Sean Combs: Defense begins its cross-examination of "Jane."

Summary

Dateline: True Crime Weekly – Episode: Sean Combs: Defense begins its cross-examination of "Jane"

Release Date: June 11, 2025
Host: Andrea Canning, NBC News
Episode Theme: Examination of the defense's cross-examination of "Jane" in the Sean Combs racketeering trial.

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Dateline: True Crime Weekly, host Andrea Canning delves into the intense developments of the Sean Combs racketeering trial. Released on June 11, 2025, the episode focuses on the defense's strategic cross-examination of "Jane," a pivotal witness in the case.

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Background of the Case

Sean Combs, a high-profile figure, stands trial for racketeering charges, pleading not guilty to all allegations. Central to the prosecution's case is Jane, a woman who testified under a pseudonym, alleging both emotional and physical abuse during her relationship with Combs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024.

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Cross-Examination of Jane

Defense's Approach:

The defense team, led by Tenny Garagos (daughter of renowned attorney Mark Garagos), commenced their cross-examination by addressing the foundational aspects of Jane's testimony.

• Financial Dependence:
  Tenny questioned Jane about the financial support Combs continues to provide, highlighting that he is still paying her rent and legal fees.
  "Combs is paying your legal fees. Yes. He's also paying your rent." (05:20)

• Immunity and Cooperation:
  The defense emphasized that Jane was granted immunity by the government, shedding light on her initial reluctance to cooperate.
  "Jane was granted immunity by the government. She testified that she didn't initially want to cooperate and speak with them." (05:20)

• Emotional Manipulation:
  The defense probed into Jane's ongoing feelings for Combs, revealing a complex emotional dynamic.
  "In the end, you loved him. Yes. And currently, I do." (07:17)

Details of the Testimony:

Jane's testimony painted a vivid picture of the tumultuous relationship:

• Alleged Physical Abuse:
  Jane recounted a brutal incident where Combs allegedly assaulted her during a fight at her Los Angeles home in June. She described being placed in a chokehold and lifted off the ground, portraying a scene of extreme violence.
  "He literally knocked one of the doors off its hinges. That's when she ran to a closet... he had her in a chokehold." (02:34)

• Struggles with Combs' Lifestyle:
  Jane expressed her discomfort with Combs' polyamorous lifestyle, referring to him derogatorily and resisting his infatuation with significantly younger partners.
  "She admitted that she called him a pedophile. She was very upset that he was dating someone that was 25, 27 years younger than him." (02:34)

• Hotel Nights and Sexual Fetishes:
  The defense aimed to reframe the nature of Jane's and Combs' "hotel nights," suggesting they were consensual and part of a sexual fetish rather than evidence of sex trafficking.
  "She found that one of the reasons why he might enjoy watching her get pleasure with these male escorts is that perhaps he was bicurious and that he wasn't ready to explore that physically himself." (14:48)

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Emotional Dynamics and Defense Strategies

Complex Relationship Dynamics:

The courtroom atmosphere revealed the intricate and emotionally charged relationship between Jane and Combs. While Jane testified about the abuse, there were moments suggesting lingering affection, complicating the narrative.

• Acts of Care Post-Conflict:
  Jane described her efforts to reconcile after conflicts, including pampering Combs and indulging in his favorite TV show, Dateline.
  "Jane said dateline. It's just, wow." (11:21)

• Defense's Psychological Angle:
  The defense hinted at Combs' potential substance abuse issues, suggesting that it might have impaired his judgment and actions. They plan to introduce expert testimonies to portray Combs as a troubled individual needing help.
  "She believed that Combs was a drug addict... his hands were shaking, she believes due to alcoholism." (12:28)
  "They are going to try to lean heavily on him not being in the right state of mind." (13:57)

Jane's Continued Affection:

Despite her allegations, Jane admitted to still loving Combs, a point highlighted by the defense to portray emotional manipulation.

• "She loves him. Yes. And she said, yes. And then Tenny Garrigo says, currently, I do." (07:17)

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Insights and Analysis

The defense's cross-examination strategy appears multifaceted:

1. Financial Leverage: By highlighting Combs' financial support, the defense raises questions about Jane's motives and possible coercion, suggesting her testimony may be influenced by ongoing financial ties.

2. Emotional Complexity: Acknowledging Jane's lingering affection introduces doubt about her objectivity and the reliability of her testimony, potentially swaying the jury's perception.

