The Diddy Trial: A New Note from Jurors!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial

Episode: The Diddy Trial: A New Note from Jurors!

Release Date: July 1, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, hosts Amy Robach and TJ Holmes provide an in-depth update on the ongoing trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. As the first full day of jury deliberations unfolds, the hosts dissect the latest developments, jurors' interactions, and the complex legal nuances surrounding the case.

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Jury Deliberations Begin

The episode kicks off with TJ Holmes announcing the commencement of jury deliberations on Tuesday, July 1. Within the first hour, the jury has already been active, sending multiple notes requesting clarifications and additional information.

Notable Quote:

TJ Holmes [00:40]: "And sure enough, this morning, within an hour we heard from, from the jury."

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Jurors' Engagement and Inquisitiveness

Amy Robach emphasizes the positive aspect of the jurors' active engagement, highlighting their inquisitive nature as a sign of their commitment to understanding the case thoroughly.

Notable Quote:

Amy Robach [01:12]: "Yes, and I love that they're inquisitive and asking questions because it shows they want to make sure that they're understanding things clearly and fully."

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Interaction with Diddy's Family

The hosts discuss a poignant moment involving Diddy and his mother. Observers noted a heartfelt exchange where Diddy reassured his mother amidst the trial's tension.

Notable Quote:

Amy Robach [02:28]: "He told her he liked her outfit... I'm gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."

Additionally, there was a development where Diddy's sister and youngest daughter joined him in court, indicating the family's active presence and support during the trial.

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Legal Complexities: Understanding Racketeering

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the legal framework of racketeering (RICO) charges against Diddy. The hosts delve into the intricacies of what constitutes racketeering, emphasizing that it requires the commission of at least two specific crimes in collaboration with others.

Key Points:

• Definition of Racketeering: Involves crimes like kidnapping, arson, bribery, forced labor, and more.
• Necessity of Co-Conspiracy: Racketeering charges necessitate that the accused worked with at least one other person within their "enterprise."

Notable Quotes:

Amy Robach [04:12]: "This is a complicated case. This is not. Did he do it? Did he not do it? This is so much more than that."

Amy Robach [14:56]: "He had to conspire with someone in any of those crimes you just listed off. He couldn't have done it on his own because that wouldn't be racketeering."

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Jurors' Focus on Specific Testimonies

The jurors have expressed a desire to review key testimonies and transcripts, particularly those involving Cassie Ventura and Daniel Phillip. These testimonies relate to incidents at the Intercontinental and Essex Hotel, which are pivotal to the case.

Requested Testimonies:

1. Cassie Ventura's Testimony on the Intercontinental Incident: Including surveillance videos.
2. Cassie Ventura's Accounts of Events at Cannes: Detailing interactions and conflicts with Diddy.
3. Daniel Phillip's Testimony on the Essex Hotel Incident: Addressing allegations of physical altercations and inability to continue performances.

Notable Quote:

Amy Robach [11:03]: "They are asking for key testimony transcripts... specifically, they want to see Cassie Ventura's testimony regarding the Intercontinental incident."

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Incidents in the Jury Room: The Case of Juror #25

A notable event occurred involving Juror #25, who seemingly decided not to participate in deliberations, leaving the other jurors to continue without his input. The hosts speculate on the implications of this development, pondering whether it signifies pre-judgment or a lack of willingness to engage in the collective decision-making process.

Notable Quote:

Amy Robach [16:35]: "I cannot think of another explanation other than he had just already made up his mind and did not want to have a conversation."

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Anticipated Verdict and Ongoing Deliberations

With the Fourth of July approaching, the hosts discuss the possibility of the trial concluding before the holiday due to time constraints. However, given the complexity of the charges and the detailed deliberations so far, they acknowledge that a verdict could come at any moment.

Notable Quote:

TJ Holmes [17:19]: "I'm holding my breath, it seems, because a verdict can come any moment in this trial."

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Conclusion

Robach and Holmes wrap up the episode by assuring listeners of their commitment to providing timely updates as the trial progresses. They reflect on the gravity of the jury's responsibility and the intense scrutiny the defense team faces amidst the unfolding events.

Notable Quote:

Amy Robach [17:54]: "I can't even imagine what that would be like when your life is on the line."

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a comprehensive overview of the early stages of jury deliberations in the Diddy trial, shedding light on both procedural developments and the human elements intertwined with the legal battle. Robach and Holmes adeptly navigate the complexities of racketeering charges, providing listeners with valuable insights into the case's progression and the challenges faced by both the prosecution and defense teams.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements and non-content segments to focus solely on the substantive discussions pertinent to the Diddy trial.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

This is an Iheart podcast.

[TJ Holmes]

Ugh.

