Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial: Former assistant Brendan Paul to testify

Ventura and Combs had considered doing a "freak off" on March 4, 2016 — one day before his infamous videotaped beating of her at a Los Angeles hotel.

They ended up not doing it that day, according to a text chat, because of errands Ventura had to run.

That beating played a pivotal role in Combs' downfall.

The former girlfriend once proposed she and Combs cosplay a hotel bar pickup and one-night stand, according to a text chat between them.

She told Combs to meet her at a Hermitage Hotel bar where "I am not Cassie" and "you're not Sean."

If he needed to break character, the safe word would be "pineapple," Ventura wrote.

Ventura had previously testified to participating in this act, as a last-ditch effort to save their relationship.

The defense hopes to show that Ventura didn't object to her role in Combs' "freak offs" and was an enthusiastic participant.

His attorney, Teny Geragos, introduced one text chat in which Ventura wrote "LOL, sure, when" when asked by Combs to meet him for an Oct. 31, 2013, rendezvous at a Mondrian Hotel.

Ventura previously testified to doing the "freak offs" to keep Combs happy.

The Combs-Ventura relationship could be a roller coaster of emotion at any given moment.

A high point was on June 16, 2023, when Ventura texted her then-boyfriend, calling him an "extraordinary man" and saying she couldn't wait until "we have a baby of our own" to celebrate Father's Day.

Court has returned from lunch and Penland has taken the witness stand once again to resume cross-examination.

Jurors emptied the courtroom for the daily lunch break.

Jurors are wearing headphones and watching a video that was likely explicit footage, similar to what they were shown on Monday afternoon.

While both the sound and actual footage were blocked from the courtroom audience's view, some sound from headphones placed on the table could be picked up by microphones.

The sound appeared to be of excited communications rather than routine conversation.

Geragos continued to point out loving texts between Combs and Ventura that were missing in the prosecution's chart, but the special agent on the witness stand resisted.

The defense continued to review texts from Ventura that appear to be loving or encouraging of "freak offs," noting their absence from the government's evidence presentation.

Penland told the court that her job was not to add anything to the government's presentation but to review what was included. The chart was based on evidence showing who was at specific gatherings and locations, she said.

Geragos then pointed to a date on which the chart doesn't show Combs' name to indicate he was present at a specific gathering.

In its ongoing bid to prove Combs' "freak offs" were consensual acts, the defense read through texts that show the music mogul and then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura routinely exchanging dates for their next rendezvous.

"It can be any date you choose," Combs texted on Aug. 5, 2009.

In one text, Ventura responded that a Friday night would work best for her, so she could have the rest of the weekend to physically recover ahead of the next workweek. But Ventura added that if they couldn't make their schedules work for the weekend of Aug. 7-9, she wouldn't be free again until Aug. 28.

The defense showed a text from Ventura to Combs on Aug. 7, when she appears to tell him she's looking forward to performing oral sex on him.

Combs' attorney, Teny Geragos, took up cross-examination of Penland, who reviewed evidence presented in charts by the government.

The defense nitpicked at different parts of the evidence charts, noting that some sections were lacking. Some dates of hotel meetings between Combs and escorts didn't have Ventura's name listed, Geragos pointed out as one potential inaccuracy.

Penland testified that there were many times when another person was present, but did not have evidence to put their name in the chart. Penland said they did not have the names of every potential person at gatherings.

A panicked Combs called and texted Ventura to come back, in the wake of his videotaped beating of her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, phone records admitted into evidence show.

Combs told Ventura that officers were on their way to arrest him, though that was not the case, as no one called police to the InterContinental Hotel on March 5, nine years ago.

"I am about to be arrested," he texted Ventura before calling her five times in 22 minutes with no answers.

According to receipts shown through Special Agent Penland, hotels charged Combs' businesses thousands of dollars for damage to their rooms after his traveling party checked out.

The Beverly Hills Hotel billed Combs $500 for damage to drapes and carpets, and the Hermitage Hotel $950 for deep cleaning.

But the most eye-popping big ticket bill shown today came from the Intercontinental Hotel, which charged Combs $46,786 for penthouse damage Oct. 5, 2012.

