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I'm Ashley Banfield and this is Drop Dead Serious. I've got Atlas in the studio. He happens to be panting a little bit and so and crunching his cookies. So if you hear him every so often, he's part of the show. It's just the way it is. Atlas is always, always in the studio. Today was day nine of the of Sean Diddy Combs federal trial. And what happened in that courtroom today was gut punch after gut punch for Diddy and frankly for all of us, too. A lot of stuff may be kind of sad today. I'll get to that in a bit. But the jury heard from a former assistant who said that he watched the abuse happen in real time and did nothing to stop it. They heard a Grammy winning artist who says Diddy torched his car, broke into his house, and left his dog traumatized. Yeah, now I'm mad. I'll tell you what, whenever a dog comes into the story, clearly, because I have Atlas, there's something about it. And I think a lot of us are the same. We get really angry whenever we think that a dog might not have been treated well or a cat or a pet of some kind. So, you know, bringing the pet factor in, that had an effect on the courtroom. They also heard in that courtroom from a makeup artist who said that he, she was with Diddy's girlfriend Cassie at a party at the home of Prince when something bad happened. I guess Cassie wasn't supposed to be there. And afterwards, Diddy burst into their hotel room and pulled Cassie behind closed doors. Afterwards, Cassie was bruised and bleeding and begging not to go to the er. And through it all, Diddy sat there in his gray sweater, his white shirt and his gray slacks, totally relaxed, even blowing a kiss to his cousin in the gallery. This wasn't just another witness lineup. This was a day of reckoning. And the jury was all eyes and all ears. So let's just start from the top, okay? George Kaplan, Diddy's former assistant, he was back on the stand this morning. And remember George, he has already testified that he was asked two times by Diddy to do drug runs. Right? Diddy said, call this number. Here's the money, go get the drugs, bring the drugs back. And George said it one time, not both times, but one time he looked in and he saw mdma. So he actually could confirm that it was a drug run. And also remember that he testified he was tasked with staging the hotel rooms for Diddy's free coughs, you know, providing the baby oil and the astroglide. And that he was the one who had to clean the rooms up afterwards so that hotel staff wouldn't get in there and snap paparazzi pictures. He described cleaning oil off the furniture, drugs off the counter, disposing of used condoms. If you thought your job was bad, just think about that. But today, George talked about something else. He talked about what he saw outside those hotel rooms. He testified that he witnessed at least three violent incidents while working as Diddy's assistant between the years 2013 and 2015. In one instance, George said he was on a private jet and they were headed to Vegas when he heard glass shattering in the back. And when he looked back, he said he saw Diddy holding a whiskey glass over his head and Cassie Ventura down on the ground, holding her hands in front of her face. Her legs were up in the air, and she was screaming. Isn't anybody seeing this? Nobody did anything, he said. Nobody stopped it. George said Cassie was clearly upset and that there were visible bruises on her face and that Diddy sent him out to buy lotion and witch hazel, you know, to reduce the swelling on Cassie's face. And he was told to use the company card to buy it. Remember, this is a case about racketeering, A charge that requires prosecutors to prove underlying crimes. They're called predicate acts, in which. This case, in which Diddy used his enterprise, they say, his business to carry out these crimes. An assault is one of these underlying crimes. And an assistant using a company credit card to help cover up evidence of assault. The swelling that could be seen as a predicate act within the enterprise, racketeering. So George told the jury why he never spoke up about all of this. He said he didn't want to lose his job and, quote, could not believe my good fortune to work for an icon. But then came what he called the straw that broke the camel's back. A moment so disturbing, it finally snapped whatever spell Diddy held over him. George told the jury that he saw Diddy angrily throwing green apples at his girlfriend, Gina. And let me just stop for a minute about Gina. It turns out Gina was actually witness number three. Remember when the trial was, you know, a week until it got underway, we heard that there was a witness who they couldn't find. A witness who was, like, on the lam and not responding. Even her lawyer wasn't responding. And then that witness basically decided that she was not going to talk, she was not going to take the stand. That's Gina. We found that out today. George wasn't sure if the apples that were being thrown At Gina were real or whether they were decorative. But he told the jury that he saw the whole thing. He said he didn't know if any of the apples actually hit Gina, but he said he remembered Diddy was throwing the apples really hard and that Gina tried to shield herself with her arms and back away. Should also remember if Gina sounds familiar. Cassie testified, as did her friend, that Gina was the other girlfriend that Cassie was so frustrated with. A younger girlfriend. Angry, even. George said that later on, he was summoned to bring Diddy a medicine bag. And when he entered the room, he saw Gina. She was standing in the corner, as far from Diddy as she could get silent while Diddy told him to leave immediately. That same night, George