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Sean 'Diddy' Combs Acquitted of Racketeering and Sex Trafficking. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 02, 2025 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We begin this hour with major breaking news, Sean "Diddy" Combs found not guilty on the most serious charges in his criminal case.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: The jury found Combs guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted him of the charges that could have gotten him life in prison.

So let's go to CNN's Laura Coates and Kara Scannell right outside that courthouse in New York.

Laura, you have been there from the very beginning, as you have, Kara.

Laura, first to you. Catch us up with where things stand after this verdict. I mean, there's a chance that Sean "Diddy" Combs could walk out of that courthouse today, right?

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely.

And let me just echo Kara Scannell being there from the very beginning inside that court, our eyes and ears, giving us all of the information so impactful.

And here's what we know. He was charged with five felony counts, as you know, the most serious of them RICO, racketeering by conspiracy. Also, he was charged with sex trafficking for Cassie Ventura, sex trafficking for the pseudonym victim Jane, two counts of what's known as the Mann Act, which are transportation to engage in prostitution.

RICO had about -- oh, you know what we have? We have got Cassie -- one second. Cassie Ventura's attorney is speaking right now. I want to go. Do we have coverage right now? I want to hear what he has to say. Let's go to it. DOUGLAS WIGDOR, ATTORNEY FOR CASSIE VENTURA: ... interest in this

case. Whatever the appropriate thing to do under the law is what should be done.

And at the end of the day, he needs to be sentenced pursuant to the guidelines and pursuant to what the law is. My understanding of that is that he faces significant incarceration. So thank you very much. Thank you.

COATES: So impactful. We were hearing from Cassie Ventura. And you know what? This is a fluid thing right now. So I want everyone to indulge me for a second here because people are around the courthouse and they are reacting. They are responding in real time.

I cannot overstate, and, Kara, you know, the cultural significance and importance of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Can I bring in -- let's all slide over to this for a second. And I don't want to lose you, Kara, in the conversation later as well.

I have got Dream Hampton who's here. You, of course, know Dream Hampton and let's see here and the work that she has done and written about with respect to RICO and racketeering in the music industry and R. Kelly as well. So I have got Dream Hampton.

Dream, I want you to respond. Everyone who knows Sean "Diddy" Combs certainly knows about the impact you have had in terms of assessing and evaluating and writing about the cultural significance of hip-hop, of also his status in the industry, but also about what's behind the scenes that people have been talking about and some of the underbelly of this world, what it's like for women in this position as well.

Talk to me, Dream. What is your reaction right now? Sean "Diddy" Combs has been found guilty only of the final counts of prostitution.

DREAM HAMPTON, FILMMAKER: My heart in this moment is going out to Cassie. I can't imagine what she's feeling.

This was a woman who could have had a career. And some of the testimony that she gave near the end about being 10 years into this relationship with Puff and still wanting to go to the studio, but feeling like her job was to do this sex work, and I'm afraid that with Puff walking from the more serious charges that he's -- not only him, the whole entire discourse, I just wonder what we're going to learn from this.

I wonder when it'll end. I wonder when -- we will he still look at women as disposable and as property? I wonder when these men will cease to tell themselves these stories? I mean, his -- the defense, the closing arguments by his attorney were absurd, that this was like this Bonnie and Clyde love affair.

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No, it wasn't. You were talking about someone who'd endured a decade of abuse.

COATES: They did not find the guilty of the sex trafficking of Cassie Ventura, as you know.

HAMPTON: Yes.

COATES: And you and I have spoken more broadly thematically about where it is. Just to remind the audience, one of the reasons she's bringing up the record deal of Cassie Ventura is because she testified on the stand a great deal about how one of the things that Sean would hang over her head was this illusion that she would produce music and that she wasn't -- unlike Jane, she was an employee of Bad Boy and a signed artist to a 10-record deals.

HAMPTON: Yes.

COATES: She testified about that and that she was constantly in the studio recording under essentially the pretense that she would actually make music. That was something very significant.

People are thinking about the comparisons to R. Kelly as well, who was found guilty. Diddy walks on that.

HAMPTON: R. Kelly had a different operation. But I just wonder that if anyone in the -- of course, I'm thinking about the girls also.

