P Diddy: Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial

Published

4 months ago

May 12, 2025

admin

Seven months after his high-profile arrest, the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is due to start.

A three-time Grammy winner and one of the most influential hip-hop producers of the past 30 years – also known variously as Puff Daddy, P Diddy and “Love” in the years since he rose to fame in the 1990s – the rapper and founder of Bad Boy Records is now facing serious criminal charges in the US, as well as several civil lawsuits.

He has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, said his sexual relationships were consensual, and strenuously denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Combs, 55, was arrested and charged in September 2024, six months after raids by federal agents on two of his properties in Los Angeles and Miami. He has been held in detention in New York since his arrest, having been refused bail as he awaits trial.

Jury selection began last week, with the final stages due to take place once court is in session today – starting at 2.30pm UK time. The court in Manhattan is set to be extremely busy, with opening statements by lawyers expected to begin after this.

Here is everything you need to know.

What is Combs on trial for?

Combs is facing five felony charges:

• Racketeering conspiracy
• Two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion
• Two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution

The rapper was initially charged with three offences – racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Two extra counts – one each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution – were added earlier in April.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Racketeering broadly means engaging in an illegal scheme or enterprise, and the charge falls under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) in the US.

According to the US justice department’s definition of RICO statute, it is also illegal to “conspire to violate” the laws.

The indictment against Combs alleges that between 2008 and 2024, he “led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes”, the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said following his arrest in September.

Who are the accusers?

Prosecutors expect four accusers to testify against Combs during the criminal trial.

Three have requested their identities not be revealed to the press or the public and that they instead be referred to using only pseudonyms.

One accuser, who is referred to as Victim 1 in court documents, is prepared to testify under her own name, prosecutors have said.

When did allegations begin?

In November 2023, Combs’ former girlfriend, R’n’B star Cassie – full name Casandra Ventura – filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and viciously beaten by the rapper on many occasions over the course of 10 years.

The lawsuit was settled the following day. Terms of the agreement were not made public but there was no admission of wrongdoing from Combs, and he issued a statement saying he “vehemently” denied the “offensive and outrageous” allegations.

Six months later, footage recorded at a hotel in Los Angeles in 2016 emerged, allegedly showing Combs hitting and kicking Cassie in a hallway.

Shortly afterwards, he released a video apology, saying his behaviour in the video was at a time when he had “hit rock bottom” but nonetheless was “inexcusable” and that he was “disgusted” with himself.

The rapper’s lawyers argue the footage was nothing more than a “glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship”.

Details of ‘freak offs’

The charges include details of alleged “freak offs” – described as “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded”.

He allegedly induced female victims and male sex workers into drug-fuelled sexual performances, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege victims were given controlled substances during the sometimes days-long events to keep them “obedient and compliant” and Combs subjected them to “physical, emotional, and verbal abuse” to get them to engage.

The indictment also alleges Combs “engaged in acts of violence, threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse” including kidnapping and arson when witnesses of his alleged abuse threatened his authority or reputation.

What happens first?

The hearing at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Lower Manhattan, began with the start of jury selection on Monday 5 May.

After the two additional charges were added in April, Combs’ legal team requested a delay of two months, saying they needed more time to prepare his defence. However, Judge Arun Subramanian, who will hear the trial, denied the request, saying it had been made too close to the start date.

So, the trial will go ahead as planned. Jury selection is scheduled to take a week, but as a high-profile case, this process may be complicated and take some time.

If it goes to plan, the opening statements from the prosecution and defence are set to begin on Monday 12 May.

Potential jurors were questioned on their views regarding sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence, as well as their thoughts on Combs and whether they can remain fair and impartial, in a questionnaire.

In a letter submitted to the judge, the rapper’s legal team said: “Because this trial involves content that is sensitive and private in nature, many individuals are uncomfortable speaking about these issues in front of others and would be more candid writing about them in a questionnaire.”

Examples of areas “requiring inquiry” were potential connections to “drug or alcohol abuse… domestic violence, their willingness to watch videos with physical assault and videos that are sexually explicit, and their views towards people with multiple sexual partners”, they said.

They also wanted potential jurors to say if they have watched documentaries released about Combs since the charges were announced.

Hundreds of prospective jurors filled out questionnaires designed to elicit any bias they may have about the case. Combs’ defence lawyers and prosecutors agreed on about 150 who could proceed to in-person questioning by the judge, known as voir dire.

During the first day of jury selection, they were also presented with a list of names, including celebrities, that may come up during the trial. These included actors Michael B Jordan and Mike Myers, rapper Kanye West, Aubrey O’Day and Dawn Richard – former members of girl group Danity Kane, who were signed to Bad Boy – and singer Michelle Williams.

The context in which these people may be mentioned is not yet known.

What has Combs said?

The rapper has strongly denied all the allegations against him.

