Jury Selection to Begin in Federal Trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on Racketeering, Sex Trafficking Indictments

LOWER MANHATTAN — Jury selection will begin today in the much-anticipated federal criminal trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, indicted on serious crimes such as conspiracy to commit racketeering and sex trafficking.

Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which if he were convicted, would land him in prison for decades. The charges were brought up following accusations that he transported sex workers across state borders and coerced women into having sex during parties fueled by drugs.

Federal prosecutors said Combs created an environment of coercion and exploitation. His defense lawyers say all sex was consensual, however.

The criminal case gained momentum in November 2023 when the singer Cassie Ventura, who is Combs’ former girlfriend, sued him in a civil suit on charges of rape, sex trafficking, and physical violence for several years. Although Combs settled that suit one day after it was initiated, it led federal officials to begin a broader criminal probe.

Those probes led to high-rated raids on Combs’ residences in Miami and Los Angeles, where agents seized several electronic devices. Combs has been held in a Brooklyn holding cell since he was arrested in 2024.

Courtroom sketches depict Combs sitting at the defense table at his bail hearing with his attorney Teny Garagos while both sides prepare for what’s turning out to be a contentious and protracted trial.

Legal analysts expect the process of choosing the jury to be contentious, with prosecutors expecting to find jurors who are sympathetic to aggressive policing and attuned to the #MeToo movement.

“I would imagine the prosecution would want the older individuals, the law-and-order voters,” jury consultant Dr. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius said to Eyewitness News. “They will be asking them about sexual assault experience, their attitude toward the Me Too movement, and their definition of consensual sex and multiple partners.”

Cassie Ventura is set to testify, as well as three other purported victims, who will testify anonymously out of respect for the privacy of their alleged experiences. They claim they were drugged and forced to join in what prosecutors have called “freak-offs.”

The trial is projected to last up to eight weeks.