What the cross-examination of 1 witness reveals concerning the Sean Combs trial : NPR

This report consists of descriptions of bodily and sexual violence.

On Monday (June 2), a former worker of Sean Combs concluded three days of testimony in opposition to the hip-hop mogul. The witness, who testified below the pseudonym “Mia,” labored as a private assistant for Combs from 2009 to 2017. She advised the court docket that Combs bodily and sexually assaulted her on a number of events all through that point. She additionally accused a member of Combs’ safety workforce of making an attempt to bribe her in 2023 after Comb’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, filed a high-profile civil go well with in opposition to the tycoon.

Mia’s testimony is a part of the federal government’s racketeering conspiracy cost in opposition to Combs, which accuses him of working a prison enterprise that facilitated and hid abuse for twenty years. Theoretically, her allegations strengthen the federal government’s claims that Combs forcefully and violently used his companies and workers to fulfill his personal needs whereas making a tradition of silence round him. Mia just isn’t one of many two girls round which the federal government has constructed its case in opposition to Combs, who additionally faces intercourse trafficking expenses. These expenses stem from allegedly forcing his ex-partner, Cassie Ventura, who already testified, and one other ex-girlfriend (who is anticipated to take the stand later this week) into business intercourse acts.

Mia, whose facial options weren’t rendered by courtroom sketch artists as a part of her anonymity, testified in a gentle voice, wanting downward, steadily crying and sometimes twisting one thing that she was holding in her arms. She was regularly requested to repeat her statements loud sufficient for the court docket to listen to. Whereas on the stand, Mia confronted aggressive cross-examination from protection lawyer Brian Metal that raised questions concerning the potential intimidation of future witnesses.

Mia mentioned that Combs first sexually assaulted her throughout celebrations for his fortieth birthday celebration in New York in 2009, shortly after she started working for him, by kissing her and placing his hand up her gown. On one other event in Los Angeles someplace between 2009 and 2010, she mentioned, she was sleeping in a bed room at his house, the place she was not allowed to lock the bed room door. Weeping on the stand, she testified that he raped her, saying: “I used to be frozen. I did not react. I used to be terrified and confused and ashamed and scared.”

On one other event in Los Angeles, she mentioned, he got here right into a bed room closet the place she was packing a few of his garments on the ground and that earlier than she realized what was occurring, he grabbed her head and compelled her to carry out oral intercourse on him.

“There was no sample to the assaults,” she mentioned, and that each time she hoped that it will be the final time.

She mentioned that she felt she may by no means say “no” to him. “I could not inform him no a few sandwich. I could not inform him no about something. And this was a lot worse.”

She mentioned she was “all the time” frightened that he would hurt her each bodily and sexually, and that he sometimes threatened her, saying that he would “inform everybody” concerning the sexual incidents between them. She mentioned to each prosecutors and through cross-examination that she had by no means needed something sexual with Combs.

In an incident close to the island of St. Barth’s round 2010 or 2011, Mia testified, an enraged Combs chased her round on a yacht. As she ran, she mentioned he yelled at her: “You higher learn to stroll on water like Jesus, bitch.” She mentioned the crew helped her escape onto a smaller boat and ashore, however that Combs ordered her to return to the yacht.

Mia additionally testified that when she and a human assets government from Combs’ firm offered him with a invoice for $80,000 in unpaid time beyond regulation wages, Combs ripped it up in entrance of her. She mentioned that she usually labored 22 hours a day, that her boss repeatedly disadvantaged her of sleep and that he could possibly be violent — throwing a bowl of spaghetti at her on one event when she wanted to make use of a rest room earlier than responding to a 3 a.m. request and throwing a laptop computer at her head on one other. She mentioned Combs additionally repeatedly humiliated her by cursing at her and delivering “lengthy, prolonged rants about how incapable and silly I used to be.”

She mentioned that she was afraid to go to the police, and that on two completely different events, she encountered officers who had been clearly dazzled by Combs’ superstar. These conditions, she added, confirmed her perception that “Puff’s authority was above the police.” She additionally mentioned that she believed beforehand that confidentiality agreements she had with Combs had been paramount.

She had hoped she may proceed to develop her personal profession, significantly in tv and movie manufacturing, below his tutelage, and repeatedly added: “The highs had been excessive, and the lows had been low.”

“I knew his energy,” she testified, “and I knew his management over me, and I did not need to lose what I might labored so arduous for.”

