With Jury Nearly Finalized, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Prosecutors Say They May Have Lost Key Witness

The jury is nearly in place for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial after a colorful selection process but the prosecution’s case against the rap mogul may have been dealt a blow as the feds admitted that one of the four key witnesses set to testify in the New York federal trial may not turn up to take the witness stand. 

On Friday, the prosecution and defense teams will have an opportunity to question potential jurors in a second round of probing of their background, any experiences with violence and their ability to weigh evidence around sexual assault and abuse while remaining unbiased and impartial. Combs was charged in a five-count indictment of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and denied that any accusations against him are true. 

As part of the selection process, potential jurors this week were handed a series of questions in a pamphlet that asked them some personal questions about their ability to remain unbiased and more. They were also shown a list of names of A-list celebrities and places, with jurors asked if they could be impartial if the names were to come up. The list included actor Michael B. Jordan and rapper Kid Cudi, both of whom Combs’ former on-off partner Cassie Ventura dated; the list also contained actor Mike Myers’ name for reasons unclear. 

The jurors also had 1-1 interviews conducted by Judge Arun Subramanian, who dismissed one woman who said that the notorious video of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016 that was leaked on CNN last year could “be damning evidence.” The impact of the video was apparent throughout the selection process and even led defense attorney Marc Agnifilo to express frustration over how it affected the jury selection process. Another potential juror made it through after admitting that on a social media site, he had “liked” a video in which comic Dave Chappelle made a gag about the vast amount of baby oil found at Combs’ home when it was raided by federal investigators last year; the juror brushed this off as mindless social media “doomscrolling.”

On Wednesday, one juror said that he was too distracted by the release of Disney+’s Andor to finish all of his questionnaire. “I was tired,” the potential juror responded, according to USA Today. “I was binging the new Star Wars [series] Andor. It just came out.” The judge asked the man about his ability to concentrate on the trial or if he will be “too busy binging Andor?” The potential juror may have won some points for honesty when he responded, “Like I said, I was binging — I’m just being lazy.”

The trial is moving forward after three days of jury selection. Forty-five potential jurors have been selected to move forward. On Friday, the prosecution and the defense teams will narrow that set down to the 12 men and women who will serve on the trial jury, plus six alternates. 

It was during jury selection on Wednesday that prosecutors told Judge Subramanian that they may have lost one of the four victims of Combs scheduled to testify as they make their case against the fallen rap mogul. The witness, named Victim 3 in the indictment, was set to tell the court how Combs had “coerced her into sexual acts” and how she was “sexually exploited” by him. The prosecution said that they were now unsure if Victim 3 would turn up to the trial. 

“We do not know whether she intends to appear, and we are trying very hard to find out because we are having trouble communicating with her counsel,” prosecutor Maurene Comey said Wednesday, the New York Post reported, adding that the admission came following pressure from the court for an update on the matter. 

Comey told the court that the woman the prosecution has called Victim 3 “does not live locally” and “may not show up, even if we try to enforce the subpoena and want to call her.” This comes a week after the federal prosecutors said they’d spoken with her lawyer and she was now willing to use her real name in court. 

An update will be provided by the prosecution team on the state of the situation on Friday morning. Three other alleged victims of Combs are set to testify in the trial, which will hear opening statements on Monday.