A sex worker's round-trip travel from Los Angeles to New York in August 2009 appears to have been paid for by Combs, according to Penland's testimony.

Prosecutor Emily Johnson had Penland testify to records showing Jules Theodore's travel, including flights and hotel, paid for by an American Express card. Penland testified that it was Combs' credit card, and those charges were included in his September 2009 card payment.

Ventura previously testified that Theodore was an escort she and Combs often employed to have sex with her during "freak offs" early in their relationship.

DeLeassa Penland, a special agent with the U.S. attorney's office, has returned to the witness stand this morning.

Penland did not work on the Combs investigation but reviewed evidence in the case that she testified about yesterday. She went into travel records for Combs, Cassie Ventura, and at least one sex worker, the former couple frequently employed.

This testimony appears to bolster the government's case for the transportation to engage in prostitution charges levied against Combs.

Brendan Paul, who worked for Combs, took the stand to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before taking the stand later today.

He was granted an immunity order, which requires him to tell the truth to protect himself from prosecution.

Yesterday, defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro asked the judge what he told the other jurors about why Juror No. 6 was suddenly gone and off the panel.

Subramanian said the other jurors were told that Juror No. 6 was excused. They were also told not to discuss the case or the issue among themselves.

The issue with Juror No. 7 will be dealt with after court today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey revealed the government will likely rest its case against Combs tomorrow, but it could go into Friday morning.

Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo said the defense would present its case in two to five days of trial, but the timing is not set in stone.

A jury charge could come next week, Judge Subramanian said.

Court opened this morning with Subramanian asking the prosecution and defense about an online article that appeared to include details from a sealed proceeding. 

Subramanian was livid and asked both sides if they knew the article's source. He said, "Someone is lying … the transcript was sealed."

"One or more people who were here Friday in this courtroom flagrantly violated this court’s orders, a violation of the court’s sealing order, but it wasn’t just that," he said.

"The court imposed a gag order on the government, the defendant, all attorneys for the defense, and anyone involved was made accountable," he continued. "Violation of the order … what happened here … may result in civil or criminal contempt charges for all involved."

The judge warned Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey and lead defense counsel Marc Agnifilo: "There is no passing the buck anymore, the buck stops with you. If anything happens, lead counsel is responsible."

Court is now in session, marking Day 25 of Combs' trial.

Yesterday, jurors were shown videos of "freak offs" mentioned in testimony for the first time.

The videos, which involved Combs, his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and sex workers at a New York City hotel, were from 2012 and 2014 and were shown in short clips. Some jurors reacted visibly to the graphic tapes.

The video was shown only to jurors and not to the gallery or the media.

Yesterday in court, Ananya Sankar, a paralegal for the U.S. attorney’s office, reviewed the case's texts and call logs. Texts showed that Combs’ employees joked about how the music mogul hired male escorts for drug-fueled "freak offs." Combs also asked employees to pick up illegal drugs such as “15 pills of Molly,” the texts showed. 

DeLeassa Penland, U.S. attorney’s office special agent, spoke about the Combs investigation’s charts and the data she reviewed. Penland reviewed flight records belonging to Jules Theodore, an escort frequently hired to engage in freak offs with Combs and Ventura. Questioning over the flight and hotel arrangements appear to support the transportation to engage in prostitution charges Combs faces. 

When Judge Arun Subramanian left the bench yesterday afternoon, the fate of another juror, who might have spoken improperly about the case with a former colleague, remained unresolved.

Earlier yesterday, the court said a second juror might have acted improperly and that his fate would be decided after testimony. But when Subramanian sent jurors home, this issue wasn’t addressed.

Subramanian had dismissed a juror earlier in the day for giving conflicting answers about where he lives. That juror, a 41-year-old Black man, might live in New Jersey and outside the bounds of the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland is set to continue her testimony today. While she did not work directly on this case, Penland was tasked with reviewing the Combs investigation’s charts and data. 

Brendan Paul, one of Combs' former personal assistants, and two summary witnesses, are also expected to testify.