3. Reframing Allegations: By positioning the "hotel nights" as consensual fetish-related activities rather than evidence of sex trafficking, the defense seeks to diminish the severity of the accusations.

4. Psychological Defense: Introducing Combs' alleged substance abuse issues aims to provide context for his behavior, possibly invoking sympathy or at least mitigating his culpability in the eyes of the court.

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Conclusion

This episode of Dateline: True Crime Weekly provides an in-depth look into the defense's tactical maneuvering during Sean Combs' trial. Through Jane's testimony and the subsequent cross-examination, the complexities of personal relationships, financial dependencies, and emotional dynamics are brought to the forefront, painting a nuanced picture of the case. As the trial progresses, listeners can anticipate further revelations and strategic plays that will continue to shape the narrative surrounding Sean Combs.

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Notable Quotes:

• "He literally knocked one of the doors off its hinges. That's when she ran to a closet." — Jane (02:34)
• "In the end, you loved him. Yes. And currently, I do." — Jane (07:17)
• "He was violent, but he did not sex traffic these women." — Tenny Garagos (04:07)
• "She still loves him. Yes. That was such a big moment." — Chloe Melas on Jane's testimony (07:17)
• "He is a broken human being who needed help and never got the help that he needed." — Analysis of potential defense strategy (13:57)

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Stay Informed: For continuous updates and in-depth analysis from the courtroom, subscribe to the NBC Newsletter or visit nbcnews.com.

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Produced by Franny Kelly with assistance from the Dateline True Crime Weekly team. Senior Producers: Alison Orr and Liz Brown Karloff. Original Music: Jesse McGinty. Executive Producer: Paul Ryan. Senior Executive Producer: Liz Cole.

Transcript

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[Andrea Canning]

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 Tuesday, June 10th. Just a heads up. In this episode, we're going to be talking about some graphic details and harrowing subject matter. Today the defense began its cross examination of Jane, the witness testifying under a pseudonym who dated Combs from 2021 until his arrest in September 2024. He is still paying her rent and for her lawyer, and today she testified that she still loves him. But yesterday's testimony ended with her recounting a brutal beating she says he inflicted. NBC News correspondent Chloe Melas has been in court today and she stepped outside to let us know how the defense is faring against Jane. Hey, Chloe.

[Chloe Melas]

Hey Andrea.

[Andrea Canning]

Chloe, let's start with the end of Jane's testimony from yesterday afternoon. She was telling a story while we were actually taping last night's episode for the podcast. She was talking about a fight she says she had with Combs at her home in LA last June, and it sounded really intense.

[Chloe Melas]

This was the first time that Jane testified about physical abuse during her relationship with Combs. And it was striking. There was so much jealousy in this relationship. And this is a common theme that we also heard from Cassie during her testimony. Right. That Combs is very open about living a polyamorous lifestyle. That's how he referred to it, that he had many lovers, many girlfriends, and he considered himself to be single. But the women that he was dating weren't always happy with that. And Jane, during her testimony, admitted that she called him a pedophile. She was very upset that he was dating someone that was 25, 27 years younger than him. And she testified that she actually started taking these pills of his and throwing them. And she was saying, I hate you. She threw candles at him, and he in turn got very upset. And that's when Jane testified that she tried to leave. And so she locked herself away in the master bedroom and that he was allegedly calling her effing crazy. And that's when she testified that he literally knocked one of the doors off its hinges. That's when she ran to a closet. She locked the closet door. And she testified, next thing you know, he had her in a chokehold. He actually lifted her up by her neck off the ground. She was on her tippy toes. And so this was incredibly dramatic. Right.

[Andrea Canning]

Has Combs gone on the record denying that he assaulted Jane?

[Chloe Melas]

We haven't heard a denial from Combs when it comes to the violence with Jane. During opening statements, though, Tenny Garagos, one of Combs attorneys who actually handled Jane's cross examination today, was very open about the fact that they take ownership, that Combs was violent, and he's not proud of that. They say he was violent, but he did not sex traffic these women. He was violent, but he did not participate in a RICO conspiracy scheme. They are acknowledging that he did perpetrate domestic violence.

[Andrea Canning]

That is the story of Jane and Sean Combs that the prosecution is leaving the jury with this morning. The defense began their cross of her. How did they start out?