The prosecution additionally offered a slew of textual content messages and telephone calls despatched to Mia by Combs and his safety guard, often called “D-Roc,” after Ventura filed her lawsuit. In one of many texts, D-Roc wrote to Mia: “I do know u did not ask for something, however I can ship my sister a present.”

Moreover, Mia testified that she noticed and heard Combs hitting Ventura “on a regular basis,” and that she noticed bruising, black eyes, fats lips and different bodily indicators of his abuse of Ventura. On one event, she mentioned, she and one other authorities witness, stylist Deonte Nash, tried to cease Combs from attacking Ventura, and she or he “thought that he was going to kill” each Nash and Ventura. Nash additionally testified to this incident. She additionally mentioned that a part of her job tasks usually included “sweeping” rooms that Combs and Ventura used for his or her “lodge nights” earlier than housekeeping arrived, to reduce the injury.

Throughout cross-examination, protection lawyer Brian Metal displayed one of the vital confrontational approaches Combs’ workforce has taken in the direction of a authorities witness up to now. The overwhelming majority of his questioning was about her allegations of sexual and bodily assault.

For hours over his first two days of cross-examination, Metal confirmed Mia dozens of her private social media posts that demonstrated a public love, affection and gratitude towards Combs, requested her to learn them out loud after which following with variations of the query: Is that this what you’d say towards a person who allegedly raped you? Metal requested this, with slight variations of wording, not less than 100 instances.

Metal additionally requested Mia repeatedly why she didn’t confront Combs or search assist, suggesting she fabricated the abuse allegations. “I used to be nonetheless brainwashed,” Mia mentioned. She added that “nobody round batted a watch” at Combs’ habits. She additionally mentioned repeatedly that this was a typical response amongst abuse victims, however that he ought to ask a educated psychiatrist or psychologist for an in depth rationalization.

Metal repeatedly requested Mia if her claims had been unfaithful or if she was mendacity. He additionally requested her why she waited till June of 2024 — months into her many conferences with prosecutors — to reveal the alleged sexual abuse and if she was becoming a member of the “#MeToo cash seize in opposition to Sean Combs.” She denied his options, saying she was solely telling the reality.

Metal’s scrutiny of Mia’s sexual abuse allegations prompt he was making an attempt to tarnish her credibility earlier than the jury, impacting how they interpret her testimony on different matters similar to pressured labor and bribery. The federal government repeatedly objected to Metal’s line of questioning.

Throughout a break, when Mia was not on the stand, prosecutor Maurene Comey expressed considerations over Metal’s tone and accused him of “harassing and unduly embarrassing” the witness. Comey mentioned that Metal was interjecting his personal opinions into his cross-examination and frightened that different victims following the extremely publicized trial may develop petrified of testifying and going through comparable remedy sooner or later.

Choose Subramanian largely disagreed with the federal government’s characterization of Metal’s tone, saying he didn’t discover it sarcastic or offensive, however conceded that Metal wanted to rephrase a few of his questions. The choose repeatedly sustained most of the prosecution’s objections to Metal’s cross-examination.

Metal requested Mia about getting fired by Combs in 2017 and prompt Mia beloved working for him. Mia mentioned she was deeply upset about shedding her job as a result of her world was “ripped away” from her, however added that “in hindsight, it was an terrible world.” She confirmed that she obtained a lawyer with the intent to sue Combs for $10 million after she was let go, however settled for $400,000 in mediation. Mia mentioned she didn’t disclose Combs’ sexual assault throughout that course of, which occurred earlier than the beginning of the #MeToo motion later that yr. She additionally spoke about her shut friendship with Ventura and mentioned she didn’t open up to her about Combs’ alleged abuse, even after she went public along with her personal allegations in a civil lawsuit in 2023.

“I used to be nonetheless deeply ashamed and needed to die with this,” she mentioned.

Throughout redirect questioning from the federal government, Mia acknowledged that posting positively about Combs on her private social media accounts was a part of her job. She testified that Combs generally handled her like household and different instances terrified and threatened her, which made working for him extremely difficult. She mentioned she just isn’t searching for cash or fame from her testimony, however felt an ethical obligation to talk up. When requested why she was unable to testify about Combs’ abuse with out wanting down towards the bottom, she replied, “As a result of it is the worst factor I’ve ever needed to speak about in my life.”