Following his initial court appearance in September, one of his lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, said the rapper would “fight this to the end,” that he was “not afraid” of the charges, and was “looking forward to clearing his name”.

“Eventually he’s going to be shown to be innocent,” Mr Agnifilo said.

In a document submitted in February, Combs’ legal team argued for the transportation charge to be dismissed, saying he had been subject to a “racist” prosecution “for conduct that regularly goes unpunished”, and that he was being “singled out” as “a powerful black man” over the use of escorts.

They argued that “no white person” had ever “been the target of a remotely similar prosecution” and said that while the rapper had “complicated relationships with significant others as well as with alcohol and drugs… that doesn’t make him a racketeer, or a sex trafficker”.

Are the criminal charges separate to the lawsuits?

Yes. Combs has also been hit with dozens of civil claims – a few filed before the criminal charges were announced, but the majority afterwards.

These include accusations of sexual abuse by men and women, from alleged victims who were as young as 10 at the time of the alleged incidents.

Many of these have been filed by Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee, whom Combs’ team have accused of seeking publicity.

One particularly high-profile lawsuit, involving rapper Jay-Z as well as Combs, was voluntarily dropped with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again, by the accuser in February.

Another lawsuit accuses Combs of raping a woman as alleged payback for her saying she believed he was involved in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Combs is suing the lawyer involved in this case for defamation, over other allegations that have been made against him.

What sentence does Combs face?

The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York announced details of potential sentences when Combs was charged, but said the decision would ultimately be determined by the judge.

Racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, the attorney’s office said, as does sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion – which also carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The charge of transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

US

Mandelson to praise Trump as maverick ‘risk taker’ and paint Brexit as liberating force

Published

1 day ago

September 6, 2025

admin

Mandelson to praise Trump as maverick 'risk taker' and paint Brexit as liberating force

Britain’s ambassador to the United States will use a keynote speech today to underline the UK-US special relationship – while also attempting to ‘Reform-proof’ his own struggling government.

Lord Mandelson, the architect of New Labour, master of political spin and now Britain’s man in Washington, will use the 2025 annual lecture at Ditchley Park to offer a positive spin on a presidency which has proudly upended norms and frayed alliances.

In the speech, parts of which have been released in advance, Mandelson will describe President Trump as a “risk taker” with an “iron-clad stomach”.

Lord Mandelson was chosen as ambassador by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer late last year. He is a political appointee rather than a career diplomat.

And with intriguing language he will offer his take on the parallels between Trump and Starmer’s challenges and mandates.

He will say: “I credit President Trump’s political instincts in identifying the anxieties gripping not only millions of Americans, but also far more pervasive Western trends: economic stagnation for many, a sense of irreversible decline, the lost promise of meaningful work…

“These American concerns find their mirror image in British society, where Keir Starmer won an electoral mandate for national renewal which is similar to Donald Trump’s.”

Yet Mandelson delivers the speech at the end of a week when Nigel Farage was in town.

Screaming for his own form of Trump-like national renewal, the disruptive leader of the UK’s top-polling political party – Reform – was in Washington to hobnob in the Oval Office and to tell Congress that Keir Starmer is turning Blighty into North Korea.

Mr Farage enjoys lapping up the limelight in Washington, where he is an old-world conservative celebrity in the new MAGA White House.

His calculation is that the MAGA wave will reach the UK shores soon.

Reform‘s policy platform is a mirror of the Trump agenda in many respects, tweaked accordingly. The administration is happy to support him. There is a MAGA-Reform mutual respect.

And so it is politically savvy or unavoidably necessary for Lord Mandelson, New Labour‘s architect laying the foundations of the current UK government, to proclaim: ‘We respect Trump too.’

The truth is the government, like so many around the world, sees Donald Trump as an infuriating and unpredictable disrupter with the ability to upend norms at the stroke of a Sharpie. But they can’t articulate that publicly.

Instead, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ will cast Mr Trump as the consequence not the cause of the disruption to international systems, even if many argue that he can be both.

As a master of spin, strategy and ruthlessness, Mandelson clearly has an admiration for Trump’s political style and sheer chutzpah.

He will tell the Ditchley Park lecture: “The president may not follow the traditional rulebook or conventional practice, but he is a risk taker in a world where a ‘business as usual’ approach no longer works.”

At a time when the Labour government is struggling and feeling the heat from Farage and his disrupters, are these words to be read as a not-so-subtle message to Prime Minister Starmer?

Mandelson is an old-fashioned liberal. He hasn’t the stomach for ‘wokey’ politics or own goals like the arrest of Graham Linehan. Is there a frustration that the political party he built is now messing it all up?

“Indeed, he seems to have an iron-clad stomach for political risk…” he will say of Trump, decrying the tendency of previous presidents to descend “into an analysis paralysis and gradual incrementalism”.

Lord Mandelson may be Britain’s man in Washington now but, more than anyone else to hold the post, he is deeply integrated into the Downing Street machine.

