A former employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs broke down in tears as she described being sexually assaulted by the hip-hop star on several occasions – telling the court the alleged abuse was “the most traumatising, worst thing that’s ever happened to me”.
Image: Combs’s motherJanice Combs has been supporting him in court every day. Pic: Reuters
Mia told the court she once woke to find Combs on top of her and that he forced her to have sex against her will. Another time, he forced her to perform oral sex, she alleged.
He also once threw a bucket of ice on her head and slammed her arm into a door on another occasion, she said.
The court heard Mia had never told anyone about the alleged sexual assaults by Combs until she spoke to government investigators for this case.
“I was going to die with this,” she said, becoming tearful on the stand. “I didn’t want anyone to know ever.”
Telling the court she could not say “no” to her former boss, she said: “I knew his power. And his control. I didn’t want to lose everything that I worked so hard for.”
She also said she feared being attacked and was “always” worried about being physically hurt by Combs. “I didn’t want to die or get hurt.”
Mia said she felt “desperate”, “terrified and trapped” and described the alleged sexual assaults as “the most shameful thing of my life”, and “the most traumatising, worst thing that’s ever happened to me”.
Asked why she is speaking out now, she told the court: “Because I have to tell the truth.”
Image: Marc Agnifilo, one of Diddy’s defence lawyers, pictured outside court. Pic: Reuters/ Eduardo Munoz
‘Chaotic and toxic’
Mia, faltering at times, said working for Combs came with extreme highs and lows.
Sometimes he would offer advice and act like her “protector”, she said. Other times, he would “humiliate” her and berate her for small mistakes, and work her so hard she had little sleep, she said.
“It was chaotic. It was toxic,” she told the court.
Combs’s employees were always on edge because his mood could “change in a split second”, causing everything to go from “happy to chaotic”, she said.
Mia told how she was barely at home once she started working for Combs. Like other employees, she often slept at his properties in LA, Miami and New York.
She told the court she was not allowed to leave without his permission and was not allowed lock her door, even though it seemed as if other members of the predominantly male security staff were able to do so.
“This is my house. No one locks the doors,” Combs allegedly said to her.
On one occasion, Mia said she worked without sleeping for five days, with prescription drugs getting her through it. It was only when she had a physical breakdown that Combs allowed her to sleep, jurors were told.
Mia’s testimony echoed that of prior prosecution witnesses, including several of Combs’s other former employees, as well as Cassie.
Image: King Combs and Quincy Brown, two of Combs’s sons, were in court for today’s session. Pic: Reuters/ Eduardo Munoz
Cassie, an R’n’B singer and model whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, spoke for four days during the first week of the trial.
She told jurors her ex-partner subjected her to hundreds of “freak offs” – drug-fuelled marathons in which she said she engaged in sex acts with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them.
Mia is the second of three women testifying about alleged sexual abuse by Combs. The third woman, using the pseudonym “Jane”, is also expected to testify about participating in freak offs.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
During their opening statement, his lawyers conceded he could be violent at times, but said that did not make him a sex trafficker or racketeering leader. Combs denies using threats or his music industry clout to commit or cover up abuse.
What did Mia say about Cassie?
Image: Cassie, who was heavily pregnant when she testified, has now given birth to her third child. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In the first part of her testimony, Mia told the court she saw Combs beating Cassie on several occasions and that she sustained injuries, including black eyes, other bruises, and fat lips.
The two became friends, she said, and are still friends today.
Mia described a party at Prince’s house that she and Cassie “snuck out” to, saying Prince’s security had to intervene when Combs turned up and started to attack her.
She also described a trip to a private island in Turks and Caicos, in the Caribbean, saying she remembers Cassie being “terrified” as Combs banged on her door “screaming”.
On another occasion during that trip, they used paddle boards to go out to sea to get away from him, she said – but the weather changed and the sky turned dark.
“I was trying to weigh if it was scarier to face Mother Nature or go back to Puff,” Mia said, using the name she knew him by. “We eventually went back to Puff.”
Combs was also abusive to Cassie at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, the court was told. Mia alleged she saw him digging his nails into her as they watched a film.
Mia’s testimony will continue when the trial resumes on Friday.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
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Image: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
Image: House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
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Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty of transportation for prostitution following a landmark trial in New York – but cleared of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The hip-hop mogul was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura, and other crimes including kidnapping, arson and blackmail.