said he heard Gina's voice again, along with, quote, a lot of commotion by the front gate where he assumed that Diddy's security guards were involved. A month later, George was out. George told Diddy he was leaving. He said he was leaving to care for his father who had cancer. But the truth, George said, was that he was tired of being the guy who cleaned up violence. He testified, quote, I was not comfortable with being aligned with the physical behavior. I had seen being a party to that kind of stuff, end quote. On cross examination, defense attorney Marco Nifolo walked George through all the benefits of working at Combs Enterprises. The jet travel, the high expectations, the once in a lifetime career opportunity. George even said that Biggie Small's birthday, May 21, was a paid company holiday. George said working for Diddy expanded his world, gave him access to things he never imagined existed, and that he was genuinely grateful for the opportunity. He even credited Diddy with teaching him what a real work ethic looked like. And he admitted that he learned more while working for Diddy than anywhere else, calling it his Harvard moment. By the way, I should also tell you, George was not a willing witness. George had told everybody he was going to plead the fifth. He told prosecutors, fine, you can subpoena me, which they did. You can call me up there, which they did. But he said he wasn't going to talk. He was going to plead the fifth and say nothing. So they offered him immunity, and that's why you're hearing from George, the former personal assistant. But like I said, seems like he still holds a bit of a candle for Diddy. So this was not the kind of testimony he wanted to give, and that's powerful. The defense did try to paint a different picture of Diddy than what the jury heard from George earlier on. And when it came to Kim Porter, that's Diddy's girlfriend and the mother of his four kids. George did not mince words. He told the jury that she was, quote, above, a girlfriend, someone Diddy treated with more patience, more grace, and more respect than anyone else in his orbit. And their kids, George called them incredible, with genuine affection in his voice. And when it came to money, George said that Diddy did not carry a wallet, that he or another assistant always had to hold the black card. He told the jury that assistants were the ones booking the yachts, leasing the villas, handling the jets, and that the day to day spending, like buying baby oil for hotel setups, you know, the dirty business that they carried out for the freak offs. He said that wasn't even on Diddy's financial radar because, as George put it, Diddy's world was too big with all of his global businesses. George also testified that he once referred to Diddy as, quote, God among men, that he still remembers Diddy's birthday every year and sends him a text. He also testified that he sent heartfelt condolences in a note after Kim Porter's death, he told the jury, quote, I was heartbroken for him. Still, the guilt stuck with George. On redirect examination, George told the jury, quote, he pushed me to depths I didn't know I had. In my heart of hearts, I knew what was happening and I felt an element of guilt that I didn't do anything to stop it. End quote. With George off the stand, all eyes shifted to the back of the courtroom as the next witness walked in. Kid Cuddy, real name Scott Mascudi. He's a rapper, he's an actor, he's a Grammy winner, and according to prosecutors, he's the guy whose Porsche got firebombed shortly after he started dating Cassie Ventura and shortly after Diddy threatened to blow up his car. Kid Cudi walked into the courthouse and I'm not so sure about this, but he was wearing a black leather jacket, a white T shirt and and jeans. He was even smoking a cigarette. He looked casual, confident, and ready to talk. Now, if I were testifying in a federal trial, I would not wear jeans and I most surely wouldn't wear a white T shirt and a black jacket. But I'm also not a famous rapper. So let me set the scene here because his testimony started like something out of a thriller. Kid Cudi told the jury that In December of 2011, he and Cassie were seeing each other and that Cassie called him around 5:30 or 6 in the morning, scared and panicked. Kid Cudi told the Jury quote, cassie told me that Sean Combs had found out about us. She sounded really stressed out on the phone, scared, nervous. So I went to pick her up, end quote. He said he brought Cassie to the Sunset Marquis Hotel and that that's when his phone rang again. He said this time it was Capricorn Clark, Diddy's assistant. Capricorn told Kid Cudi that she was sitting there parked outside of his house and that Diddy was inside. She also said that she'd been forced to go along, like, that she did not have a choice in this matter. Kid Cudi testified that he immediately called Diddy and said, quote, you in my house, end quote. And that Diddy replied, quote, I just want to talk to you, end quote. Kid Cudi told the jury he rushed home, but that when he got there, no one was inside yet. And it's a big yet. Something was clearly off. The security cameras had been moved. They were facing the wrong way. Christmas gifts for his family had been opened. This is the worst part. His dog was locked up inside a bathroom. And that dog, normally calm, he said, became jittery and anxious all the time. Kid Cudi said, quote, I wanted to confront him, meaning, did he. I wanted to fight him, but instead, I called the police, end quote. And this is where Kid Cudi's testimony was explosive. And I mean, like, really literally explosive. Up in flames. Kid Cudi told the jury that a few weeks later, In February of 2012, his car was firebombed. He told the jury