Like, I was afraid for them. I think about the commitment. I talked to Paul for "Essence" after Kim Porter died, and he talked about the promise that he made Kim when she was feeling sick. This is the twins' mother, Christian's mom, about the promise that he made them -- made her, that he would take care of the girls should anything happen to her.

She was really sick. She didn't know that she was going to pass away, but she was afraid. And I think about hearing this -- these weeks of testimony and how he was actually spending his time, four or five days in these hotel rooms.

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COATES: There's a lot to unpack.

HAMPTON: This is real time. And I'm unpacking it. And I have been unpacking it for decades. I have known Puff since he was 20 and I was 19.

I don't think that the court is the best way to -- place to learn these lessons. And that includes R. Kelly. I don't think that he's in prison really thinking about the harm that he caused women. I don't.

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COATES: Well, we're going to talk more because, as Dream Hampton was talking about, it is so true. This is all in real time. Dream, stand by. We're going to keep talking as well.

Kara Scannell, of course, is here. We're not going to forget about the tremendous work that she has been doing and how important it has been. We're going to come back to everyone. This is fluid right now. It's in real time.

We're going to take a quick break. We're actually going to go back to Pamela Brown and Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM, while we're in the situation courthouse.

BROWN: You are in quite the situation there outside that courthouse in New York. Wow.

I mean, just hearing both of your perspectives is so illuminating because you have been there from the beginning. Actually, before I let you go, Kara, again, I just want you to bring us inside that courtroom as the verdict was read.

I mean, this really was the best realistic scenario, if you will, for Sean "Diddy" Combs and his family who were inside that room.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pam, it absolutely was.

The charges that he was acquitted on were the most serious. They carried the potential life sentence. So when the jury said not guilty to those counts, you saw the release from weeks that this family has carried with them. You heard "Yes" coming from some of the kids. You heard a whew after the first sex trafficking count was found not guilty.

There was just so much relief. And then once the jury exited the courtroom, Marc Agnifilo, Combs' attorney, had argued for his release, saying all of his family's here. Any one of these people can sign, support him so that you can be assured he's not going to do anything else. He's learned any lesson he's going to learn. He realizes he's got a second chance on life because the stakes here were so high.

Then, once the judge was off the bench, Combs was able -- he's still in custody, but he was able to turn to his family. And his family members were all cheering. They broke into applause. He turned to his mom. He said to everyone, "I love you." He turned to his mom. He said, "Mom, I love you."

And then he just said, "I love you. I love you, I love you" as he was brought out of the room. And just it erupted into applause. His two rows of family members were so elated by this because of the huge relief. I saw some people dabbing their eyes from tears of relief.

And then his lawyers, they were embracing each other. They were slapping each other on the back. There were chants of "Dream Team" from some of the family members looking at the attorneys. One was over hugging the family members, crying. There was such this sense of euphoria from the side that they got not convicted of these most serious charges, because he could have faced decades in prison.

COATES: And, Karen, the mom yesterday and him, they talk almost every day in this courthouse. What have you seen?

SCANNELL: Yes, I mean, they have a very close interaction every day.

Yesterday, she seemed to be leaning, summoning him over more before he was brought in and out of the courtroom, because he can't stay there because he's in custody. And he was reassuring.

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COATES: ... to a cell block behind the courtroom.

SCANNELL: Yes. The marshals lead him out. They bring him downstairs to his cell. And that is where he has to wait. And so he kept reassuring her saying: "It's going to be all right. I'm going to be all right."

He said to his family when he was leaving: "Stay strong. I'm hoping to come home soon."

So they are really putting a lot -- and there will be more proceedings this afternoon to decide whether or not he will get bail, whether he will be released as soon as today to go home to his family with some conditions.

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COATES: What are we waiting for, those letters to the judge?

SCANNELL: Yes. There's a 1:00 deadline for the parties to submit their best argument.

The prosecution's opposing this. They said, even though he was acquitted of the serious counts, the judge should not forget that conduct. They say that he's still a violent person and that he is a flight risk. So they are still arguing that he should be detained.

The judge is saying, I want to know what the case law is. Has anyone who's been convicted of Mann Act, a prostitution charge, been denied bail? And so Combs' lawyer is saying, release him on a million-dollar bail. The judge wants this in writing. He said, I will have everyone back later today. No time has yet been set. But then the judge is going to make a decision.

