Lauren LaRosa (0:00)

This is an I heart podcast. I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody Exclusive. No, she don't lie about that. Right? Lauren came in hot. Hey, y' all, it's Lauren LaRosa. And this is the latest with Lauren LaRosa where we get into your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment, news, exclusives, and all those conversations that shake the room, baby. Now a quick behind the scenes of the grind. Check in. I am tired. Okay, it is. It's late. I got out. We got out of court so late today. Court began at 2pm it was delayed at least three times a day. I left court. The. The sun was going down when I left court. That is the latest I have ever left court since this trial started and then came right to film the podcast so I could get you guys the info. So thank y' all for tuning on in. I know it is AM when you listen to this. So listen, forgive me if I'm giving girl, you've been working all day energy because the girl has been going since 3:30am this morning. But, hey, that's the grind. That's how it go. So let's get on into the latest now because you knew your girl would love to take y' all to court. Okay, so we are gonna have a conversation about what did or did not happen when it comes to Diddy's charges, because, no, there were no charges dropped against Sean Diddy Combs today. Now, earlier this morning via the Breakfast Club, I reported this. So before we get into our next story, I do want to say it is 7:54am Eastern Standard Time here in New York, and there are reports circulating that charges have been dropped against Sean Diddy combs. That is 100% false at this time. No charges have been dropped. I just want to clear that up because those, those reports are starting to circulate. And I literally just made a phone call to confirm that it is not correct. And now adding more context and clarity to what I reported this morning, because after this report, there were additional reports that said the complete opposite, that the charges were officially dropped and things of that nature. On the official PACER records, there are two documents that were entered last night. And these documents, the government was having a conversation about how they plan to basically approach the rest of the. The ending of the trial. Because after presenting their full case, they're looking around and they're saying, okay, let's just cut our losses. Like, whatever is not going to stick best, whatever is not strongest. That's not what we're focusing on right now. If you've been listening to the podcast, if you've been watching my content, whether it's here, wherever you're hearing this or seeing this, or it's over on the Breakfast Club, I appreciate all of it. But if you've been keeping up, you know that I had a conversation with you guys about Diddy's attorneys deciding to act for a dismissal in court. They said, look, if you're not going to drop the case entirely, here are certain things that we think require more attention because these things should not be presented in front of a jury to have a conversation on, because the government simply did not do what they needed to do to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that these things happen. And that is the government's burden in this federal case that they've brought forth, right? And they're having a conversation. They're going through the kit kidnapping. That was one of the things they're going through. They bring up the arson, they're going through the forced labor. They're going through like, they break it down. Some of the things that we're talking about here are not charges. These are like elements that make up the charge, right? So these are like your plus ones to the party, but they're not the main invite. For instance, arson and kidnapping. These make up a the bigger charge. So they're talking about all these things, and they're like, look, if we're going to have this conversation with the jury and we're being fair, these things were not proven. So we're asking that these things not be allowed, that these things be taken away, these things be dismissed. The government later that night posted this letter, and I'm going to read from one of the letters. Dear Judge, the government respectfully writes regarding its requested edits to the court's proposed jury instructions. Now, I was in court today for the battle because, baby, it was giving Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion in there today when it came to jury instructions. And we're going to talk about that. But so they're basically saying, look, before we sit down and even have a conversation about what jury instruction looks like, we want to let you know where we think we're going with this angle wise. And when we enter in some of our objections in our conversations, we want you to know why. So they say the government understands the court's desire for streamlined instructions. The government has suggested ways to streamline those instructions. Specifically, the government has removed instructions from the charge relating to, number one, attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law. Number two, attempted arson under California law, and number three, aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories. The government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories. The government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories. I said that three times because it is very important for where we're about to go with explaining why when I say no charges were dropped against Sha Diddy Combs, that is fact and not fiction. The government has also attempted to simplify the language relating to count one, a proposal as explained in the government's comment bubbles, that the government hopes not only serves the purpose of streamlining the instructions, but also will avoid any confusion as to the operative agreement for count one. Now, listen, what the government is saying here is like, look, we know these up here are the charges, right? And within us having these charges here are certain things that we say happen to prove that all of this went down, right? So think about it like this. Like, when it comes to a rico, there