He is tight with Number 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and was inside Downing Street when Friday’s reshuffle took place. A total coincidence I am told.

A week before the president’s state visit to the UK, Lord Mandelson’s speech is designed to steady a special relationship put under pressure by the return of Trump.

“Do we always have identical views?” he will say. “Of course not, we never have. And we are not looking for special treatment. Our alliance exists because it serves both nations’ interests, because the core values of Britons and Americans remain aligned, as the world around us becomes more threatening.”

And, in a shapeshifting manoeuvre that only the original spin doctor could manage, Lord Mandelson, a cheerleading remainer in the EU referendum campaign, now casts Brexit as a liberator.

“Brexit has freed us to pursue closer US ties,” he will say in his speech.

“Britain has the opportunity to use its regulatory freedom and independence from European law to deepen American investment opportunities. This is crucial as, post-Brexit, we need to leverage every advantage we can to spur UK growth and employment.”

The ambassador is expected to concede that pre-referendum warnings of the demise of Britain’s trans-Atlantic clout have not transpired, while maintaining that Brexit has hit the UK financially with a net-loss to its economy.

They say the British ambassador is the custodian of the US-UK special relationship. This ambassador has seen what the relationship looks like under Trump.

With trademark political gymnastics, he seems now to be both admiring of the Trumpian movement but also anxious that if Britain under Labour doesn’t get its house in order, then it too will get its own Trumpian disrupter.

US

Joe Biden has skin cancer surgery – months after ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer diagnosis

Published

1 day ago

September 6, 2025

admin

Joe Biden has skin cancer surgery - months after 'aggressive' prostate cancer diagnosis

Former US president Joe Biden has had surgery for skin cancer, his spokesperson has said.

It’s unclear when he had the procedure, but video from late August showed him leaving church in Delaware with a large, fresh scar on his head.

The spokesperson told Sky’s US partner, NBC News, that he was recovering well.

Mr Biden had Mohs surgery, which involves removing a layer of tissue, examining it under a microscope to see if any cancer cells remain, and repeating if necessary.

The 82-year had a basal cell carcinoma, one of the two most common skin cancer types, removed from his chest in 2023.

His doctor said at the time that all the cancerous cells had been removed.

The same year, Mr Biden’s wife, Jill, had two basal cell carcinomas removed from near her eye and on her chest.

The former president also revealed this May that he had stage-four prostate cancer – with the disease having spread to his bones and having a Gleason score of nine.

Such a score means the disease is “likely to grow quickly”, according to Cancer Research UK.

His office said the prostate cancer was discovered when Mr Biden visited a doctor for urinary symptoms and that he was considering “multiple treatment options”.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” said a statement.

US

475 people detained during immigration raid on Hyundai factory in Georgia

Published

1 day ago

September 6, 2025

admin

475 people detained during immigration raid on Hyundai factory in Georgia

Officers detained 475 people during an immigration raid on a Hyundai factory for electric vehicles in Georgia.

The majority of those detained at the 3,000-acre site west of Savannah are from South Korea, according to Steven Schrank, special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations.

Mr Schrank said the raid was the “largest single-site enforcement operation” in the history of the agency and followed an investigation of several months, which involved leads from community members and former workers.

The spokesman for the South Korean foreign ministry, Lee Jaewoong, said there was a “large” number of South Koreans among those detained in the raid, but did not provide an exact number.

He said the detained workers were part of a “network of subcontractors” and that the employees worked for several different companies on the Georgia site.

Mr Lee said South Korea’s foreign ministry is dispatching diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in Atlanta to the site, and plans to form an on-site response team centred on the local mission.

“The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of US law enforcement,” Mr Lee added.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that agents executed a search warrant “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes”.

The manufacturing site, which employs about 1,200 people, has been hailed as the largest economic development project in the state’s history by Governor Brian Kemp and other officials.

Hyundai Motor Group, the biggest automaker in South Korea, started manufacturing electric vehicles at the $7.6bn (£7.4bn) site a year ago and partnered with LG Energy Solution to build an adjacent battery plant, which is set to open in 2026.

ICE spokesman Lindsay Williams confirmed the raid and said agents were focused on the construction site for the battery plant.

LG said in a statement that it was “closely monitoring the situation and gathered all relevant details”. The firm said it couldn’t immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.

“Our top priority is always ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and partners. We will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” LG said.

Hyundai and LG’s battery joint venture, HL-GA Battery Company, said in a statement that it’s “cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities” and paused construction of the battery site to assist the investigation.

Operations at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing plant weren’t interrupted, plant spokesperson Biance Johnson said.

The raid is the latest in a series of sweeping ICE operations as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, which saw immigration officers raid farms, construction sites, restaurants and auto repair shops.

The US labour force lost more than 1.2 million immigrants from January through July, which includes legal and illegal immigrants, according to the Pew Research Centre, citing preliminary census data.