Sean Combs: "Someone is lying."

Summary

Dateline: True Crime Weekly

Episode: Sean Combs: "Someone is lying."
Release Date: June 18, 2025
Host: Andrea Cannon, NBC News

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Introduction & Overview

In this gripping episode of Dateline: True Crime Weekly, host Andrea Cannon delves into the complexities of the Sean Combs racketeering trial. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the courtroom drama continues to unfold with significant developments that could influence the trial's outcome.

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Juror Turmoil and Courtroom Dynamics

The trial has been marred by issues related to the jury, commencing the sixth week with the dismissal of juror number six and potential problems surrounding juror number seven.

• Dismissal of Juror Number Six: Andrea Cannon (01:17) introduces the episode by highlighting that the trial has already faced complications with the jury, starting with the dismissal of juror number six.

• Issues with Juror Number Seven:
  Chloe Meloss (02:31) explains that juror number seven received an unsolicited text message asking if he was juror number six, leading to suspicions about potential leaks. This incident prompted the judge to question juror seven about his interaction with a former colleague, raising concerns about impartiality.

  "We're not exactly sure juror number seven is potentially in trouble here, but we do know that the judge is having another conversation with him today." – Chloe Meloss (02:31)

• Judge's Response:
  The judge is actively investigating the source of the leak, emphasizing the seriousness of maintaining a fair trial. The judge warned both the prosecution and defense about potential legal consequences if either side is found responsible for the information breach.

  "I'm going to investigate this and I'm going to, you know, there will be potentially legal ramifications for the prosecution or the defense if I find out that anybody gave this information to the press." – Andrea Cannon (03:10)

• Courtroom Management:
  During these disruptions, the judge took decisive action by dismissing everyone from the courtroom, including members of the press, to focus on resolving the juror issues.

  "He kicked everybody out, all members of the press, both in the courtroom and in the overflow room." – Chloe Meloss (11:25)

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Prosecution's Evidence: Hotel Receipts and Communications

A critical component of the prosecution's case involves financial records and communication evidence that suggest illicit activities.

• Hotel Receipts:
  The prosecution presented credit card receipts totaling nearly $46,786 from the InterContinental Hotel (07:32). These receipts covered extensive damages and accommodations, suggesting high-stakes activities during Sean Combs' stays.

  "How is she and Drock responding? She's okay. Eating breakfast. Face don't look bad. She's smiling. Call her." – Chloe Meloss (09:45)

• Company Card Expenses:
  All the highlighted expenses were allegedly paid using Combs' company credit cards, implying misuse of business funds for personal ventures.

  "Everything from travel, the damage, hotel rooms were paid for from his different business entities." – Chloe Meloss (08:09)

• Text Messages Corroborating Testimonies:
  In March 2016, around the time of a violent incident at a Los Angeles hotel, messages surfaced that align with Eddie Garcia's testimony, the security guard who testified on behalf of the prosecution. These messages indicate coordination and support from Combs' associates to manage and obscure the aftermath of the assault on Cassie Ventura.

  "Cassie to KK again, can you please tell him that the neighbors are about to call the police?" – Chloe Meloss (09:58)

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Defense's Counterarguments: Questioning the Evidence

The defense has been actively challenging the prosecution's narrative by presenting alternative interpretations of the evidence.

• Consent in "Freak Offs":
  The defense showcased video clips of the so-called "freak offs," aiming to demonstrate that these encounters were consensual and not part of a sex trafficking operation. They emphasized the absence of forced interactions and highlighted positive communications between Cassie Ventura and Combs' associates.

  "They're trying to show that these were not forced sexual encounters. The defense has always maintained that everyone that participated in these Freak offs were doing so consensually." – Chloe Meloss (05:04)

• Questioning Police Involvement:
  The defense presented messages suggesting that neighbors were threatening to call the police during the incident. However, cross-examination revealed no evidence of actual police involvement, such as calls to Cassie's phone or official incident reports.

  "They didn't see any evidence that cops were ever called. No LAPD calls to Cassie's phone, no reports from the LAPD and there were no incident reports." – Chloe Meloss (10:32)

• Positive Reactions from Cassie:
  The defense highlighted numerous text messages where Cassie expressed positive sentiments towards Combs after the events, undermining claims of abuse and coercion.

  "Cassie reacting positively to contact Holmes, suggestions to have freak offs and expressing positive feelings towards him after they happened." – Chloe Meloss (10:15)

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Key Witnesses and Testimonies

The trial's trajectory significantly depends on the testimonies of key witnesses and the credibility of their accounts.

• Eddie Garcia's Testimony:
  As a security guard, Garcia's role in facilitating communication and transactions between Combs and other parties is pivotal. His testimony supports the prosecution's narrative of orchestrated illicit activities.

• Brendan Paul's Upcoming Testimony:
  Scheduled for the following day, Brendan Paul, Combs' assistant arrested on drug charges, is expected to provide essential insights into the operations of Combs' business entities and their financial dealings.

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Judicial Actions and Trial Schedule

The judge's recent actions reflect the escalating tensions within the courtroom, striving to preserve the trial's integrity.

