Diddy on Trial - Breaking: Diddy verdict

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0:50Hello, you're listening to Diddy on Trial from BBC Sounds. It's producer Matt here, and the verdict is in. Anoushka has just sent us this.

0:58Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:I've just stepped out of the courtroom and we have a verdict. It is not guilty for count one, racketeering with conspiracy. It is not guilty for count two, sex trafficking in relation to Cassie Ventura. It is guilty for count three, transportation to engage in prostitution in relation to Cassie Ventura. It is not guilty for count four, sex trafficking in relation to Jane. It is guilty for count five, transportation to engage in prostitution in relation to Jane. The reaction? Diddy kept his head down while the verdict was being read out, but after it was done, he dropped to his knees and started praying, hands on the chair in front of him with his head down while his lawyers congratulated him and hugged each other.

1:31Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:His children were smiling and then at the end, they applauded in the courtroom and they applauded in the overflow rooms as well. Since stepping out the courtroom, everyone wants to talk to Anoushka. She's been doing loads of interviews and she's just been on the BBC News channel. Here's what she said. The success rate for the Southern District of New York prosecutors is about 93%. For Diddy's defence team to get him acquitted of the most serious charges in this case, it is more than a win. And I think we saw that reflected in the fact that Diddy dropped to his knees, had his head on his chair and was praying.

2:00Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:The courtroom erupted in claps and cheers. The overflow room erupted in claps and cheers. I caught up with Xavier Donaldson, one of the defence lawyers afterwards, who said, we are extremely happy. This isn't a win, this is a victory for them. In terms of the counts that he's guilty on, though, he is still potentially, I know we're not at that stage yet, of facing quite a long time in jail. Yeah, so that's what they were trying to hash out afterwards. I mean, transportation for prostitution, two counts. It's a serious charge. It's still a federal crime. We have to remember that. But it's unlikely that he'll get the maximum charge for that.

2:31Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:It's unlikely he'll do 15 years for that. I mean, they are asking now that he be released on a million-dollar bail and that he be allowed to go to Los Angeles, to his home in Florida, and have more freedom of movement to spend time with his family. So we'll get an indication of kind of where the judge is sitting at about 1 p.m. On the racketeering conspiracy, I mean, this is the sort of charge, you know, anyone watching that will be thinking, what is that charge about that? That's the kind of thing that you use to go after mob bosses. Was it a stretch for the government to bring that charge against him?

3:02Because they were essentially saying that he was running a criminal enterprise. That was the allegation, wasn't it?

3:06Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Yes, an extremely confusing charge. And I think if anybody feels bad that they don't understand it, remember that the federal government didn't understand it when they created it. It was created, like you say, to take down the mob, to take down the man at the top or the woman at the top in charge of a huge criminal network. Now, with this trial in particular, it's kind of confusing because he wasn't charged with any co-conspirators. There were nobody else taking the stand up there who was facing a conviction with him. So they were saying, yes, he ran this criminal enterprise, but the important thing is that he ran it and its purpose was to facilitate his own sexual desires.

3:37Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:So there's another caveat added on there that the jury then had to consider, do they think it's a criminal enterprise? Do they think he had a co-conspirator? And do they think he was doing this for the purpose of sex trafficking and abusing alleged victims? So there's a lot there that they had to go through and break it down, and it's extremely confusing. I mean, now the conversation is going to be, should the federal government have raised those charges to begin with? Is this the overreaching arm of the federal government, you know, meddling in private individuals' bedrooms and casting moral judgment and hauling somebody into a courtroom in front of the world's press and their family?

4:07Well, essentially, his lawyers were saying this was kinky, not criminal, right? And if you're just joining us now on BBC News, I think you are seeing pictures of Sean Combs' family leaving earlier. They've been in court every day. His children and his mother, they arrive in big black vans. They've left. But it is, I mean, it's really hard to sum up sometimes what it's like here. But, you know, you've been here for like seven weeks, haven't you? But it's mayhem. Like, you don't, it's not just us. Like, you're here with the podcast. We're here with TV and radio for the BBC. But you have so many influencers, content creators.

4:45And there was a bit of a fight between all of them. Just paint a picture of what it's been like, not just today, but for the last seven weeks.

4:51Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:It's been a circus. It's been an absolute circus. I mean, everybody is describing it like that. The court office is saying we've never seen anything like this before. We have influencers, newsflincers, people who just do rage bait, as well as legacy media, smaller media groups, activist groups, and everybody is competing and everybody's streaming live from their phone, like immediately as you come out of the courthouse. That means sometimes we've had crass things being shouted at alleged victims as they walk out of the house. At the courthouse, we've had fights breaking out. We had people turning up with socks filled with rocks, threatening to hit people with them.

5:20Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And that was on day one. And it's got progressively more and more, I'm going to say deranged as it's gone on. Yesterday was a twerking competition outside on the live stream. And they were spraying each other in baby oil and selling shirts that said it's a Freaco, not a Rico. And just remind me, what does that mean, Freaco, not a Rico? Right. So Freak Off. This is not a term that the BBC are using, you know, lightly. This is a term that the federal government used. It was originated by Diddy. and it's used to describe those days-long drug-fueled orgies where the prosecution alleged that Cassie and Jane were coerced and drugged and kept in a euphoric state to participate in these sexual performances.

5:53Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:I mean, now what the jury have just ruled is kinky, right? And that's about it. Kinky, not criminal. Kinky, not criminal. Exactly. And that was the T-shirt, wasn't it? He's a freak. Yeah, this is a freak-off. This is not a pattern of racketeering used to facilitate these freak-offs. We've heard them called Wild King Nights or Hotel Nights. That was his private sexual behavior, sexual proclivities in the bedroom with, they are saying, you know, consenting romantic partners. It's interesting also, and you can probably say more about this, but there has been accusations of there being racist undertones to this, right?

6:29There has been this case, I know, from some of the black American content creators that this is about trying to bring a very successful, I mean, he's beyond successful. he's a legend in hip-hop, to bring him down. We saw that actually used with R. Kelly as well. So just sum up that sort of side of it.

6:47Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Yeah, so that's been something that was introduced by the defence pretty much at the beginning. They said the Mann Act, which is interesting because that's the one he's been convicted of on both counts, they said that is a racist act in and of itself and it's used against black superstars in a way that it isn't used against their white counterparts. Now, the conversation at the courtroom, there has been a growing contingency that believe this is a targeted effort to take down Diddy and sort of make a show. If we can bring down this black entrepreneur and music mogul, look at what we can do to other African-Americans.

7:17Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Look, this is something that Mark Ignifolo touched on in those closing arguments. He asked the jury to consider why Diddy was being targeted, and the judge objected to that line of sort of getting them to consider that. That's not their job. But it's very much been the tension bubbling under the surface, and when you talk to a lot of the African-American content creators here, they will tell you that they think they're trying to make an example of Diddy. And today, today is a big thing because today he said, not me. Anoushka will be back later with more on this unfolding story. Thanks for listening.

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8:32Hey, it's Roman Mars, host of the 100 Objects series. This week, I'm joined by former Mythbuster Adam Savage to dial into the story of the Bell Telephone, an invention that completely transformed the way we communicate. We'll uncover the history behind a very specific, beloved model of the telephone, how it changed the world, and the story behind one of the most influential objects ever created. Listen to 100 Objects on the 99 % Invisible feed wherever you get your podcasts.