is "not proud of that but he will own" that "he has a bad temper and sometimes he is so angry and jealous that he gets out of control," Geragos said during the defense's opening statement.

"We will not shy away from the things he did, but we will not own the things he did not do," she told jurors. "He is physical, he is a drug user, you may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No!"

Combs faces criminal counts that include alleged racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Teny Geragos previewed the defense's case, and began by acknowledging that "Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case."

Geragos said Combs' life is about "real-life relationships," but accused prosecutors of trying to turn them into a racketeering sex-trafficking case, "and it will not work."

"You will hear why people stayed around him and why it matters, he gave people opportunity and chances," Geragos said, adding that "they didn't always like what he did or how how he behaved, but they truly loved him, and by being with him, they were part of something special."

"The only people who knew about a racketeering enterprise are the prosecutors," Geragos said. "This case is about Sean Combs' private personal sex life. The government has no place in his private bedrooms. They say it is not about his private sex life, but the evidence will show that it is."

The prosecution told jurors that, after all the evidence is heard several weeks from now, they'll have no choice but to find Combs guilty on all charges.

"I ask you do three things," Johnson said. "Please pay close attention to the evidence, follow the judge’s instructions on the law, please use and trust your common sense."

She concluded her opening statement for the United States: "If you do all of that, you will reach the only verdict — that the defendant, Sean Combs, is guilty."

Prosecutors in their opening statement said jurors will also hear from "Mia," a pseudonym for Combs' personal assistant who worked with him for years.

"She is just beginning to grapple with the times he forced himself on her sexually. She wanted to keep the secret to her grave," Johnson said.

"They worked punishing hours for the defendant without sleep. ... They were expected to keep quiet of what they saw and heard in the defendant's homes," Johnson added.

A single mother, whom prosecutors call "Jane," was allegedly under Combs' total control, forcing her to have unprotected sex with escorts and do drugs, prosecutors said.

Jane and Combs met in 2020, when she quickly got caught up in the defendant's web of abuse, Johnson said.

"She wanted the escorts to wear condoms, but he would not let them. Then he would make her take drugs; she broke down and took ecstasy," Johnson said. "One time she vomited, he told her to hurry up and get back in the room where an escort was waiting."

Combs and his bodyguards attempted to cover up surveillance video of him assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016, by trying to "get what they thought was the only copy" of the footage, Johnson told jurors.

She alleges the defendant gave "a brown paper bag full of $100,000 in cash" to a security guard to "broker a deal."

"Nothing could put his public image at risk," Johnson said of Combs, adding, "They covered up brutal beatings while keeping Cassie locked up for days."

The video, key evidence in the trial, was made public by CNN a year ago.

The prosecution warned jurors to brace themselves for troubling evidence of "freak offs," dayslong, drug-fueled orgies allegedly orchestrated by Combs.

"Some of the details of what happened to them will be hard to hear," Johnson said of victims. "He used lies, drugs, threats and violence to force and coerce first Cassie and later Jane to have sex with him in front of male escorts."

There were allegedly no borders that could limit Combs' desire for these acts.

"He directed freak offs week after week, around the country and sometimes out of the country," Johnson added.

Cassie, Combs' former girlfriend, tried to run away from years of abuse but was threatened by the release of videos of sex acts Combs forced her to participate in, the prosecution alleged.

"Her life and safety depended on keeping him happy," Johnson said in her opening statement.

The singer met Combs when she was a 19-year-old with a hit song. Combs allegedly began his abuse of her early on and forced Cassie to regularly participate in his "freak offs," or sex parties that often included sex workers.

“Cassie tried her first freak off because she loved him and wanted to make him happy. ... If Cassie didn’t do what he wanted, the consequences were severe,” Johnson said.

Johnson listed off a range of allegations of abuse that Cassie endured between 2006 and 2018, including the beating that was seen on hotel surveillance video and made public by CNN.

Prosecutors want to paint Combs as the kingpin of a criminal enterprise, accusing him of using a vast network of employees to carry out any number of alleged illegal acts.

"He sometimes called himself the king and expected to be treated like one," Johnson said, "to cater to all his desires."

She added: "He used his companies to manipulate women, forcing them with male escorts to have sex while he watched. He and his inner circle made sure he got everything he wanted."

Prosecutor Emily Johnson began her opening statement by describing Combs as a "larger than life" figure who ran a criminal enterprise enabled by an "inner circle" of employees.

One example Johnson gave was a night he was "on the hunt" for his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura after learning she had a new man in her life. Johnson alleged that Combs forced an employee into an SUV to take him to the new man's home.

"When he finally found her he beat her brutally, kicking her in the back and flinging her around like a rag doll," Johnson said.

He had to "make sure he had control over Cassie once again."