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is Tuesday, July 1, and the first full day of deliberations is underway in the Diddy trial. And sure enough, this morning, within an hour we heard from, from the jury. Once again, welcome to this Diddy update episode of Amy and TJ Robes. It is. This jury keeps it interesting. But they've sent another note. We'll give the details about there at least three notes they've sent with some kind of either problem or question.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[TJ Holmes]

But what do we. Isn't this a good sign that they're taking this seriously?

[Amy Robach]

Yes, and I love that they're inquisitive and asking questions because it shows. They want to make sure that they're understanding things clearly and fully. And so, yes, three notes with questions, two notes with just letting the judge know who the four person was and when they wanted to end the day. But yeah, five notes total, three with questions in just what, six and a half, seven hours of deliberation so far. So that is a pretty active jury who is engaging directly with the judge quite often.

[TJ Holmes]

Well, they, and again, it's, it's like yesterday we got a note within an hour today or in about an hour today we actually got the note within an hour. And this just, I was just struck by. Wow. They've only been there chatting it up for a short time. They came with very specific things that they wanted this morning. But before any of that either had could even take place, we did like we say, usually there's some housekeeping in the, in the courtroom before the jury actually gets going. We had that again. But it was interesting robes that today a couple of notes from the folks in the courtroom that we keep up with on a personal note from Diddy having to do with his family, the lack of family and frankly, what sounds like a sweet moment with his mom.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, he told her he liked her outfit, did he not? He said he loved what she was wearing. It's a green and white zebra looking outfit. But yeah, he was able to whisper in her ear and he Told her, basically, it's. I'm gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah, he sounded. It sounded sweet. It sounded reassuring. Look, we're only doing it. We can only do this by reading comments from reporters in the room. But a couple of them took note that he had more of an interaction with his mom. However, he only has. His mom was the only one in the courtroom today. At first, I believe the sister. Right.

[Amy Robach]

His sister has now just shown up with his mom to. For this reading of this latest note that the jury sent. So they came back. They had been hanging out in the cafeteria, I believe, and so they came up to be there with him. But yet. We actually went by the courthouse earlier this morning, and it is active outside. Folks are waiting anxiously, it seems, outside of the courtroom. So, yeah, it's been. It's been an active day. But the courtroom itself, they say fewer people are inside the actual courtroom today. Understandably so.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. I mean, it's supposed to be boring because it's supposed to be no action in court. The judge comes in, he gobbles everybody to order. Welcome to the jury. Go do your work. And then we wait. So all we're doing is sitting and waiting. All Diddy is doing is sitting and waiting at the courthouse in a holding cell with his books that he's allowed to have. But this is a waiting game. This now, the back and forth with the lawyers to answer the questions. Robe's other point here, before we get into these, before we get into the notes that they did send, this seems to be taking time, like it's drawing deliberations that were already expected to not go that quickly. It seems like we're losing a lot of time on notes already.

[Amy Robach]

That's right. But honestly, you and I have talked about it. We looked at as much as we could. We read the judge's instructions to the jury. This is a complicated case. This is not. Did he do it? Did he not do it? This is so much more than that. And each charge is very specific and hard to grasp what is what. So the language they're having issue with, some of the. At least that was the question that they gave the judge before they broke deliberations yesterday. And it was the question that they had to answer this morning first thing. And it was about what it means to distribute drugs. I mean, it's.

[TJ Holmes]

It.

[Amy Robach]

It is a little unclear.

[TJ Holmes]

So that's. Yes, that's how the day started. They sent a note yesterday. Yes. Because we were. We debated right here about it. Right. If I go get drugs from this person, and then they're for my personal use, and then I'm hanging out with somebody else and said, hey, you want one of my pills? And give it to that person. Am I a drug distributor? The prosecutors essentially are saying, hell, yeah. But the jury asked that question, and this morning, before things got started, the judge did give the official response.

[Amy Robach]

That's right. Well, it's funny you say that, because the prosecution asked that the judge just simply respond to that question with a yes. The defense, not so much. They wanted to refer the jury back to a full set of instructions and other parts of the charge. Kind of confusing. The judge said, okay, here's what I'm going to do. So he told the jury to refer Back to page 37, lines 1 through 3 of its jury charge. And then he quoted the language from the instruction. So here is what they said. This is what the judge told the jury. The word distribution means actual, constructive or attempted transfer. To distribute simply means to deliver, to pass over, or to hand over something to another person or cause it to be delivered, passed on, or handed over to another. Distribution does not require a sale. I thought that was really interesting.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay. Yeah. Once you got to the end, I was confused up to that. Like, what does all that mean? And they're having to figure this out. I don't know. I could take it word for word. Actual constructive or attempted transfer.

[Amy Robach]

Like, even if I. If I try to give you a pill, that still counts as me being a distributor, even if you didn't take it or if you didn't want it.

[TJ Holmes]

Fine. What's a constructive transfer?