[Chloe Melas]

Chloe Tenny Garagos led cross examination. She is the daughter of a very, very famous celebrity attorney Mark Garagos, who was in the courtroom. He actually is a former lawyer of Combs. So this is kind of like a all in the family affair. We know that Combs has known Tenny Garagos her entire life. She's the one who sits to next next to him on most days. He's always pulling her chair out for her when she comes up to the table.

[Andrea Canning]

And so she pointed out something really important right out of the gate.

[Chloe Melas]

Yeah. So Tenny Garagos is asking Jane about the fact that, you know, Combs is paying your legal fees. Yes. He's also paying your rent. She acknowledges that. She also points out that Jane was granted immunity by the government. And clearly, now we have a better idea of how Jane wound up on the stand. Officers from the Department of Homeland Security were the ones who actually found Jane. She testified that she didn't initially want to cooperate and speak with them, but then that's when they granted her immunity. And then she went and spoke before the grand jury. And here we are today.

[Andrea Canning]

The defense got into Jane's face feelings about Combs. I mean, it seems to me like they went pretty deep with her.

[Chloe Melas]

Andrea, this goes back to the complicated dynamic that you're seeing between Jane and Combs. They were dating right up until his arrest last year. This is very fresh. You know, it's only been months, Right. Not years like with Cassie, who's moved on, or some of these individuals that haven't, you know, seen him in years. And he was actually nodding along and smiling at different points. I think that this actually creates a lot of confusion.

[Andrea Canning]

Yeah. It was really surprising when I heard that. That he is still paying a lot of her bills.

[Chloe Melas]

She talked all about that she participated in these hotel nights because she loved Combs. She testified that she felt that her partner, meaning Combs, was trusting me in a vulnerable moment and made me believe that this was special because I. I was the only one doing these hotel nights with him. I'm paraphrasing here, but she also testified that she didn't want to judge him for the things that he liked. Now, Tenny Garrigo's really impressing her on that, saying, how did that trust make you feel? And Jane testified that she broke all of her own boundaries to make him feel loved in those times and that.

[Andrea Canning]

She still loves him. Right?

[Chloe Melas]

Yes. That was such a big moment, Andrea, because Tenny Gerrigo says, in the end, you loved him. Right. And she said, yes. And then Tenny Gergo says, currently, she says, I do.

[Andrea Canning]

Wow. It just seems like every day they. Like I said, they go deep in that courtroom, laying bare everyone's soul almost. It's crazy, right?

[Chloe Melas]

But again, did he force her into these hotel nights? Because there's also moments when Jane testified today saying that she. She hired some of these escorts without Combs telling her to do it. And that's because she said that she felt there was an expectation. But is an expectation being forced? Is that Enough to prove sex trafficking.

[Andrea Canning]

Yeah. It seems like the defense is making a case that the hotel nights weren't as bad as Jane is making them out to be.

[Chloe Melas]

Right. One of the things that Teddy Gargo spent a few minutes on Today was, okay, so there were some hotel nights where you guys were making small talk with these escorts to which Jane testified. Yes, we would talk for sometimes like 20, 30 minutes about their lives. She talked about being attracted to some of these escorts and enjoying them, enjoying their personalities, getting to know them over the years.

[Andrea Canning]

Yeah. And the defense asked Jane to read more text messages and they, they played more phone calls. Unfortunately, they did not release the new phone calls, but they were played in court and they sounded very loving. Right.

[Chloe Melas]

There was one voice note in particular that was played today in which Combs says to her, like, I had so much fun with you. I want you to get your rest this week. I want you to, like, get back to your routine. I'm paraphrasing here, but it's not him holding a metaphorical gun to her head. Right. And so is the fact that she did not want him to stop paying her rent enough to prove sex trafficking.

[Andrea Canning]

When we come back today. The defense also asked Jane about her observations of Combs over their three years together, what she had to say about DATELINE.

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[Tenny Garagos]

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[Chloe Melas]

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[Chloe Melas]

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[Andrea Canning]

Welcome back. A big part of Jane's testimony today was how hard she tried to keep Combs happy after hotel nights were over. That was her favorite time with him. And she said she really pampered him and indulged in one of his favorite TV shows, Chloe, one that we know very well.

[Chloe Melas]

So turns out, Andrea, they had a routine after these freak offs or hotel nights where she'd make sure that she got him back home. She would bathe him, she would cook for him, she'd give him foot rubs, and then she would turn on his favorite show. Tenny Garrigo said, can you tell us what that favorite show is? And that's when Jane said dateline. It's just, wow.

