AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The jury has begun deliberating in the federal criminal trial of Sean Combs, the hip-hop mogul also known as Diddy or Puff Daddy. After six weeks of presentations by the prosecution and just half an hour for defense arguments, the group of eight men and four women will decide on the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. NPR cultural correspondent Anastasia Tsioulcas has been at court during this trial and joins us now. And a warning, this conversation will include mentions of physical and sexual violence. Hi, Anastasia.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Hi there, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK. First, can you just tell us more about the specific charges that Combs is facing right now and what you think the jury will have to untangle to make their decisions here?
TSIOULCAS: Well, first, Sean Combs is accusing (ph) of sex trafficking two former girlfriends. They are really at the center of this case. Combs is accused of forcing them to participate in drug and sex marathons including male sex workers. And he referred to these occasions as freak offs or hotel nights or wild king nights, which he says were all consensual. But it's the escorts that bring us to the second charge, transportation to engage in prostitution. And he's also accused of racketeering, using his enormous business empire to commit those crimes and to hide them.
And that is a lot for the jurors to untangle. I spoke today with Neama Rahmani, a lawyer in Los Angeles, who is a former federal prosecutor himself. And he says the racketeering charges are especially complicated. They involve allegations of eight underlying crimes, including bribery, drug distribution and witness tampering. And the jury must agree that Combs committed at least two of those crimes in order to find him guilty of the racketeering charge.
NEAMA RAHMANI: The defense spent a lot of time saying that there was no enterprise and this was just Combs doing things on his own, these were all personal expenses. Then they attacked the conspiracy, saying that there was no unlawful agreement. Obviously, the government put on six different executive or personal assistants of Diddy and, you know, they were actively involved in setting up the hotels for the freak offs and procuring some of the legal and prescription drugs. Some of them were involved in the extortion and the bribery even though they weren't called as witnesses.
CHANG: OK. So because the set of charges is pretty complicated, it sounds like there are a lot of potential outcomes here, right?
TSIOULCAS: For sure, Ailsa. A lot of the accusations made by the prosecution overlap between charges. For example, what belongs to the accusations of coercion in the sex trafficking charge and what alleged acts of violence could be linked to the racketeering charge? It leaves the jury with a lot of variables to consider here.
CHANG: Yeah. OK, well, if Combs is found not guilty of all the charges, he will obviously walk free, but what are some of the possible outcomes if the jury finds him guilty of some or all charges?
TSIOULCAS: Well, Combs could be found not guilty of some of the charges and guilty on others. Also, the jury could be hung, that is, not come to unanimous agreement on one or more of the charges. But if he is found guilty on all three sets of charges, which are sex trafficking, transportation to commit prostitution and racketeering, Combs, who's now 55 years old, could be facing up to the rest of his life in prison.
CHANG: Well, then to add another complication, Anastasia, I understand that this afternoon, the jury sent a note to the judge saying that one of the jurors, quote, "cannot follow your honor's instructions." And then the judge sent a note back saying that each juror has an obligation to deliberate and follow the court's instructions. Now, I realize that the jury just got started, but what do you think that note could mean for this case?
TSIOULCAS: Well, Rahmani says it's a very big deal if the juror were to resist. Either the judge could declare a mistrial or remove the juror and replace that person with an alternate. Either scenario would certainly help Combs' team start preparing an appeal. But as of a few minutes ago, the jury's set to resume their deliberations tomorrow morning.
CHANG: That is NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas. Thank you, Anastasia.
TSIOULCAS: Thanks for having me.
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