He said he will decide today. And so the question is, does Combs walk out of here a free man at some point today or in the next few days, or does he stay in custody until he's sentenced?

COATES: Pam, you have been to law school. I mean, both you guys know. first of all, this man was listed in "Forbes" at one point, I think recently as having a net worth of $400 million. That's almost half-a- billion with all the issues that is happening. A million-dollar bail would be what my father would call chump change when it comes to a lot of things if in fact he's released.

But you guys know, Wolf, Pam, this might very well be this generation's O.J. trial.

BLITZER: Yes, I remember covering that trial too. It's very dramatic, these verdicts that are coming in right now.

I want to bring in CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig and CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams. Elliot, you're here with me. And for those viewers who are just tuning

in, let's review these five charges, convicted on three of them, acquitted on two of them, racketeering conspiracy, not guilty. That was the most serious charge, facing potentially life in prison. Sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, not guilty. That involved Cassie Ventura, not guilty on that.

Third charge, transportation to engage in prostitution. It's a lesser charge, guilty on that charge. It does carry a 10-year maximum sentence.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BLITZER: The fourth charge, sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, another victim, number two, Jane, as she was called, not guilty. The fifth charge, transportation to engage in prostitution, pertains to victim number two, Jane, guilty.

So, three guilty, two not guilty. We know the results, the verdicts. We don't know the sentencing. That's going to be up to the judge, right?

WILLIAMS: It will. Now, certainly, as you had said, Wolf, each of those two...

BLITZER: Three not guilty, two guilty.

WILLIAMS: Three not guilty, two guilty.

Now, each of the two guilty counts carry a maximum 10-year sentence. Now, there will be a complicated formula of working out his criminal history, other acts that he was charged with and so on. But that's what you're looking at there.

Now, certainly, very few people are ever sentenced to the top of the statutory maximum. So we should get the 10-year or 20-year figure out of our heads, but he will go to jail for some time.

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BLITZER: And it will be up to the judge to make that decision.

WILLIAMS: It will be up to -- it is the judge's discretion and decision there.

Now, to sort of pull back, it's important to note that the jury split up the charges here into sort of more complicated and less complicated ones, more fraught ones versus less fraught ones, a racketeering conspiracy, which would have, in effect, required prosecutors or had prosecutors establishing a criminal enterprise being directed by Sean Combs.

They just did not find that. Also, same thing, the acts of -- sex acts by force, fraud and coercion, they just couldn't find. What was clearer throughout this trial were acts of prostitution that were supported by airplane records, payments, and so on, information that would just be hard to deny. There were sex acts. No one disputes that, and they were paid for, and there's a paper trail linking the defendant to them.

That was far more straightforward for the prosecution to prove compared to some of the other things.

BLITZER: On the two guilty charges, the judge, when he decides the 10-year maximum sentence, he can run that concurrently or simultaneously or whatever. It's up to the judge.

But another factor that the judge has to consider, were there any previous convictions of these kinds of charges?

WILLIAMS: Of any charges. He can consider the defendant's criminal history and also uncharged conduct, other information in his record that's worth considering. It is a complex formula, and I could not, as we sit here today, try to speculate as to what he's going to get.

Now, certainly, even the decision of whether to run them concurrently would be, was it the same act or two discrete acts, and would you sentence them at once on top of each other or in succession? And that's a factor that the judge will have to decide.

BLITZER: Were you surprised, as I was, that the jury came back? Originally, they couldn't decide on the racketeering charge, the most serious charge facing potentially life in prison. They couldn't decide, but then this morning, they decided pretty quickly on that.

WILLIAMS: I'm not surprised. And we were talking about this, Elie and I, in the green room this morning. Sometimes, they change their mind, Juries do. They say that they're deadlocked and then come back after being directed by the judge.

I'm surprised at the speed with which it happened, that by late in the afternoon yesterday, they were hopelessly deadlocked, and within, I think, 45 minutes of getting there this morning, that they'd come to an agreement. It happens. Juries do. One -- any number of factors, just being told by the judge, you have somewhat of an obligation here under the law to attempt to find unanimity, whether that's agreeing to convict or agreeing to acquit.

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So go back. Do your best. I know it's hard. The law is hard. These are very strong, difficult issues and people are going to disagree on them. Go back and do your job.

BLITZER: And sometimes, as you know, and I have served on a jury, I assume you have as well, the members of the jury, they just want to go home, so they make decisions perhaps more quickly than you or I might have thought.

