As day seven in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial came to a close on Tuesday, legal experts said prosecutors have not proved their charges of sex trafficking against him, opening the door to a potential acquittal, reports Newsweek. Based on testimony to date, the government has “significant hurdles” to overcome, said veteran criminal defense attorneys and former federal prosecutors. At issue is a consent problem, based on testimony by Combs’ former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who spent five days on the witness stand last week, with explicit text messages from Ventura to Combs introduced into evidence, detailing preparations for drug-fueled sex sessions known as "freak-offs." "Cassie organized some and hired 'staff,'" said Ronald Chapman II, a defence attorney, experienced in racketeering cases. "Her texts were lurid and enthusiastic. This is direct evidence of consent." Chapman added Ventura’s texts appeared to show she played a direct role in arranging the "freak-offs" including procuring large amounts of baby oil, candles and even a kiddie pool, reports Newsweek, adding one message said she loved "FOs when we both want them," while expressing regret to Combs about a missed opportunity in another message. "Wish we could've FO'd before you left," Ventura wrote in a July 2013 text to Combs. ."For a conviction of sex trafficking, the government has to prove force," Chapman said. "They argue that force can be psychological.” “Consequences such as not producing your album, implied threats, and leveraging industry power is not sufficient unless — big unless — the person has no viable choice." Judge Arun Subramanian could instruct the 12-person jury that psychological or economic pressure "can suffice only if it's serious enough that a reasonable person in the alleged victim's position would feel no viable choice but to comply," said Chapman, adding Ventura did appear to have options. Those options include multiple occasions when she could have notified police, sued Combs for breach of contract, or unambiguously express her desire to not participate in the marathon sex sessions fueled by drugs such as cocaine, ketamine, MDMA, GHB, and marijuana. "The defence's arguments are made for them," Chapman said. "Viable choices are everywhere." Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He rejected a plea deal prior to the trial and faces up to life in prison if convicted. .Ventura sued Combs in November 2023, accusing him of rape and assault during their relationship of more than a decade starting in 2007. The case was settled in 24 hours. On the stand last week, Ventura acknowledged she received a $20 million settlement from Combs and expects a $10 million settlement from the California hotel where he abused her during a freak-off in 2016. "Cassie Ventura elected to seek $20 million seven years after the 2016 video," said Chapman. "If we see a conviction here, any person in a position of power should be concerned that implied threats equate to coercion in this postmodern legal culture." Chapman suggested Combs should consider taking the stand. "This case comes down to whether the jury believes that Cassie was escaping an FO or whether this was a domestic violence episode as Diddy's team claims," Chapman told Newsweek. "This is why Diddy must testify. Acquittal is very likely." David Seltzer, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor believes both sides made key points toward their case last week. "One thing is clear, this is a case about domestic violence and Mr. Combs is no saint," Seltzer told Newsweek. "But one thing he is not, in my opinion, is a racketeer based on the evidence presented to date.” .“The government is not meeting its burden of proof, and the defence is doing a great job at eliciting necessary and damaging testimony from the government's witnesses, including their key witness, Ms. Ventura." Seltzer said Combs’ defence attorneys have presented "great evidence" refuting the government's accusations and "poking large holes" in the sprawling alleged criminal conspiracy, reports Newsweek. "For the government to turn the tide, they will have to have a strong showing over the next few weeks tying Ms. Ventura's testimony together to meet the high legal burden of proof, beyond and to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt," he said. New York-based defence attorney, Lonnie Hart Jr., told Newsweek Ventura's graphic depictions of Combs' sexual proclivities reveal him as an "extremely paranoid, insecure, and violent" man. "However, the testimony, as disturbing as it was, has done little so far to prove allegations of racketeering and sex trafficking against Mr. Combs," Hart said. Criminal defence attorney and former prosecutor, Mark O’Mara, expects prosecutors to make the case Combs was the “puppet master” behind the “Freak-Offs.” “What the prosecution has to present, and they’re starting out quite slowly, in my opinion, is getting to the sex trafficking, getting to the control over people, whether it’s the escorts, the sex workers, and, of course, Cassie Ventura,” O’Mara told CNN. “If they don’t get to sex trafficking, they don’t get their conviction. They probably need to move on from this and start tying together his control of other people as well.”
