In a surprise development, federal prosecutors have removed some of the allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Prosecutors sent a letter to the court late Tuesday, June 24, saying they would “streamline” the jury instructions and remove three claims against Combs — attempted kidnapping; attempted arson; and aiding and abetting sex trafficking — which all fall under the racketeering conspiracy charge in count one of the indictment.
The prosecution’s 8-page letter notes that Judge Arun Subramanian “requested edits” to the jury instructions, and the letter says the three claims being removed fall under the laws of California and New York, where the alleged kidnapping, arson and trafficking incidents happened.
“The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability, so instructions are no longer necessary,” the letter reads.
Count one accuses the mogul of “creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”
The RICO count is still in play, but prosecutors removed jury instructions related to the three claims noted above.
Related: Diddy Makes Surprise Statement as Defense Rests in Trafficking Trial
In one kidnapping incident, Diddy’s former assistant Capricorn Clark testified that she was held against her will inside a “dilapidated” building in Manhattan for five days after diamond jewelry on loan to the mogul went missing. She said a “large man” forced her to take polygraph tests and warned, “they’re going to throw you in the East River,” if she failed. The tests were inconclusive.
In another incident, Clark said Combs forced her into an SUV at gunpoint. She said they drove to rapper Kid Cudi’s house in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles looking for the hip-hop artist so Combs could confront him about dating his on-off girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Cudi was not home at the time.
The arson allegation is related to Kid Cudi’s car, which exploded while it was parked in his driveway in early 2012.
First, the rapper’s house was broken into the day Capricorn Clark was kidnapped in December 2011. Then the rapper, born Scott Mescudi, told jurors his Porsche erupted in flames a few weeks later. A Los Angeles arson investigator testified that someone cut the roof of the convertible and dropped a Molotov cocktail inside.
Both the prosecution and the defense were scheduled to meet with the judge this afternoon to discuss instructions for the jury. Closing arguments begin Thursday.
The prosecution and the defense rested on Tuesday. There had been speculation that Combs would take the stand to refute the allegations against him, but he declined to testify when Judge Subramanian asked what he planned to do.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Combs?” the judge asked.
“I’m doing great,” the mogul replied.
The defense did not call any witnesses. Instead, the mogul’s legal team presented evidence for about 30 minutes.
The prosecution rested earlier in the day, after introducing 34 witnesses over six weeks.
Combs, 55, faces five criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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