• Dismissal and Sequestration of the Courtroom:
  Following the suspicion of juror misconduct, the judge dismissed all courtroom attendees to address the breach privately. This action underscores the court's commitment to an unbiased jury.

  "He's trying to figure out this issue with juror number seven... He is not having a good day." – Chloe Meloss (11:55)

• Upcoming Proceedings:
  Tomorrow's session promises to be crucial as the prosecution prepares to call Brendan Paul to the stand. His testimony could provide the final pieces of evidence needed to sway the jury in the prosecution's favor.

  "The prosecution is going to call Brendan Paul... this is big. And we're gonna hear about what went down that day." – Chloe Meloss (12:23)

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Conclusion & Insights

The Sean Combs racketeering trial remains a high-stakes legal battle with ongoing challenges related to jury integrity and the presentation of compelling evidence. As the prosecution and defense continue to clash over the narrative, the role of key witnesses and the judge's handling of courtroom disruptions will be critical in determining the trial's outcome. Listeners are left anticipating the next episode, where more details about both sides' arguments regarding Cassie Ventura's involvement will be explored.

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Notable Quotes

• Chloe Meloss (02:31):
  "We're not exactly sure juror number seven is potentially in trouble here, but we do know that the judge is having another conversation with him today."

• Chloe Meloss (08:09):
  "Everything from travel, the damage, hotel rooms were paid for from his different business entities."

• Chloe Meloss (05:04):
  "They're trying to show that these were not forced sexual encounters."

• Chloe Meloss (10:32):
  "No LAPD calls to Cassie's phone, no reports from the LAPD and there were no incident reports."

• Chloe Meloss (12:23):
  "The prosecution is going to call Brendan Paul... this is big."

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Stay updated with the latest twists in the Sean Combs trial by tuning into future episodes of Dateline: True Crime Weekly.

Transcript

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[Andrea Cannon]

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 Cannon and it's Tuesday, June 17th. Just a heads up in this episode, we're going to be talking about some graphic details and harrowing subject matter today in downtown New York Court kicked off with more juror issues. And that's also how the day ended. In between. The prosecution showed credit card payments for hotel rooms. They say Combs and his staff booked for nights with escorts on cross. The defense pulled up more text messages that they say suggest Cassie Ventura enjoyed at least some of those nights. NBC News correspondent Chloe Meloss was in the courtroom this morning as those receipts were shown and as the judge read both legal teams the riot act. Chloe is outside now to get us up to speed. Hey, Chloe.

[Chloe Meloss]

Hey, Andrea.

[Andrea Cannon]

So after a relatively quick and painless jury selection process, now in week six, there's there are problems. We've got turmoil with the jury. Juror number six was officially dismissed yesterday and now it appears we have some issues with juror number seven.

[Chloe Meloss]

Here's the deal with juror number seven. Juror number seven was called in by the judge On Friday. And we could actually see him on the screens in the overflow room where the media and the public sit, but you couldn't hear him. But a news organization published an article about juror number seven, and they knew all this information that was discussed behind closed doors. He said that he received a text message from an unknown number, a number he didn't recognize, wasn't stored in his phone, asking him if he was juror number six. Right. Because there were all these discussions and it was all in the media late last week that juror number six might be dismissed. And so this juror did the right thing, alerted the court, let the judge know. But that devolved into the judge learning that he had had a conversation with a former colleague. So we're not exactly sure juror number seven is potentially in trouble here, but we do know that the judge is having another conversation with him today. Now, I also want to point out the judge said that he wants to find out who leaked what, when, and how. And the judge is like, I'm going to investigate this and I'm going to, you know, there will be potentially legal ramifications for the prosecution or the defense if I find out that anybody gave this information to the press. And all of this happening AMID Juror number six having been dismissed this week. Juror number 7 may be dismissed. So it's in situations like this, Andrea, that I just wonder, they could have just sequestered them, right? I mean, they didn't. They didn't do that.

[Andrea Cannon]

Also, relating to the jury, yesterday afternoon, while you and I were taping, the prosecution played some video clips from freak offs.

[Chloe Meloss]

This was something that we thought perhaps would be played for jurors earlier on because there's been so much discussion about these freak offs. So some of the jurors were seen wincing and kind of frowning during these videos that were played. So they have to put headsets on when they're watching. And they have these screen protectors so that nobody else can see. These are exhibits that are sealed to protect the privacy of those involved and the judge and also the defense. They don't want these videos being put up all over the Internet and embarrassing everybody. And really just kind of feeding that media circus that we've seen around this trial.

[Andrea Cannon]

The defense played some different clips of the freak offs, a different portion of the same video. What were they trying to show by showing that section of the video?

[Chloe Meloss]

They're trying to show that these were not forced sexual encounters. The defense has always maintained that everyone that participated in these Freak offs were doing so consensually. It's in an attempt to show the jurors that people were happy. There were conversations being had. It wasn't this forced sex trafficking situation that the prosecutors are trying to make it seem.

[Andrea Cannon]

All right, Chloe, when we come back today, both the prosecution and the defense returned to Cassi Ventura. What more is there to say? Find out.