WILLIAMS: You know, it's funny. It's been said that perhaps the July 4 weekend was spurring the jury to act. Lunchtime can sometimes spur a jury to come together and come to an agreement, any number of factors that could force their hand in terms of getting them to get to yes or no, whatever the case may be.

BROWN: I want to bring an Elie into this conversation. I mean, think about it. Today, Sean "Diddy" Combs woke up not knowing if he would spend the rest of his life in prison and now he could walk out of that courthouse today, potentially, right?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BROWN: What is the likelihood of that?

BLITZER: At least temporarily.

HONIG: Right. It's a bit of a paradox, because here we have Sean Combs, who's just been convicted of two federal felonies, and, for all practical purposes, he has won. He has defeated the Southern District of New York, which -- I worked there. They don't like losing in court. They don't lose in court a lot.

And there's no way to spin this. This is a devastating setback for the SDNY. He -- Sean Combs was looking at the possibility of a 15-year mandatory minimum, potentially up to life, based on what -- based on the more serious charges where the jury found not guilty.

Now he's looking at a much, much lower sentence. And to that point, there is a realistic chance that the judge lets Sean Combs walk out today or maybe tomorrow if it takes some time to post bail. Here's why. The judge is doing a mental calculation right now. OK, you're going to hear from the prosecution.

And Kara and Laura reported the prosecution is saying, well, he still faces up to 20 years in prison. That is just a flex by the prosecution. That is nowhere near realistic, as Elliot was just saying. First of all, there are two 10-year max counts. They are going to merge. They are not going to be run what we call consecutively, back to back.

They're closely related to one another. I have had this argument 1,000 times in that courthouse. This sentence is all going to merge. So, realistically, the max is 10 years. If you're looking at somebody who's been convicted only of what we call the Mann Act, meaning noncoercive, non-forcible interstate prostitution, essentially ordering a prostitute across the state lines, a lot of times that results in no prison time.

That would -- take the Sean Combs out of it, take the celebrity out of it, take all the other evidence out of it. In an ordinary case where that was the only kind of conviction, you could have a realistic argument for probation here. Now, Sean Combs has been behind bars for coming up on a year. He was locked up last summer, summer 2024.

And so the judge is thinking, well, is going to be thinking, if there's a realistic chance I'm going to sentence him to time served, meaning the year or so he's already served, or maybe a little bit more than that, I should maybe let him out now on bail. Is he a flight risk? Is he really going to take off now that he's not facing these massive penalties? I think there's a good argument that he's not a realistic flight risk

at this point. Is he a danger to the community will be the other factor the judge is considering. But don't be shocked, it is possible and well within the realm, I think, of practicality that the judge may let Sean Combs out on bail pending his sentence. He has beaten the heavy charges.

And I think that has changed the entire calculus.

WILLIAMS: And I think that that beating the heavy charges is the real -- is another really important point to note here, that regardless of what anyone thinks of Sean Combs -- and let's be clear, there were some reprehensible acts and conduct that, whether they were federal crimes or what, we all saw them play out.

But the simple fact is, as of right now, in the eyes of the law, he has not been convicted of a crime of violence. He has not been convicted of the far more serious life-eligible crimes that he was charged with. He's right now a guy that's been charged with transporting people for prostitution.

And the judge has a basis for letting him go, assuming he can post the money.

HONIG: If I can just build on one other point Elliot made before, it's a really important point. This I think will come as a surprise to a lot of people.

A judge, a federal judge can consider acquitted conduct at sentencing. Even if a person has been found not guilty of certain conduct, when it comes time for sentencing, usually about three months from now, if the judge wants, it doesn't seem this judge is inclined that way, but the judge can say, OK, I know you were only convicted of interstate prostitution.

However, there was evidence in this case of physical violence. There was evidence in this case of drug use, evidence of gun charges. Now, all that was part of the RICO charge, which resulted in a not guilty verdict. But the judge -- this is actually, some argue, I think fairly, unfair to defendants.

The judge can still go back and consider that stuff and set a higher sentence as a result.

BLITZER: Not guilty racketeering conspiracy, not guilty sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, two charges of that, guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, transportation to engage in prostitution, both carrying maximum 10-year sentences.

