Brian Buckmire sits down with ABC’s Peter Charalambous for a deep dive into the evidence of USA v. Sean Combs. Over 200 exhibits have been entered into evidence and seen by the jury to try to bolster both the prosecution and defense’s cases. Plus, the biggest moments from court this week -- including the defense moving for a mistrial and testimony from former employees of Combs. One telling the jury she was kidnapped and another testifying that she couldn’t leave whenever she wanted, only when she had permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What evidence has been presented in the trial?
Chapter 2: Who is the alleged victim in the USA v. Sean Combs case?
In the last few days of USA v Sean Combs, we've heard from more former employees of Combs, as well as celebrity stylist Deontay Nash. But most notably, Diddy's alleged victim going by the pseudonym Mia. Mia worked for Sean Combs, first as a personal assistant and then as a director of development and acquisitions for his film business.
She said the highs were really high and the lows were really, really low. She testified that she often didn't sleep while working for Combs, including one stint where she was up for five days. Mia told jurors that Combs threw things at her, threw her against a wall, and he also sexually assaulted her. When prosecutors asked if she could leave whenever she wanted, Mia answered, I wasn't allowed.
Chapter 3: What are the key testimonies from former employees?
I'd have to ask permission. Her testimony is meant, at least in part, to convince the jury that Combs used forced labor as part of his alleged criminal enterprise. Cross-examination is expected to begin late Friday morning. On Tuesday, another former employee, Capricorn Clark, testified that she'd been kidnapped while working for Combs.
She told the jury that Combs and a bodyguard showed up at her apartment with a gun and made her go with them to Scott Meschede's house, aka rapper Kid Cudi. On Cross, the defense tried to dispute it was a kidnapping, suggesting Clark had previously told defense attorneys she went with Combs to prevent him from doing something stupid and clarifying that he didn't point the gun at her.
Forced labor and kidnapping are both part of the racketeering conspiracy count Combs is facing. He's pled not guilty. At one point Wednesday, the defense requested a mistrial when an arson investigator from the Los Angeles Fire Department was testifying. While it's the first time the defense requested a mistrial, it probably won't be the last. This is Bad Rap, the case against Diddy.
I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor and practicing attorney. This episode... That's right. Today, we're talking evidence. What the jury has seen so far, how it becomes part of the trial, and how both sides can use it to support witness testimony.
My guest today is Peter Haralambous, a producer with ABC's investigative unit, and he also works with the visual verification team, which authenticates photos and videos from around the internet to make sure the news that you get is real and true.
Peter was a paralegal before going into journalism, and one of the things he did as a paralegal was preparing evidence for jurors at trial in the Southern District of New York. Yeah, the very same court where Diddy is being tried. And evidence has actually become Peter's expertise while covering the Diddy trial.
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Chapter 4: How has technology changed courtroom evidence presentation?
He collects exhibits filed in court and gets them ready for broadcast, making sure the right redactions are made for our audiences. He's the keeper of a giant spreadsheet where he logs all of the evidence publicly available from both the prosecution and the defense. Peter, let's take our listeners inside the courtroom.
You know, what strikes me when I enter federal courtrooms these days is that each of the jurors and the alternates have a very large screen in front of them. Peter, can you talk to us about how the technology in the courtroom works in terms of how the jurors are seeing the evidence, how the witnesses see the evidence, and how even the defense attorneys and prosecutors marshal that evidence in?
Yeah, I think this is super fascinating, because trials in the United States have been consistent for, at this point, centuries. But one area where things have changed pretty rapidly over the last 20 years is how technology has made its way into the courtroom. I used to be a paralegal before I was a journalist, and I dealt with this firsthand.
I was doing much more boring trials about white-collar criminals. But that same technology applied. I think I even worked on a trial that is in the same courtroom where the Combs case is currently happening. It's magnificent. It's this large room. You've been there plenty of times. tall ceilings, it's got this sweeping view of Midtown rising up from Chinatown, and it's speckled with technology.
There are computer screens in front of every chair for the defense table and the prosecution table. The witness box has a screen. The jury each has a screen in front of them. The gallery also has at least one screen to see what's being presented to the jury. Basically, as they're kind of hearing this evidence being described by the witnesses, the jury gets to see this immediately in front of them.
They get to see it with their own eyes. And when it comes actually to the point of deliberations, they get to see this all over again. The jury will be sent into the deliberations room with a binder full of evidence or a laptop full of every single exhibit that's been admitted over the course of the trial.
Evidence is at the ready for them and a good prosecutor can really enhance their direct examination using this evidence at times to kind of give their witness more credibility, to preempt a line of attack that the defense may make to cast doubt on that testimony.
It's one area, particularly with this case, where there is so much evidence, where there are tons of photos and text messages and emails, where the prosecution kind of has a leg up here because they can build off this testimony with all of this material.
And one interesting thing I found about this case especially is that they put on privacy screens onto the TVs of the jurors. So I would analogize it similar to the privacy screens you have on a cell phone. You can see it if you're looking directly at the phone. You cannot see if you're looking at it from an angle.
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Chapter 5: What types of exhibits have been introduced so far?
I see what Peter is saying here. Why not just put the witnesses in a more linear order? Well, it's not always possible given witnesses' schedules and travel needs. Plus, the ordering might also create a foundation of evidence and testimony for later witnesses to build on or corroborate. Let's take a short break.
But when we come back, some of the biggest moments in the Sean Combs trial this week, including the defense team's request for a mistrial.