that he got a phone call in the middle of the night and that the caller on the other end of the line told him his car was on fire. Cudi testified that he didn't know what else to think besides, quote, what the. End quote. The jury was shown photographs of the aftermath of Kid Cudi's car. And the photo showed the Porsche 911 with a blackened door, a charred driver's seat, and the roof slashed open. Kid Cudi said, quote, the top of my Porsche was cut open. That's where they inserted the Molotov cocktail, end quote. So he added that he saw the bottle that was used for the Molotov cocktail, but that, quote, it was kind of burnt up. Can I just, like, jump in here and say this kind of crime is officially called arson in legal terms, and arson is a predicate act to prove racketeering. But it's hard to know if Diddy did any of this or if he used any staff members, right? Or if he used any of the assets of his enterprise to carry out a firebombing. And it's not a slam dunk that it was actually him. Although Cassie testified earlier that Diddy once threatened to blow up Kid Cudi's car, the DNA from the scene actually traced back to a woman, not to Diddy. And so far, we don't know if it traced back to a staff member who was a woman. But you know what? The night is young. Who knows if the prosecutors will come back later and find that the DNA is a woman who worked for him. But the story did not end there. Just after the Porsche firebombing, Kid Cudi picked up the phone and called Diddy. He told the jury, quote, I finally told him we needed to meet up and talk. He'd been wanting to talk to me after the fire. I said, this is getting out of hand, end quote. When prosecutors asked why he called Diddy, Kid Cudi didn't mince words. Quote, I knew he had something to do with it. Kid Cudi testified that he and Diddy planned to meet up at the Soho house in Los Angeles. And when Kidd walked in, he told the jury he saw Diddy, quote, standing there staring out the window with his hands behind his back like a Marvel super villain. That so stood out to me. I'm just picturing, like, Diddy standing at the window, you know, like a movie scene, hands behind his back. Oh, man, he really created an image for the courtroom. And when he said that, by the way, the whole courtroom erupted in laughter, even the jury. Everybody laughed. Kid Cudi said they sat down and they talked about how he and Cassie met, how it started, how it ended, and about how neither of them knew Cassie was involved with the other. He said Diddy's demeanor during the meeting was eerily calm. He told the jury that seeing Diddy, that calm was weird and actually pretty off putting. When the meeting was over, Kid Cudi said that he shook Diddy's hand, waited until they had a firm grip, and asked Diddy point blank, quote, what are we going to do about my car? Kid Cudi said that Diddy looked him dead in the eyes with a cold stare and said, quote, I don't know what you're talking about. Kid Cudi withdrew his hand. He said Diddy fired back, quote, I thought we were cool. Do we have a problem? Kid Cudi said he asked for Diddy's word that he had nothing to do with the Porsche getting firebombed, and he said that he gave it. But kid Cudi told the jury, quote, I thought he was lying. Fast forward A couple of years, Diddy and Kid Cudi crossed paths again at the same place of all things, right? The Soho house. This time, Diddy was with his daughter. And according to Kid Cudi, Diddy pulled him aside and said, quote, man, I just want to apologize for everything, all that. End quote. Kid Cudi said that moment brought him closure. He testified, quote, after I got the apology, I found peace with it. That was the last thing I was suspecting to get from him. And then on cross examination, things got testy. Diddy's lawyer, Brian Steele, asked Kid Cudi the if Cassie ever told him about sexual abuse. Kid Cudi said no, she only described physical abuse. And Diddy's lawyer then tried to flip the narrative. Quote, the person who played you, the person who played Sean, was Ms. Ventura. True. Kid Cudi replied, yes. At one point, Diddy's lawyer brought up Cassie and Cudi's romantic relationship and asked if they ever had sex. And the prosecution immediately objected. And Judge Subramanian did not just sustain it. He scolded the defense lawyer, Brian Steele. He scolded him on the record, saying that the line of questioning violated Rule 41 2, the federal rule that bars introducing irrelevant sexual behavior in cases like this. The judge actually said, quote, the line was crystal clear and it was crossed. But on redirect, the prosecution got the last word. Kid Cudi repeated to the jury that Cassie told him that Diddy would, quote, hit her and sometimes kick her, end quote. And said the reason he broke up with Cassie was simple, quote, things were getting out of hand, end quote. He said he feared for her safety and for his own. He told the jury, quote, I knew Sean Combs was violent. And the defense abruptly objected to that line. But let's be honest, the jury had already heard it. You cannot unring that bell. The defense wanted a mistrial over that. Not so much because of what he said, but the defense said what he was about to say. And this is where it gets a little crazy. But the defense went to sidebar and said to the judge, the. The prosecution's about to elicit from Kid Cudi that Diddy has had people killed before. And the judge looked at them and said, yeah, but he didn't say that. And you're asking for a mistrial even though he didn't say that. You're just worried he's gonna say that. And so, yeah, the judge shut the defense down on that, and, no, it's not a mistrial. And then came a brand new voice, Milo Morales, a celebrity makeup artist who worked With Cassie