[Amy Robach]

It actually was something that happened. There was. There was a. There was something that happened from the transfer. You actually received the pill. That would be how I read that.

[TJ Holmes]

What if I caused it to be passed on?

[Amy Robach]

You told someone else, hey, give. If I told a friend of mine, hey, give this pill to T.J. okay.

[TJ Holmes]

Here'S my next question. I would send. If I was sitting the jury, can we ask this? Am I a distributor if I never touch the drug? If I tell my guy, go pick up these drugs, he comes back to the room with the stuff, and then he gives a pill to my. That would be my next question.

[Amy Robach]

The way I read it, the answer is yes to that. Because you are causing it to be delivered, passed on, or handed over to an another. Not necessarily directly by your hand, but you've caused the transfer to happen. You've ordered or asked for the transfer.

[TJ Holmes]

To happen, and this is what they're trying to figure out.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah.

[TJ Holmes]

And to possibly send this man to jail for the rest of his life. They're having to figure that out. Now it's feeling weightier and weightier that it comes down to nuance and legalese and one pill and my understanding and comprehension of the law and your understanding and comprehension.

[Amy Robach]

And.

[TJ Holmes]

And you're a deli clerk, and I'm a molecular biologist. And the guy down at the end there is a retired banker, and this one over here is an analyst, and you're from Westchester and I'm from the Bronx. This is what you're trying to get on the same page about this? You've been my best friend for five years. You and I are not going to see eye to eye on this. I'm saying, even sitting here with you, we can't come to. Okay, I get it. Oh, that makes sense. Oh, I see now. It seems just.

[Amy Robach]

It seems ridiculous when you think about how many times in your life, if you even just put it to, like, alcohol or something else you're giving someone, suddenly now you're committing some. Some racketeering charge that could put you away for the rest of your life because you handed something to someone or you told someone to give someone something that may or may not be illegal. That's something that a lot of folks will take to heart and. And probably personalize and humanize. And so I know they're not supposed to do that. This is supposed to be about the law. But that law is. Is not something that I think most people are familiar with. It is a law that just seems like the punishment is fairly intense given what the alleged crime is.

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[Amy Robach]

So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to.

[TJ Holmes]

There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond and.

[Amy Robach]

Left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think, in the New York Daily News. It's teddy Escapes blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you the story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president?

[TJ Holmes]

Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control.

[Amy Robach]

And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal.

[TJ Holmes]

The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it.

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[TJ Holmes]

Every week we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family.

[Amy Robach]

Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[TJ Holmes]

Oh. So we answered that question for the jury this morning when they first got started. Sends them back to deliberate and what was it? 45 minutes, I believe. Later they get another note and they were very specific about what they wanted in the note. So this is the fresh note now that we got from the jury today, about 45 minutes into deliberations. And they wanted to hear robes from two people in particular.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, they are asking for key testimony transcripts. Yes, this happened around 10:15 this morning. It's taken a while for it to all take place in court because they had to bring Diddy back into court. His mother, his sister, and by the way, his youngest daughter I just saw is back in court today with them as well. So he's got three members of his family. But everyone had to get seated again, the defense and the prosecution. So finally, this is what the jury said. They would like to see the specific transcripts of. Number one, they want to see Cassie Ventura's testimony regarding the Intercontinental incident. That of course is the. The surveillance video that we've all seen. Number two, they want to see Cassie Ventura's testimony, concerns about the events at Cannes and the immediate and what happened afterwards. So they want to hear what she testified to about what happened when she and Diddy went to Cannes. They also want Ventura's testimony regarding interactions and freak offs, specifically with the male escort, Daniel Phillip.

[TJ Holmes]

Why?

[Amy Robach]

And then they want Daniel Phillips testimony regarding the Essex Hotel incident with Ventur. Because I believe that is the moment in which he said she didn't want to continue the freak off he heard. He claims he testified, did he slapping her around? There was some beating going on. And then he told her to get back in and continue the freak off. And that's when Daniel Phillips said he couldn't actually perform because of what he witnessed. He just wasn't able to get heart, basically.

[TJ Holmes]

So I don't know why. I mean, just. It is fascinating to think of what's happening in the jury room that they are focused on this particular guy.

[Amy Robach]

It's racketeering still, I believe, because they're trying. This is either kidnapping or this is sex trafficking within the racketeering charge. Because that those are two of the. Or coercion, forced labor is another one of the crimes that could fit the racketeering. So it could be any of those things.

[TJ Holmes]

And it is fair to say. I mean, we don't know how they're working in there, but does it make. It makes sense that they would do this one at a time. Right. Right now it's all racketeering.

[Amy Robach]

Right?

[TJ Holmes]

Right. We haven't gotten to the other four. It seems, again, we don't know what's in German.

