Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial continues as hotel security director testifies

Florez said there was a call about a woman in distress at the hotel. 

He said he checked the cameras and saw a male pacing back and forth on the 6th floor. He did not see a woman in the video and thought something must’ve happened, he said. 

He said he did not know who the man was at first, but recognized Combs when he arrived on the floor and saw him in a towel.

Ventura was in a corner, he said. But he didn’t know who she was until he went home and told his wife what happened. 

Israel Florez, a Los Angeles police officer, is the prosecution’s first witness. He worked at the hotel in LA’s Century City area where the 2016 security tape of Combs and his then-girlfriend Ventura came from. 

Before starting his job with LAPD in 2018, Florez worked for a company that provides security to high-rise buildings and hotels. He was also a U.S. Army reservist for over 15 years. 

Hundreds of potential jurors were screened for the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. They were asked to fill out questionnaires gauging their familiarity with the case and ability to be fair and impartial. 

Members of the jury pool were asked if they were familiar with a list of some 190 celebrities, including Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West and Mike Myers, though it was unclear how or if those names are related to the trial. They were also asked if they were victims of sexual assault and if they could be fair and impartial after seeing videos of sexually explicit content and violence. 

Jurors were sworn in Monday morning after a delay on Friday over whether the defense could question one of Combs’ accusers about her history with violence. 

Combs has been held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September arrest. His formerly jet-black hair is now almost completely gray because dye isn’t allowed at the jail.

Combs, who had his own fashion line, has worn yellow jail uniforms in pretrial hearings. But for the trial, the judge said he can have up to five button-down shirts, five pairs of pants, five sweaters, five pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes without laces.

Under federal court rules, no photos or video of the trial will be allowed. Courtroom sketches are permitted.

Eight assistant U.S. attorneys, including seven who are women, are prosecuting Combs. Maurene Ryan Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, is one of them. She also prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and sexually abuse teenage girls. 

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Columbia Law School graduate and former clerk for late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is overseeing the trial. Former President Joe Biden appointed Subramanian to the federal bench in 2022. 

Court is breaking for lunch until 1:15 p.m., when the first witness is expected to testify. 

Combs is charged with two counts of transportation for purposes of prostitution, but his lawyers claimed he was paying men for their time and experience as porn actors. 

Jurors will hear from a company that advertises online for time and experience with sex, not actual sex, the defense said. 

They urged jurors to listen closely to the evidence and not to “impose your moral beliefs.”

The defense went through many of the allegations against Combs and told jurors that witnesses may lie to corroborate the claims. 

Combs’ payment to the hotel security guard was to prevent bad publicity for both he and Cassie, not to obstruct a law enforcement investigation, they said. 

The defense said there were no kidnappings and Combs was not involved in the alleged arson. They said the employee allegedly kidnapped worked for Combs for over a decade and asked to work for him after her employment ended. 

“Was this person actually kidnapped? Listen to her testimony,” Combs’ defense attorney said. 

The drug trafficking allegations are linked to personal drugs for Combs and the women he was with, not an enterprise, the defense said. 

The defense told jurors they will hear from women who “made free choices every single day for years” and were “all getting something” from Combs.

They said to watch closely the role jealousy plays in the trial, from the witnesses and Combs. 

Evidence from over 20 years will show the same women remained in consensual relationships with Combs for years, and that breaches of trust and jealousy drove domestic violence, the defense said. 

They also said jurors may see things that make them uncomfortable, like kinky sex. 

“You are not here to judge [Combs] and his sexual preferences,” the defense said. 

The defense told jurors “Sean Combs has a bad temper,” that sometimes he gets so angry he’s out of control, and some evidence will not portray him in a good light. 

They said jurors might think Combs is “a jerk” at times, but that he’s not charged with being mean or a jerk. 

The defense claimed any violence shown in the trial is not connected to any racketeering, sex trafficking or prostitution. 

“Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” they said, adding if Combs was charged with domestic violence or assault that they would not be here now.

The defense told the jury that Combs “is a drug user” and “you may know of his love of baby oil,” but those are not federal crimes. 

Combs defense team opened saying the case is not complicated and that it’s about voluntary adult choices in consensual relationships. 

“This case is not about what you heard on the news,” they told the jury. 

