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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ prosecutors indicated they are not pursuing several allegations against the rapper that pertain to the racketeering charge just days before closing arguments are set to begin.
The government indicated in a letter to the judge filed Tuesday, and obtained by Fox News Digital, that the theories of attempted kidnapping, attempted arson and aiding and abetting sex trafficking will not be pursued.
“The Government understands the Court’s desire for streamlined instructions. With that in mind, the Government has suggested ways to streamline those instructions,” the letter read.
“Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to (i) attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, (ii) attempted arson under California law, and (iii) aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary.”
DIDDY’S FREEDOM ‘RISES AND FALLS’ ON CASSIE VENTURA TESTIMONY AS LAWYERS PREP FOR CLOSING ARGUMENTS: EXPERT
A sketch shows Sean Combs in court on June 23, 2025. (Jane Rosenberg)
The prosecution’s move comes as the government works to simplify the charges against Diddy for the jury, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained to Fox News Digital.
“There are no charges being dropped,” the West Coast Trial Lawyers co-founder said. “The prosecution’s legal theories are essentially the same. The government is no longer pursuing the attempted kidnapping and attempted arson as predicate acts for racketeering. But they can still argue that the completed kidnapping of [Cassie] Ventura and [Capricorn] Clark and completed arson of Kid Cudi’s vehicle are RICO acts. The same applies to the sex trafficking counts. The government is arguing that Combs sex trafficked the victims, not that he aided and abetted others to do so. They’re simplifying the charges for the jury. This doesn’t really change anything.”
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Diddy’s defense allegedly planned to invoke the Iran conflict during closing arguments, according to TMZ. The government seemingly objected to this strategy after court Tuesday.
“Given that the attorneys who will be giving summations won’t be here tomorrow, I wanted to put something on the record that I hope will not be necessary, but my hope is that we don’t have to object during defense summation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said. “I really don’t want to do that. So I just wanted to put on the record that we think it would be objectionable and crossing a line for any summation to bring up politics or current events or the propriety of this prosecution and the use of government resources. I would hope that Mr. Agnifilo would not cross over those lines, but I just wanted to say that if he did, I would object in the middle of his summation and ask the Court to instruct the jury to disregard any comments like that. So I just wanted to state that in advance of summations and the hope that it’s not necessary.”
The prosecution noted this issue had been brought up in one of the government’s motions in limine.
“I believe at that time there was an agreement by the defense not to engage in any of that type of argument,” Judge Arun Subramanian said. “But, Mr. Agnifilo, anything to worry about here?”
“Nothing to worry about, Judge,” Diddy’s defense lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, responded.
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Both the prosecution and Combs’ defense wrapped up their respective cases Tuesday after six weeks of testimony. The defense did not call any witnesses to the stand and instead presented evidence they claim proves inconsistent statements were made during the trial.
Combs’ defense team immediately moved for a judgment of acquittal before resting their case. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued the government failed to prove the counts against the rapper.
“There’s, at best, thin proof any of the other employees participated,” Shapiro said before noting that “there is no evidence any of them believed he was sex trafficking.”
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Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September 2024. (Gareth Cattermole)
The jury spent the last six weeks hearing testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriends, ex-employees and witnesses involved in the investigation. The prosecution used the testimony to show that Combs allegedly ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Combs Global.
According to testimony, the rapper had his personal assistants set up hotel rooms for “freak offs” or “hotel nights.” The ex-employees who took the stand also testified they often procured drugs for the rapper. These drugs – including MDMA, cocaine and ecstasy – were then used by Combs and his ex-girlfriends during the allegedly forced sexual sessions involving male escorts, the prosecution argued.
Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs from 2007 until 2018, and the rapper’s most recent ex-girlfriend both took the stand during the six weeks of testimony. Cassie and Jane, testifying under a pseudonym, claimed they were introduced to “freaks offs” or “hotel nights” shortly after beginning their relationship with Combs.
Cassie Ventura, who was pregnant with her third child, testified over the course of four days in Sean Combs’ trial. (Jane Rosenberg)
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Combs’ defense and prosecutors are expected to finalize the jury instructions Wednesday. Closing arguments in the case against the disgraced music mogul will likely take the entirety of Thursday and Friday.
The jury could begin deliberations as early as June 30.
A sketch portrays Sean Combs and his defense on June 17. (Jane Rosenberg)
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Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