[Andrea Canning]

I mean, when I heard that, I just thought, oh, my goodness.

[Chloe Melas]

Got a lot of laughs in the overflow room that I was in with all of the members of the public and media that, you know, couldn't make it into the actual courtroom. So everybody was laughing and whispering and talking about it because it was just so like, we're all humans. And these are those moments in which like, kind of like that catchphrase stars are just like us. Right. Like he's watching Dateline. He's getting foot rubs.

[Tenny Garagos]

Yes.

[Andrea Canning]

Things took a very serious turn, Chloe. The defense started a line of questioning about Combs drug use. Where were they going with that?

[Chloe Melas]

Jane testified that she, in hindsight, believes that Combs was a drug addict. She testified that when they first started dating in 2021, she noticed a lot of signs that he was in bad health. She testified that when they were on a private jet and she was sitting across from him that she felt like his eyes indicated that he had a condition called jaundice.

[Andrea Canning]

Right.

[Chloe Melas]

It's where, like, your eyes can get kind of yellow and like you have skin discoloration. That his gums were gray from drug use. Right. So potentially like from cocaine use or the ecstasy. And that his hands were shaking, she believes due to alcoholism. And she testified that she actually suggested that he go to a rehab facility that she had a connection to in Thailand, but that he just totally dismissed the idea.

[Andrea Canning]

Has he ever commented publicly on drug or alcohol use?

[Chloe Melas]

He's talked about going to rehab and getting help after Cassie's explosive civil suit in 2023. And remember, eventually he did that apology video after the security footage of him beating her leaked, that's when he started talking about all the ways in which he was trying to get help.

[Andrea Canning]

Do you think that the defense is maybe trying to prove Combs wasn't responsible for some of his actions because he was possibly on drugs or possibly had an addiction problem?

[Chloe Melas]

I think that there's a really good chance that we might see some experts testify when Combs team puts on their case who are going to talk about how these drugs alter your state of mind, that he was a drug addict and that he is a broken human being who needed help and never got the help that he needed. Maybe they'll talk about his childhood and his dad being murdered at a very young age. I mean, who knows where they'll go with this. But I do think that they are going to try to lean heavily on him not being in the right state of mind.

[Andrea Canning]

Right. The defense, it appears, is trying to frame these hotel nights as sexual fetishes of Combs rather than criminal sex trafficking acts. Jane said on the stand today that after Combs introduced her to what she called the sex lifestyle, she did some research.

[Chloe Melas]

She said that when she started googling around, what she found was called a cuckold. And she testified that that's a man or, you know, an individual who wants to watch their partner receive pleasure and that they get pleasure out of watching that. And Tenny Garrigo said, well, you know, we've heard it actually be referred to as voyeurism. And Jane testified that that was not really something that she researched, that this was what she researched, and that she actually found that one of the reasons why he might enjoy watching her get pleasure with these male escorts is that perhaps he was bicurious and that he wasn't ready to explore that physically himself and that he fulfilled those desires by watching her engage in these sex acts with these male escorts. So, look, we have never heard anyone testify so far that he engaged in any sort of sexual acts with these men. But this has come up multiple times in these civil suits, all of which Combs, through his legal team, have denied and just blasted as money grabs.

[Andrea Canning]

Is Jane going to continue with cross examination tomorrow?

[Chloe Melas]

Yes, so she'll be on the stand until Thursday.

[Andrea Canning]

Okay. Chloe, thank you so much for this. Another very interesting and salacious day in federal court.

[Chloe Melas]

Thanks for having me.

[Andrea Canning]

Thanks for listening. We'll be back with a new episode tomorrow. If you want to read the latest developments and analysis from inside the courtroom, check out the NBC newsletter. Did he on trial go to nbcnews.com diddy to find that On Trial is produced by Franny Kelly with help from the Dateline True Crime Weekly team. Our senior producers are Alison Orr and Liz Brown Karloff. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In the summer, all of Oregon is our playground, thanks to our incredible park system. That's why it's so cool that Oregon Lottery gameplay, like video lottery or cash pop, helps support tons of parks projects statewide, like accessible trails at Silver Falls State park or upgrades to your favorite dog park in Newburgh. It's just one way a little lottery play for many Oregonians can add up to a lot of good the Oregon Lottery. Together, we do good things. Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only. Must be 18 or older to play.