Jurors decided not all the allegations were proven – but Combs still faces several years in prison after being convicted of transporting people across the US, including Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane”, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
However, with the not guilty verdict on three other more serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and two of sex trafficking – the 55-year-old has avoided a maximum possible sentence of life behind bars.
Despite a request by his defence team, he was denied bail ahead of sentencing – which has been scheduled for Friday 3 October.
Image: Combs appeared upbeat in court as the verdict was announced. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Marc Agnifilo, part of Diddy’s defence team, described the ruling as “a victory of all victories”.
Outside the courthouse, he said the jury “got the situation right, or certainly right enough”.
Another of his lawyers, Nicole Westmoreland, said: “He actually battled for his freedom, for his innocence, and he did it.
“And, you know, a lot of times, people are too afraid to do it. Today is a major win to show what the system can do.”
The mixed result from the jury came not long into their third day of deliberations. In the courtroom in Manhattan, there were cheers from Combs’s family – and the rapper himself held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at the jury, and hugged his defence lawyer Teny Geragos.
His mood seemed very different to just a day earlier – when he learned the jury had reached a verdict on four of the five charges, but were split on the racketeering charge.
After deliberating for longer on Wednesday, they came to a unanimous decision.
As the verdict sunk in, Combs appeared overwhelmed, kneeling at his chair and bowing his head in prayer once again.
“I’ll be home soon,” he said as he faced his family members. “I love you, Mum.”
Image: Combs later seemed to become overwhelmed with relief. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
The application for bail
Combs’s defence team argued that as he had been cleared of the most serious charges, he should be bailed ahead of sentencing.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo said he had been a model prisoner and added: “He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back.”
But prosecutor Maurene Comey argued Combs had a history of violence, which Judge Arub Subramanian agreed with. “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships,” he said.
After being denied bail, Combs attempted get the judge’s attention – but after consulting with Mr Agnifilo, he did not speak.
Image: Casandra ‘Cassie’ was heavily pregnant when she gave evidence at the start of the trial. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Cassie ‘paved the way’
Reacting to the verdict, Cassie’s lawyer Douglas H Wigdor said that although jurors did not find Combs guilty of sex-trafficking Cassie, she had “paved the way” for the other guilty verdicts.
“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” he said.
“We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client, who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial.”
Cassie, who testified heavily pregnant just three weeks before giving birth, displayed “unquestionable strength”, he added, and “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit”.
Videos of “freak off” sex sessions with male escorts were shown to jurors only during the seven-week trial, with the footage kept private from members of the public and media in court.
Former employees, along with escorts, hotel staff and police officers were among those to give evidence.
Cassie and Jane, who used a pseudonym, also testified. They told the court they were coerced into drug-fuelled “freak offs” – which were also referred to as “hotel nights” or “wild king nights” – with male escorts, and abused throughout their relationships.
Combs’s defence team presented a very different picture to show that sexual acts, including freak offs, were consensual.
They conceded the music star could be violent, had a bad temper and used drugs. He also had multiple relationships at the same time. But crucially, they said, while he was “not proud” of some of his behaviour, none of it made him guilty of the charges against him.
After hearing evidence of flights and travel for escorts and Cassie and Jane, paid for by Combs, as well as hotel bookings across the US and the Caribbean, jurors found him guilty of the transportation to engage in prostitution charges. However, they did not find that the allegations against the rapper amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering.
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CCTV footage shows Diddy ‘attacking’ Cassie in hotel
The Cassie hotel tape
Combs, known variously as Puff Daddy, P Diddy, and Diddy over the years, was once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop – famous as a producer, founder of Bad Boy Records and manager of the late Notorious BIG in the 1990s, as well as a rapper in his own right.
As an artist, he won three Grammys during his career, and had hits including I’ll Be Missing You, Come With Me, and Bad Boy For Life.
In September 2023, he received the “global icon” award from MTV and was given the key to New York City at a ceremony in Times Square, just a few miles away from the streets in Harlem where he spent his first years.
Allegations first came to prominence in November 2023, when Cassie filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing him of coercing her into unwanted sex sessions, as well as blackmail and several incidences of violence.
The suit was settled in 24 hours – for $20m, it emerged during the trial – but months later CNN aired hotel security footageshowing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her to the floor in 2016.
He apologised after the video aired, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it.”
Footage from the hotel incident was shown during the trial.
Following the verdict, the rapper now awaits sentencing. He also still faces several civil lawsuits, most of which were filed in the wake of his arrest in September 2024.