[Amy Robach]

It seems like they're checking off the racketeering charges to see if there's enough to fit. Right. So the drug charges, whether it's forced labor or sex trafficking or coercion, one of those things, because I had to go back and look what happened in Cannes. But there were two parts to her testimony about can One, she talked about getting kicked off the yacht without shoes and without her passport because she and Diddy got into a fight over her. He claimed she stole drugs from him. But then there was also something she spoke about in the flight on the way home from Cannes, where she claimed that she saw him watching videos of a freak off with her that she thought he had deleted and showing them to other people in a way that made her feel intimidated. So it could be either one or both of that part of her testimony.

[TJ Holmes]

Again, reminder, he's. They have to prove, they have to be convinced that he committed crimes that he's actually not charged with. That sounds crazy, but to be convicted of racketeering, they have to be convinced you committed at least two of this long list of other crimes. And so they're having to go through and check off did he do kidnapping, arse, arson, bribery, forced labor, transportation, to engage in prostitution, possession with the intent to distribute, witness tampering? They have to go through and say he did he do at least two of these with one other person.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[TJ Holmes]

If so, he's guilty of racketeering and he could possibly go to jail the rest of his life.

[Amy Robach]

Right. And that is the other key. He had to conspire with someone in any of those crimes you just listed off. He couldn't have done it on his own because that wouldn't be racketeering. He has to do it with someone within his enterprise, as the prosecution has called it. So that's even more confusing even if you could say, okay, we think he did one or two or several of these things, it wouldn't matter. They have to actually believe and see that he did it with a co conspirator. That's wild to me. That's why that specific charge, which again carries the longest prison term, life in prison up to life in prison, is a bizarre crime that I don't think a lot of us understand because it almost feels like a trumped up charge. And I know it's a charge that they use in mob bosses and, and other, but it just isn't one that I think many of us are very familiar with.

[TJ Holmes]

We hear about it, right? I hear about it plenty. And nobody could ever a RICO case of Sean Diddy Combs. It just. This is what they're trying to piece. Look, the law is law. And they have used this before in ways that this RICO statute that has nothing to do with mob bars, prosecutors have been using. Hey, R. Kelly is sitting in jail right now with a racketeering charge. So they have used it before. It's just, it's, it's hard and it's fascinating here to try to piece together. This all has come about today after yesterday's. I don't want to call it rocky. It was a little bizarre, but I don't know what to make of it. But it seems that everything is calmed down. We haven't heard anything more about juror number 25.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, we have not gotten an update. It seems as though, I guess this is one of those moments where you just figure no news is good news, that somehow they figured it out because right away there must have just been a turbulent start OR Juror number 25, for whatever reason, the other jurors felt like he was not willing to play nice or he wasn't willing to deliberate or he wasn't willing to participate in what they believed was what the judge told them to do, which was to actually sit down and try to work things out. And maybe he had already made up his mind. That was our best guess. I can't wait to hear one of the jurors come out and explain what exactly was going on with juror number 25. Because I cannot think of another explanation other than he had just already made up his mind and did not want to have a conversation.

[TJ Holmes]

The judge, you know, sent him back, said, you all keep doing your thing. And they have continued to do so. But we, I don't know. I'm holding my breath, it seems, because a verdict can come any moment in this trial. Any moment. But then every note that I've seen so Far, like, wow, they're nowhere close. It almost seems like they're just getting started. I know that. Well, they kind of are. But. But yesterday with the jury issue and then today with these, some of these questions, they are. I do not envy this group. So this is all civic duty we're all supposed to do. This is a responsibility. And they are serving right now.

[Amy Robach]

They certainly are. And I, I can't help but wonder what the Diddy defense team is thinking right now, because everyone always tries to read the tea leaves about where the jurors are with the questions they ask or the transcripts they want to see. And I don't know if this feels scary to them, if this is reassuring to them. I can't even imagine what this. Every single little bit of, of information that comes down has to just be so jarring for the team, for Diddy, for his mother even. That's why he said, you know, calm down, it's going to be all right. But I just can't imagine what that would be like when your life is on the line.

[TJ Holmes]

All right, well, folks, we are keeping a very close eye on it. A reminder, the jury Yesterday left at 5. That was their. Their choice. But the judge said he was going to leave it up to them when they wanted to and how they wanted to work during the day so we could expect them possibly to keep bankers hours. They're going to work nine to five, it seems, every single day. But man, Fourth of July is coming and that's got to be a motivating factor for this group.

[Amy Robach]

It has to be. It certainly has to be. But we of course, will keep our eye on that Manhattan courthouse and we will jump in, jump back on your feed if there are any updates to give you. But until. Want to thank you for listening to us. I'm Amy Robach on behalf of my partner, TJ Holmes. Hope you all have a great day.

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[Amy Robach]

This is an Iheart podcast.