"So he threatened her and said if she defies her again he will release video of her having sex with male escorts," Johnson told the jury. "Souvenirs of the most humiliating nights of her life."

This is just the tip of the iceberg in 20 years of Combs using his inner circle to cover up "crime after crime," Johnson said.

Judge Subramanian reminded the newly impaneled jury to form absolutely no opinions during trial — and definitely not post anything about it on social media.

"I am ordering you not to talk about this with anyone," he said. "Do not form any opinion until all the evidence is in."

U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian thanked jurors for their service and targeted the Fourth of July for the possible end of Combs' trial.

The jurist said he hopes the trial could be done by Independence Day, though it "could go longer, but I don't expect that it will."

The jury's daily schedule will include a "light breakfast" at 8:30 a.m. and a 30-minute lunch break later in the day, the judge said.

"I will make every effort to move trial along," he added. "We will keep your names and identity in confidence, that personal information will not be made public and this is in no way unusual."

The jury consists of 12 people in the main pool and an additional six people who may be asked to step in as alternates. It includes residents from Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester, and includes an investment analyst, a physician assistant, a massage therapist, a deli clerk, a scientist, a social worker and an architect. Several have said they have seen the video of Combs’ assaulting Cassie Ventura in a L.A. hotel hallway.

This is what we know about the main 12 jurors:

• Juror No. 2: A 69-year-old male who works as an actor and massage therapist. He lives in Manhattan.
• Juror No. 5: A 31-year-old male who works as an investment analyst. He lives in Manhattan.
• Juror No. 25: A 51-year-old male who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and neuroscience. He lives in Manhattan.
• Juror No. 28: A 30-year-old female working as a deli clerk. She lives with her mom and brother in the Bronx.
• Juror No. 55: A 42-year-old female who is an aide in a nursing home. She lives in Manhattan.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed to a jury of eight men and four women, paving the way for opening statements shortly.

Six alternates, four men and two women, have also been seated as the court is in a brief recess as both sides prepare to deliver their opening statements.

Emily Johnson is set to open for the government and Teny Geragos for the defense.

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo questioned whether the government was intentionally going out of its way to keep Black jurors out of the box.

Agnifilo said seven Black people had been removed, "which leads to a pattern and they need to give reason for strikes."

"We have conducted ourselves without any bias," prosecutor Maurene Ryan Comey responded. "The jury is diverse with a number of nonwhite (panelists)."

The judge denied the motion from Agnifilo, saying the defendant failed to show discrimination.

The judge entered the courtroom with greetings for all, including, "Good morning to you, Mr. Combs."

There was no other business to attend to so both sides are going through who they would like to strike from the juror pool.

Given the length of this trial, the parties agreed to give some time to see if anyone would get cold feet. Now that the case has been called, both sides' attorneys will weed through the remaining pool to secure a jury and a few alternates.

Lead prosecutor Maurene Comey and defense attorney Marc Agnifilo entered the judge's chambers.

The courtroom is waiting on Judge Arun Subramanian before each side can finalize jury selection and give opening statements.

After eight months in federal prison, Combs arrived for his first day of the trial in a beige sweater over a white-collared shirt and khaki pants.

He greeted every member of his family with a hug before sitting down alongside his attorneys. After settling in his seat, Combs still turned around to blow a kiss toward his mother and children.

Janice Combs, the rap mogul's mother, is a presence in the courtroom. She made sure to sit in the middle of her grandchildren, with Combs' twin daughters on her right side and Combs' sons on the left.

Combs put on reading glasses and poured himself a glass of water as the parties prepare to begin.

Combs' sons and teenage daughters arrived at the federal courthouse this morning, exiting a black van as they walked through a sea of onlookers blocked off by police.

His sons Christian, Justin and Quincy first stepped out into the crowd before Combs' three daughters Chance, Jessie and D'Lila. It appeared that the girls held hands as they squeezed through the small walkway made my officers.

Combs' mother, Janice Combs, was also in attendance and sat with the children in the second row.

In addition to Combs, the next eight weeks will bring several well-known names.

The lead prosecutor is Maurene Ryan Comey, a veteran of the Southern District who helped secure a conviction against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein. Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.

While Southern California celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos isn’t representing Combs, his daughter, Teny Geragos, is one of the attorneys representing the rapper. The elder Gergaos, half of the “2 Angry Men” podcast, was recently chastised by the judge when he called prosecutors a “six-pack of white women.” 

And lawyer Lisa Bloom, the daughter of feminist attorney Gloria Allred, may be seen in the press as the civil litigator representing some of Diddy’s accusers.

The judge who’ll be at the center of this trial is U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian.

He’s the first jurist of South Asian or Indian descent to sit on a bench of the Southern District of New York.

Subramanian was nominated to the Southern District by President Joe Biden in 2022 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, 59-37, on March 7, 2023. The Columbia Law School grad once clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.