We will see what happens. The judge will make the decision on how long he should wind up serving time in jail.

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Everybody, stay with us. We're going to continue to follow the breaking news, Sean "Diddy" Combs found not guilty on the most serious charges in this criminal case.

We're live outside the courthouse in New York. We will have live -- a live interview with the attorney of Cassie Ventura right after the break.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We're back with our breaking news coverage of the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, the federal jury in New York finding Combs not guilty on the most serious charges he was facing. That would be racketeering and sex trafficking.

BROWN: Combs has been found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

CNN's Kara Scannell and Laura Coates are both outside the courthouse.

Kara, what is the latest out there?

SCANNELL: So, you can hear there's some chance of people who want Diddy to be released right now, since he was acquitted of the most serious counts. And that is what his lawyers have asked the judge to do.

I mean, this was such a moment in the courtroom. We have been through more than six weeks of testimony in this trial. And Combs was found not guilty of the most serious charges. So we are seeing a big crowd here, more than we have seen in the past few days. And some supporters are asking for his immediate release.

And the judge said that he will take paper submissions by the parties and then he will make a decision today on whether to grant Combs bail. Combs has been in federal detention since he was arrested in September, so almost a full year. The judge is asking the prosecution, who wants him to stay in federal custody, what other cases exist where someone who's been convicted of essentially prostitution has had their bail denied while they're awaiting sentencing.

That will all tee up this afternoon. No time yet set for that, but Combs' team hoping that he will walk out this score today.

COATES: And, also, importantly the idea here of what they're going to consider if you're the judge, they're going to consider when you're trying to release somebody after a conviction whether they pose a threat to the general community or a safety concern, whether they are a flight risk, the severity and nature of the crimes.

Although the prosecution is arguing right now that he is likely to commit crimes again, the judge can't take that into full consideration because they're talking about the idea that the jury did not buy the notion of witness tampering. The jury did not buy, we're told, the notion of -- obviously of RICO or anything else that he was charged -- other than the transportation for the purpose of prostitution.

And so the judge is going to weigh all those factors, he will not have access to a plane and what conditions of release could possibly be set to allow for two things to happen, one, for him to await sentencing and the other to make sure the community is safe. His comfort is not the judge's concern, but that's what he has to weigh.

And behind us, by the way, as well, talk about the courthouse, but the court of public opinion is on full display here in Manhattan. Not a minute goes by when you don't hear people breaking out into screaming matches behind us from two different sides of the issue. Some are shouting that this was an egregious outrage. Others are saying, this is exactly what should happen.

People are circling one another and they are shouting about domestic violence. They are shouting about what men can do with women. They're shouting about MeToo. They're shouting about the court system. They're shouting against railroading. They're shouting. And you can see the range of emotion on full display here.

People have very strong opinions, as you can obviously see. But the fact that -- Kara is so accurate here. It's almost noon. It's about 11:30 a.m., guys. They are supposed to give a letter to the judge by 1:00 p.m. about whether he should leave or not. And then the judge will decide today.

There is a possibility that Sean "Diddy" Combs walks out that door behind us, the same way that his daughters, his sons, his mothers -- his mother, his supporters have done day in and day out. Can you imagine?

BLITZER: You know, it's very interesting.

And, Laura, I'm anxious to get your thoughts. This was a case in a federal court in New York City, not a local or state court or anything along those -- a federal court. And the Southern District of New York, which was prosecuting this case, has a reputation of being one of the best in the country, for all that matter.

They convict usually about 90 percent of all the cases that they're charging. So this is a surprise to a lot of people that they failed to convict him of the most serious charges.

COATES: It is a surprise. Some are wondering whether it's a black eye on the SDNY, who has that notorious high conviction rate.

I will say, in the defense of these six lawyers and prosecutors, they were quite phenomenal, very skilled, very diligent, very compelling, and obviously very committed to the charges in this matter. Whether they're skill, however, is important or not, it comes down to the evidence that was before this jury.

And a jury can only decide on the facts that are before them. People had criticized this very prosecution team for bringing this case in the first instance under RICO. For many people out there, Kara, they had seen that now infamous Intercontinental Hotel video that CNN exclusively obtained, watching that savage violence against Cassie Ventura, and they thought, well, this must be a slam dunk.

Surely he's being charged with assault. Surely, he's being charged with domestic violence. He was not.