are multiple things that are alleged to make up the actual RICO charge, right? So for Diddy, you have the government alleging that he kidnapped people. You have the government alleging that he committed arson. You have the government alleging that he committed bribery, all of these things. Now, after presenting their full case, the government is saying, listen, Judge, we know that our arguments aren't the strongest when it comes to these. These are theories, right? Because Diddy's team yesterday talked about the fact that the government leaned a lot of their charges on things that could be inferred, like these big ideas, these big thoughts. That's what we talked about on the last episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. Right? So now the government is saying that we are confident that this charge is a thing, because here's all the. Here's the theory, here's the narrative. Here's what. Here's what. You. You mix this in a pot, you stare it on up, and you have Deantree, right? After presenting their case, the government is like, look, they don't say we're not the strongest here. They say they want to streamline. Like, let's focus on what we know won't confuse the jury. We want to make it very clear, very simple. We want the instructions to lean in on that heavily. We want them to understand, here's exactly what we're alleging. Here's exactly the evidence that support that theory, that make it something that, you know, allegedly actually happened so that you're. You're able to make your decision. But that doesn't mean that the charge that all those theories equal up to has been dropped. Now, could that happen? Because that is what Diddy's team asked for. It could happen. Has it happened? No. And the reason, even this morning, when I, when I did this, when I, when I mentioned this, I time stamped it, because if you guys haven't noticed, like, everything with court has been moving, like, even today. So today was a charging conference. In the charging conference, the jury is not there. It's a day off for the jury. But you have both sides. You have the prosecution and you have the defense, and you have the attorneys going through what the actual instruction will be given to. Like, that is given to the jury for every single count. It has to be something that doesn't make you feel like the. The. The government is telling you something was true or false. And it can't be something that makes you feel like the defense is telling you something is true or false either. But it can be something that, like, clarifies when it comes to this specific allegation. They talked about R. Kelly's case a lot today, especially because they were trying to figure out how the wording around the sex trafficking conversation would be. Diddy's attorneys did a really, really good job today in court. I will say that. It's not a slam dunk either way, in my opinion. So I felt like when they rested their case so fast, I was like, wait, did I miss them? Why aren't they going harder? Like, why aren't they, like, I don't know, just something I expected something each attorney has, like, their thing. So, like attorney Shapiro, she's the one who presented the acquittal. You have Teeny Garagos, who is a beast when it comes to evidence. You have Mark Agnifilio, who kind of is like the glue between them all. He's like one of the lead attorneys. You have Brian Steele, who is. Goes crazy on cross examination. Nicole Westmoreland as well, goes crazy on cross examination. You have attorney Donaldson, who they've also used a ton on cross examination as well. And they're in there and they're having a conversation about the sexual acts. Right? The government was trying to argue, and again, this is them trying to frame it, where if they feel like they're not strong on something, they're saying, hey, it's all about the wording and how the jury is instructed to think about this, which will, in the end of this, equal a certain result. So the government was asking for in the jury instruction for it to be clarified that forced labor could be Sex. Right. And Diddy's attorneys are like, no. Like, what? No. And they're like, this makes no sense. Because the government is like, well, I know Diddy's attorneys tried to make it seem like forced labor is like, you know, your. It's almost like an enslavement of sorts, or, you know, you have no other choice and things of this nature. And it's. And it's not the. The physical act of sex. But then the government brought in R. Kelly and one of R. Kelly. The R. Kelly case is as a landmark case that they refer to. And they're like. And the judge is like, okay, was this used this way in R. Kelly's case? So the judge is like, no, I'm denying this. Because the judge is saying, if we give the jury this instruction, it makes them think that all sex is forced labor, which isn't fair, because technically, it depends on the facts of the case when you're having these conversations, right? So that was a win for Diddy's team. But there were other times where the judge denied things that. That Diddy's team was asking for. And it was a one for the prosecution. But there was a big conversation around the sex trafficking. And when I tell you, Diddy's lawyer, attorney Shapiro, she was not backing down it. There was a young attorney that was like, kind of like assisting her. Oh, my God, they were eating it up. Okay. The back and forth between attorneys is so crazy because everything is based off fact and case, and they just be spitting, spitting, spitting, spitting. So the conversation around sex acts, commercial sex acts, what Diddy's team was making a point to. To try and say was like, look, when this case was first presented, from the minute they. That the government did their opening statements, they've been presenting this sex trafficking charge in these sexual commercial acts as completed acts, right? Like, as they actually had sex or had sexual interaction of some sort of. And. And they were paid for it. Right? But did he see him as like. But now in the jury instruction, they're trying to take a step back and say, sexual, commercial. Commercial sexual acts do not have to actual mean. Actually mean a completed act. And Diddy's attorney was