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[Andrea Cannon]

Chloe, we mentioned at the top that the prosecution showed the jury some receipts allegedly relating to the hotel nights. What kind of things stood out to you? From. From what the jury saw, these freak.

[Chloe Meloss]

Offs could be expensive. And I don't just mean the hotel room and the escorts. What made it so pricey? Some of the damage. One of the bills was from the InterContinental Hotel from October 5, 2012. Guess how much it was. Do you want to take a guess?

[Andrea Cannon]

A lot.

[Chloe Meloss]

Well, let me tell you the exact amount. $46,786.

[Andrea Cannon]

Man.

[Chloe Meloss]

A car. A car?

[Andrea Cannon]

For that?

[Chloe Meloss]

Two cars? How is that even possible? The Hermitage. $950. Beverly Hills Hotel. There were two $500 bills and that had to do with damage to the drapes and to the carpet. So you can only imagine.

[Andrea Cannon]

An important point the prosecution seems to be making is that these types of expenses were paid for by Combs company cards.

[Chloe Meloss]

Yes. So we saw a Lot of different receipts and AMEX bills that show that everything from travel, the damage, hotel rooms were paid for from his different business entities. Perhaps when the defense puts on their case, Andrea, they're going to say, well, Combs didn't know. He just put it on a credit card and expected his team to divide up personal and business. I think what they're going to try to say is that Combs wasn't doing his own expenses. Right, Right.

[Andrea Cannon]

Next, the prosecution pulled messages from March 2016, and that is right around the time of the incident at the hotel in la, where Combs can be seen on surveillance video kicking Cassie when she's on the ground. Why did they go back to these messages?

[Chloe Meloss]

Because these messages appear to corroborate Eddie Garcia's testimony. Remember, he's the security guard who testified that he helped his boss sell that security footage to Combs. Right. Remember the money in these brown paper bags? And he ended up paying double the amount instead of 50,000, it was 100,000. And they also show a lot of interaction between KK member Christina Corum and Drock Combs, head of security. And they seem to be helping Combs keep tabs on Cassie and communicating with her on his behalf. Remember, Combs showed up to her place. He had a hammer. He was banging on the door. This was after he had beaten her brutally in the hallway of the hotel. So in one message, you have Cassie Writing to KK, Rock says he's 15 minutes away. This is crazy. He won't stop. Cassie to KK again, can you please tell him that the neighbors are about to call the police? And then Drock to kk, tell him he needs to get out of there before they call the police. And there's even another exchange in which Combs actually writes to Drock about those injuries that Cassie had sustained, saying, how is she and Drock responding? She's okay. Eating breakfast. Face don't look bad. She's smiling. Call her. I remember Cassie testified that she had to recover from those injuries at a hotel for several days on across the.

[Andrea Cannon]

Defense, they pulled up messages from that day as well, giving a different view.

[Chloe Meloss]

They did. And the point of those messages seems to be that they're trying to show that Cassie lied when she told KK that her neighbors were going to call the police. Combs also wrote to Cassie, hey, call me. The cops are here. On cross examination today of this SDNY investigator, the individual who was on the stand said that they didn't see any evidence that cops were ever called. No LAPD calls to Cassie's phone, no reports from the lapd and there were no incident reports. They also showed many, many text messages, Andrea, that seemed to show Cassie reacting positively to contact Holmes, suggestions to have freak offs and expressing positive feelings towards him after they happened. And we also saw this with Jane.

[Andrea Cannon]

After the judge dismissed the jury today, he also dismissed everyone else. He said, slate is up.

[Chloe Meloss]

What does that mean? He kicked everybody out, all members of the press, both in the courtroom and in the overflow room. And that's because he's trying to figure out this issue with juror number seven. And like I mentioned, we don't know what they've decided yet. He is not having a good day. He is angry. He's mad about this information being leaked to some news outlet about juror number seven. And the big question for me is, is juror number six, having been dismissed this week, gonna talk and give interviews?

[Andrea Cannon]

Are they allowed once they've been dismissed?

[Chloe Meloss]

Once they've been dismissed, yes. They can talk from their own personal perspectives.

[Andrea Cannon]

So the judge wouldn't put some type of gag order on them to wait until there's a verdict?

[Chloe Meloss]

Hey, I guess that he could because he's not happy right now, especially about information being leaked to the press.

[Andrea Cannon]

Yeah, well, judges are humans too. They're people too. And they have bad days. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Did we get any information, Chloe, about the schedule for the rest of this trial?

[Chloe Meloss]

Well, tomorrow it definitely should be an exciting day because the prosecution is going to call Brendan Paul. He's Combs assistant who was arrested on drug charges during the raids of Combs Properties. And he was supposed to testify today, but unfortunately the direct examination, cross examination, then redirect of that SDNY investigator that took all of today. This is big. And we're gonna hear about what went down that day.

[Andrea Cannon]

Yeah. This is very important for the prosecution as they wind down. Thank you, Chloe, so much.

[Chloe Meloss]

Of course.

[Andrea Cannon]

And thanks to everyone else 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. Diddy on trial. Go to nbcnews.com 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 Kurloff. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of Dateline.

[Narrator]

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