They said their defense will tell the story of a man from Harlem who created a lawful business from nothing and gave people opportunities. 

“People are drawn to him,” they said. 

On the racketeering  charge, they said no witnesses will say they were part of a corrupt enterprise because “there was not one.”

Prosecutors said jurors will see videos of Combs’ so-called “freak-offs,” which he allegedly used to blackmail people. They said jurors will hear Combs directing people and see them high on ecstasy pretending to enjoy themselves. 

Videos and pictures show Combs beating a woman during a “freak-off,” prosecutors said. Jurors will also see evidence of injuries from an attack that happened less than one year ago, they said. 

Prosecutors said evidence will also show jurors what was inside Combs’ homes when they were searched, like guns, a so-called “med bag” of drugs, lubricant and high heels. 

Prosecutors said they will call two women, including Cassie, to describe Combs’ “freak-offs” in painstaking detail. 

Jurors will hear from some of Combs’ employees, including a personal assistant he allegedly forced himself on sexually and others he ordered to buy drugs. They will detail how they were expected to keep quiet, the prosecution said. 

Escorts will testify how Combs directed them to touch each other and that he filmed certain acts, they said. 

Prosecutors said they will show how Combs’ inner circle worked on damage control, including trying to stop the release of the 2016 security tape of Combs attacking Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel. 

They said he tried to pay off a hotel security guard with a wad of cash, then had another security guard broker the deal. He gave the guard a brown paper bag containing $100,000 cash in exchange for the tape, they said. 

Prosecutors said jurors will see the signed agreement barring the hotel security guard from speaking after being paid. 

Prosecutors said Combs used his power to force people into having sex. They said he threatened them, drugged them and used violence. 

They also allege he transported women across state lines and even out of the country for sex acts. 

“This case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual preferences,” a prosecutor said. 

Prosecutors said evidence will show Combs’ businesses made him rich and powerful by relying on an inner circle of bodyguards, chiefs of staff and other high-ranking employees, who worked to promote his power and carefully cultivate his reputation. 

They said Combs expected his inner circle to cater to his desires, including sexual ones. He used his resources to “sexually exploit” multiple women, they said, adding there’s evidence Combs had a man’s car set on fire and dangled a woman over a balcony. 

Prosecutors said Combs had impossible demands. When employees failed to meet them, he threw things at them, pressured them to take drugs and sexually assaulted one. 

Federal prosecutors have started laying out their case against Combs for the jury. 

“To the public he was Puff Daddy or Diddy, a cultural icon, a businessman, larger than life. But there was another side to him,” a prosecutor said. 

The prosecution said Combs had an inner circle of body guards and employees who helped cover up crimes for 20 years. 

They said Combs abused his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, for years and that “he beat her brutally,” “flinging her around like a rag doll,” after finding out she was dating another man. 

The jury is sworn in and being given their instructions. 

The 12 jury members and six alternates have been selected and the jury is seated.

The group includes 12 men and six women. 

The judge enters the courtroom and the final proceedings start before the jury is seated and sworn in.

Combs entered the courtroom at around 8:51 a.m. wearing a sweater (beige or light gray) over a collared shirt and what appears to be khaki pants. 

His mother and six children were seated in the second row behind the defense. He gave them a thumbs up, made a heart shape with his hands and blew a kiss. The kids smiled and pumped their fists. 

Combs put on glasses and asked for more water. 

Combs rejected a plea deal that was offered in the final pre-trial hearing, after he pleaded not guilty to all counts, including transportation to engage in prostitution and sex trafficking. 

During the pre-trial hearing on May 1, Judge Arun Subramanian asked Combs to confirm he was of sound mind and not on any drugs. He then asked Combs if he rejected the prosecution’s offer. 

“Yes, I do,” Combs said. 

Details of what was offered in the potential plea deal were not given.

Opening statements in the Sean “Diddy” Combs federal sex trafficking and racketeering are expected to start today at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan. 

First, the jury must be sworn in. 

Trial proceedings are expected to go from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for the first week, then 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily the following weeks. 

The trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

Per federal rules, photos and videos from inside court are not allowed, so there is no broadcast or livestream of Combs’ trial.

Only courtroom sketches are permitted. 

CBS News New York’s Alice Gainer will provide real-time updates from the courthouse in this live blog.