like, that is not fair. We've spent weeks in this courtroom with this case being presented this way. She read some of the opening statements to the judge, which mentioned that she talked about the inter. The night at the Intercontinental. They talked about several different. When the government has presented these commercial sexual acts as being defined as actual sexual intercourse or sexual interaction completed. Like a completed sexual act of some sort. The wording that the government wants in the jury instruction is, is they want the jurors to be instructed by the judge to understand that a sexual act doesn't have to mean that it was completed. So you didn't have to actually have sex. You didn't have to actually do anything oral or finish either one of them for this to be considered a commercial sexual act. And the defense was not going, baby. Diddy's attorneys immediately shot up and were like, that's not true. The whole time they've been talking about that night, they talked about it as if a freak off. This was a freak off. The judge is like, I don't think that the government ever tried to imply one way or the other that, you know, a sexual. A commercial sexual act should not be talked about as something that's only completed, Right? And there again, Diddy seems pushing back. They're like, that's not true. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true. So then Diddy's team stands up. This is one of the younger attorneys, and he says, look, if we're going to have a conversation about this, the. The real issue here is whether it's consistent, consensual or not. We're arguing what we're arguing, and we can send you some cases, we can send you some actual transcript from what has been actually said in this courtroom by the government. In the meantime, we also have to look at the fact that, like, all of this is a conversation, too, about something being consensual and the way that this is worded right now in the jury instruction, even if things are consensual in the beginning, they can start off consensual and then end up not. And they're like, even if you want to talk about that, okay, fair. And we're talking due process here. We're talking due process when it comes to the commercial sexual acts. And we're talking due process when it comes to the wording around the sexual acts, too, when it comes to us talking about consensual and not consensual. And what I'm watching the prosecution do is, you know, they covering all their bases. They.in their eyes and crossing their T's. And the. The defense was arguing that even on the conversation about the commercial sexual acts, the government is. From what Diddy's team is alleging and how they're feeling, it's like, okay, y' all sitting over there and y' all cheers across from us. Judge in the middle, like, Andy Cohen and y' all are trying to make sure that no matter what, y' all get a home run. You cannot make this so vague where everything counts. It just can't go that way. So let's narrow this down. Let's really define what this means. Because if we define what this means based off what you guys have been talking about, you haven't proven that. You haven't been able to prove that these certain things have happened. And that's why y' all are backing, like, backing away again. That backing away. The prosecutors in their letter said, hey, look, we want to streamline, basically. We want y' all to focus, okay, focus on this right over here. Because this over here we ain't too sure about. And that is what that letter was. That is what the dropping was. It was the dropping or backing away from certain theories that were used to make up a crime. We going to lean on what we going to lean on first, which is honestly, like, to be completely honest with you guys, most of the time when you do something like this, like a RICO like this, or just charges in general, most prosecutors offices want to really take their time before indictments come down or charges dropped because they don't want to get in front of a jury or a judge and can't really provide hard, tangible, concrete evidence that these things are happening and not just big theories. So I don't know. I was confused about that. But the whole time I've been confused. And I'm wondering if it's because the actual prosecutor who charged or who indicted Diddy, that changed when the trial actually started. I don't know what it's been. I would. I don't know. I'm very interested to see if anything is acquitted whatsoever. I don't think that Diddy is going to walk scot free from this. There will be some charges that he will not walk away from and that he will, whatever that consequence may be, he will have to do whatever that consequence is. I don't think that he's going to 100% walk scot free what that looks like. We will honestly find out within the next week. They did not directly address at all what will be dropped. Won't be dropped. Is the acquittal happening, dismissal of this? They didn't get to that at all today. But to clarify, there have been no charges dropped against Sean Diddy comb as of June 25, 2025 at 9:05pm from my last update, at the end of the day, there's always a lot to talk about, and I know, we've been talking about a lot of Diddy, okay? We've been going. And we've been really going into depth on Sean Diddy Combs. Diddy has been in our homes, on our TVs, on our radios, our. Our phones, all of that for a very, very long time. So I think that's why, you know, people are so invested in this. And I get it. Doing my best to bring you all the best information, first and foremost and, you know, clarity on some things. That is my word of the day, child. I had a day today when I did that report, but all the other reports said something else. But that's a part of the game. When you're good at what you do, you good at what you do. When your sources are valid, they are that. So I appreciate y' all for being right here with me, because y' all could be anywhere else at the end of the day talking to anybody about these things, because there is always a lot to talk about. But you guys are right here with me, Lowriders, and I appreciate y' all for that. I will catch you guys in my next episode. This is an I Heart podcast.