Combs's team has said the allegation is "baseless," but the witness -- a friend of Cassie Ventura's -- also testified that Combs once got close to her face and said, "I'm the devil and I could kill you." She'll face more cross-examination tomorrow, and then the prosecution's last key witness will take the stand.If you want to read NBC's coverage of the trial, check out our newsletter, “Diddy On Trial”: NBCNews.com/Diddy
Chapter 1: What is the focus of the Sean Combs trial?
This is On Trial, a special series from Dateline True Crime Weekly, bringing you daily coverage from the Sean Combs racketeering trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. I'm Andrea Canning, and it's Wednesday, June 4th. Just a heads up, in this episode, we're going to be talking about some graphic details and harrowing subject matter.
Chapter 2: Who is Breonna Bongolin and what did she testify about?
Today, federal prosecutors called the eighth witness they've had to subpoena to testify against Sean Combs. Some of his personal assistants, a hotel security guard, and now Breonna Bongolin. She had been a close friend of Cassie Ventura's. On the stand, Breonna told the jury that Combs once told her he was the devil and that he terrified her.
NBC News correspondent Chloe Malas is in downtown Manhattan to get us up to speed. Hey, Chloe. Hey, Andrea. Hey, Conor. Okay, so tell us about Breonna and who she is to Sean Combs.
So she's a fashion and graphic designer, and she partied with Diddy. They worked together, and there has been a lot of anticipation about her testifying.
Breonna testified under an immunity agreement. Chloe, what do you know about this agreement?
Chapter 3: What details did Breonna share under her immunity agreement?
Well, she testified about doing illegal drugs with Diddy and Cassie and about getting those drugs and sometimes getting paid back for them by the couple.
So, you know, this is something that we've seen with other witnesses taking the stand, granted immunity by the government so that, look, you can say whatever your truth is as long as it's the truth and you're not going to be held legally accountable for anything. Her demeanor was very subdued. Very, almost breathless. At times, it was almost like a whisper.
I can only imagine just how hard it is for some of these people, especially the ones who are being subpoenaed, to get up there and take the stand. How does Breonna's testimony help the prosecution's case?
Chapter 4: How does Breonna's testimony assist the prosecution?
Prosecutors are trying to show that there was this pattern of violence. They're trying to corroborate Cassie and other victims' allegations of physical and sexual abuse. And when it comes to Breonna, she's testifying that... She saw Diddy be violent towards Cassie and that, you know, also she experienced violence from him.
So it goes into that coercion element that you need for the sex trafficking.
And she, according to the prosecution, provides some evidence of drug distribution allegations, which could go toward the charges against him.
Right. When it comes to racketeering conspiracy, there are these predicate crimes that we've talked about that have to be proven, at least two of them. And she is not the first person to testify that Diddy allegedly had people procuring drugs for him.
During Breonna's testimony, she describes some unsettling moments with Sean Combs. Tell us about some of them.
So this was something that I had never heard before, Andrea. She described an incident in her testimony today in which Diddy was upset, and he actually came into Cassie's apartment and threw a knife at her. And it didn't hit her, but then Cassie throws the knife back, not hitting him, and then Diddy swiftly leaving. But this is just... another window into this incredibly violent relationship.
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Chapter 5: What violent incidents did Breonna describe involving Diddy?
And you're just hearing more and more incidents as the case goes on. Yeah. Tell us about the devil. Well, it sounds like a movie. I've said that to you repeatedly. Brianna testified that at one point Diddy said to her, I am the devil and I can kill you. She says that at the time she was taking cocaine and she testified that she was terrified.
You know, Diddy would allegedly come over late at night. He would just show up unannounced to Cassie's apartment. banging on the door really loudly.
Brianna also testified that Combs would be watching Cassie in the sense of, like, always knowing where she is, that kind of thing.
Right. So we've heard other witnesses allege that Diddy put a tracking device on Cassie's car and things like that. And although we don't have proof of it, when you're hearing Brianna testify that, I mean, he literally knew where they were on this one particular day. He sent them all of the places where they were, that they were out shopping, getting their nails done.
And it made them feel, according to her testimony, terrified.
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Chapter 6: What chilling statement did Diddy allegedly make to Breonna?
There's a balcony incident associated with Breonna. Can you tell us about that?
So we first learned all of these details, Andrea, in her civil suit, which she filed in 2024. And in that suit, she talked about Diddy dangling her off of a 17th floor balcony and that this took place one night while Diddy was in a state of rage. He was banging on Cassie's apartment door and And she actually was sleeping in the living room with her girlfriend. She was crashing at Cassie's.
And she actually told her girlfriend to go in the bathroom and motioned for her to be quiet because she knew that Diddy had a propensity for violence. And so she opened the door. She let him in. And she went onto the balcony. And Diddy came up behind her. And, you know, to put this into perspective, she testified, I'm 5'1". And he comes up behind her and lifts her up above his chest.
And she actually gestured this during her testimony today saying, look, I weighed about 100 to 115 pounds and my feet were on the rail. And she testified, I was trying not to slip pushing back on him because I was scared I was going to fall. And for a second, I thought I was going to fall. And he was yelling at me and he kept saying, you know what the F you did.
And she said, I had no idea what he was talking about. And that he was holding her, she testified, for 10 to 15 seconds. And I mean, look, in the news business, Andrea, you and I know that three seconds, four seconds, five seconds can feel like an eternity.
Do we know why Breonna is saying that Sean Combs held her over this balcony? She still doesn't seem to know what he was so upset about.
Has Sean Combs responded to this allegation? So she filed a civil suit in November of 2024. This is a year after Cassie had filed her explosive suit. And she claimed false imprisonment and emotional distress because of that alleged balcony incident. Diddy had already been arrested at this point, and he put out a statement via his team saying that
he was confident that they would ultimately prove that all of these allegations were baseless. She also testified today that she was working with a previous attorney and that person no longer represents her, that they had sent demand letters to Diddy, which is really common when you file a civil suit. And she actually said that
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Chapter 7: What is the balcony incident involving Breonna?
That around that time, she got a FaceTime from a really good friend of hers who was a music producer who was also friends with Cassie. He was sitting in Diddy's backyard and calling on behalf of Diddy, trying to talk about settling with her. And she said no. What is the status of her suit? So it's still ongoing and she's seeking $10 million in damages.
And you're hearing this refrain over and over during this trial from Diddy's defense team saying that this is all about money when it comes to these victims testifying. It's a money grab.
All right. Some more powerful testimony, Chloe. When we come back, the defense team tries to poke holes in Brianna's testimony. And we've got a little nugget for you about the surveillance video at the heart of the case. So the defense team started their cross-examination of Breonna by coming out hard against her and Cassie's drug use.
This isn't the first time Cassie's drug use has come up in court.
Correct. So, I mean, we heard Breonna testify that she did a bunch of different drugs. You did ecstasy. She did cocaine with Diddy. This is something that the defense is trying to do in an effort to poke holes in the credibility of these individuals, saying if you were on drugs, then how do you remember these incidents so clearly then? Right. Is this revisionist history?
How else did the defense try to undermine Brianna's testimony?
One of the other things that the defense pointed out is that Cassie, according to Brianna's testimony, was in the other room as this alleged incident took place with her being dangled over the balcony by Diddy. And so what they were saying is Cassie never saw you get hung over the balcony. Right. Did she? And she even testified that she did not see this happen.
And Breonna, when she was on the stand, simply said, I don't remember.
The defense also talked about Breonna's meeting with prosecutors leading up to the trial. What were they trying to get at there?
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