for years. Myla told a jury that she worked with Diddy between 2000 and 2005, mostly doing men's grooming, but that her real bond was with Cassie, whom she described like a little sister. And she testified about one night she said that she'd never forget. It was Grammy weekend in 2010. Cassie and Myla were at a party at Prince's house. Yeah, like prince, you know, as in the artist formerly known as. When they got back to the Beverly Hills Hotel, Myla dozed off on the couch. She told the jury she woke up to Diddy screaming, where the is she? Milo said she told him she didn't know, and yet he stormed in anyway and went right to the bedroom and found Cassie. Myla testified she heard more yelling, more screaming, and then Diddy stormed back out. And when she checked on Cassie, she said Cassie was in bad shape. Swollen eye, busted lip, knots on her head. Myla took her home and called a doctor who told her that Cassie should go to the er But Cassie refused. Asked why she didn't insist, Mila said, quote, we were very afraid. I feared for my life before being cut off by an objection. And the next witness on the stand. You know what? Before I go there, this is an interesting witness, because what Mila testified to isn't so much Diddy's enterprise or staff members being used to carry out crimes. But look, assault is a predicate act of rico. It's just that I think what Mila really does here is she corroborates so many other witnesses who testify to a pattern, a pattern of abuse, a pattern of fear, a pattern of assaults. Right? So that if the jury has any question about some of the other testimony about stuff like this, well, they might just think, my God, how many times do I have to hear this? At some point, where there's smoke, there's gotta be fire, and we've got a lot of smoke. Right? The next witness on the stand was Frederick Zamour. He's the general manager of l' Hermitage Beverly Hills Hotel. He confirmed that Diddy used aliases like Frank Black, Ryan Lopez, and Jackie Starr when making hotel bookings. And again, that's corroborating testimony, because that's something Cassie and some of the other assistants have also testified to. But what stood out with this, this witness's testimony? And I smile only because it's like, dear God, I hope there's no notes out there about me when I'm booking hotels. But there were notes attached to Diddy's guest profile at this hotel. And this witness said one of the notes said, quote, always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil. Place room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning. Think about that. They'll let the guy continue to book the hotel room, but they have to take the hotel out of circulation and deep clean it once Diddy leaves or Frank Black or whatever other alias he used to. It also corroborates some of the stories we've heard, right, from multiple witnesses, including Cassie, about oil and candle wax, etc. By the way, there was another note that instructed the hotel to pre Authorize an additional $1,000 to cover damages whenever Diddy stayed there. And then came the last witness of the day, Special Agent Joshua Croft from Homeland Security. He testified that he recovered data from three laptops that belonged to Cassie Ventura, including one that had a user profile for Frank Black, AKA Diddy. Agent Croft testified that the gold copy process of forensic extractions was used and said while some hard drives were damaged or wiped, he was able to recover most of the data. When asked whether he had Cassie's consent to search, he said yes, and also confirmed he obtained a warrant for the one that might have belonged to someone else. And that is where Court left off for day nine. And I'm like, wait, what? Stop. Whoa, not now. It's Memorial Day weekend and we're just getting to the really good stuff, you know, the forensic computer stuff, because people always have their deepest secrets on their laptops, right? So I cannot wait for this agent to continue his testimony. A deep, free forensic dive into maybe Diddy's computer, but definitely Cassie's computers. Maybe one with a Diddy profile on it. There has to be a really good reason why the prosecutors called him to the stand. Right? But summarizing the points that were scored for the prosecution today, Diddy's former assistant said he witnessed violent assaults by Diddy's hand and was asked to use the corporate card to buy a product to. To reduce the swelling on Cassie's face from one of these assaults. That is really not good when you're talking about RICO racketeering. Using your enterprise, your assistant, and your bad boy credit card to cover up the crime of assault. A predicate act within rico. And also, Kid Cudi testified about a threat that Diddy made to blow up his car and a firebomb that actually blew up his car afterwards. That's what you call arson. A predicate act for RICO racketeering. And it was an explosion within a few weeks of Diddy busting into his house and forcing A paid staff member to come along for that ride, literally shoving her into the car. He said, again, rico, using your enterprise to commit those predicate acts and forcing an assistant to do this, that could amount to coercion and forced labor. Predicate acts. The other witnesses today may not have proven a RICO act necessarily, but they testified to a pattern of terrible, abusive, coercive behavior. And they really corroborated a lot of the other witnesses stories. And by the way, after delivering some of the most explosive testimony of the trial so far, Kid Cudi posted this video to his Instagram story. He thanked his fans for the outpouring of support and said this whole situation has been incredibly stressful. But now that he's testified, he's just glad it's behind him.