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Breathe in. This is safe. We take you back to a core trauma. Breathe in. Breathe out. She is manipulating us. Breathe in. Breathe out. Why are you resisting? Is it too late to get a refund?
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Hello, it's Robin Roberts here. Hey guys, it's George Stephanopoulos here. Hey everybody, it's Michael Strahan here. Wake up with Good Morning America.
Robin, George, Michael, GMA. America's favorite number one morning show. The morning's first breaking news. Exclusive interviews. What everyone will be talking about that day. Put some good in your morning and start your day with GMA.
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Chapter 6: How does the defense counter the prosecution's evidence?
Why was that a big deal and why ask for a mistrial there?
Let's give a little bit of context as to how this came about. There are no allegations that the person who committed the arson or allegedly committed the arson was inside the home, but it was explained to us there was a prior event that had a burglary in the home. They took those fingerprints, they made fingerprint cards, and they stored them as evidence. Now,
Evidence gets destroyed all the time. A case gets resolved. The person's found guilty. The case is done. The lead investigator says this person is no longer a suspect. There are many reasons why evidence gets destroyed. But when a case or an investigation is still ongoing, that's supposed to be saved.
It's supposed to be saved for some 10, 20, how many ever years until the lead investigator decides that it no longer is necessary to keep. And the lead investigator who was on the stand is saying, I did not ask for it to be destroyed. No one contacted me saying it was supposed to be destroyed.
And the issue here was, I think in my opinion, and I think the judge agreed too, that at that point, the conversation should have been done. They did an investigation, they collected evidence, it was destroyed, they don't know why, and then move on.
But the government kept going and kept going to the point that it seemed like a very strong insinuation that it's very unusual for this piece of evidence to be destroyed. And so I think the government got far too dangerously close to that implication. But that question of it being unusual is never answered. And so the judge ultimately said, we're going to strike this line of questioning.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of the 2016 incident in the trial?
We're going to give what's called a curative instruction, meaning we're going to tell the jury that this line of questioning as to the loss or destruction of this evidence has no bearing or relevance as to this defendant. And then we're going to move on.
But I think as the judge hinted, if that question was answered and depending on what the answer was, we could have been very dangerous in a mistrial predicament for the government and probably something that the defense would have very much liked.
Interesting. Moving for a mistrial. Is that a particularly unusual thing to see during a trial?
Oh, you always move for a mistrial.
You guys love asking for mistrials.
Yes. Yes. I ask for mistrials like I ask for seconds at dinner. I'm always going to ask. The reason why you do it is because nine times out of 10, you're not going to get it. But you make the mistrial motion because on appeal, that might be the reason why a case gets reversed. And another example would be Harvey Weinstein.
You made the argument as to too many alleged victims or people who are prior bad act witnesses testifying. You don't win that argument at trial, but on appeal, the case comes back. So you always make those motions. Celebrity stylist Deontay Nash also took the stand.
He testified to alleged control, coercion, and violence in Diddy's relationship with Cassie, something that is the bedrock of that sex trafficking charge that Sean Combs is facing two counts of. But what stood out to you from his testimony?
I guess what stood out to me was kind of how we're beginning to see some of this evidence go full circle here, right? Because we heard about, for example, this one incident where basically Combs rushed into her room. He found her sleeping, was frustrated because she was supposed to be packing for a music festival and basically became violent. It became bloody very quickly.
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Chapter 8: How does the jury perceive overwhelming evidence?
Here, it looks a little chaotic, but here, this is government exhibit B247A. This came in during Ventura's testimony. She described this same incident that we heard about on Wednesday, and the jury saw what is one of the more graphic pieces of evidence in this case. You can see kind of the gash on her eyebrow.
And the testimony on Wednesday talked about how bloody this was, how Combs got frustrated and freaked out, if anything, after he realized how bloody he had caused by throwing Ventura into this bed frame.
And for the jury, again, to a jury that might be skeptical of victim testimony in a sex trafficking case, stuff like this, where you not only have one victim testifying about this, but you also have another person corroborating that account, and you have evidence that documents what exactly is being talked about, that can go a long way for the prosecution.
Peter, it is always a pleasure, whether I'm seeing you in the halls of ABC or reading an email. Thank you for taking the time to come and talk with us on Bad Rap. My pleasure. Thanks for having me, Brian. That's it for this episode of Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy. If you have any questions for me, I'd love to hear them. So give us a call at 929-388-1249.
You might even hear me answer your question on the air. If you appreciate this coverage, please share it and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Thanks for listening. And if you're looking for even more coverage of the Diddy Trial, you can check out our new daily show, Burden of Proof, The Case Against Diddy. The show streams weekdays at 5.30 p.m. Eastern on ABC News Live.
You can also find it on Disney+, Hulu, or on most of your favorite streaming apps. Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy is a production of ABC Audio. I'm Brian Buckmeyer. The podcast production team includes Vika Aronson, Nancy Rosenbaum, Audrey Mostek, Amira Williams, Tracy Samuelson, and Sasha Aslanian.
Special thanks to Stephanie Maurice, Caitlin Morris, Liz Alessi, Katie Dendas, and the team at ABC News Live. Michelle Margulis is our operations manager. Josh Cohan is ABC Audio's director of podcast programming. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.
Hello, it's Robin Roberts here. Hey guys, it's George Stephanopoulos here. Hey everybody, it's Michael Strahan here. Wake up with Good Morning America.
Robin, George, Michael, GMA. America's favorite number one morning show. The morning's first breaking news. Exclusive interviews. What everyone will be talking about that day. Put some good in your morning and start your day with GMA.
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