WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Deep Dive. This week, we're jumping

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straight into the third week of the Sean Diddy

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Combs trial. And what's really grabbing headlines

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is how things seem to be broadening out right

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beyond just specific accusations to this much

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larger picture of an alleged criminal operation.

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Absolutely. We're really digging into the racketeering

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and six trafficking charges here and specifically

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looking at the key testimonies, the evidence

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that came out and what it all, you know. tells

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us about the strategies involved, both prosecution

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and defense. Right. So for you listening, our

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mission really is to cut through the noise. We

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want to get to the core insights from this week,

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understand how the prosecution is building its

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case and how the defense is pushing back. Yeah.

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And this deep dive, it's mainly drawing on what

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happened in the courtroom. We're talking testimony

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from a really key former aide at Bad Boy Entertainment

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and also a special agent from Homeland Security.

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OK, let's unpack this then. Week three really

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seemed dominated by the testimony of Capricorn

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Clark. Who who exactly was she in the Combs world

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and why is her count so sort of central here?

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Well, Capricorn Clark, she was high up. She was

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the global brand director at Bad Boy Entertainment

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for like over a decade from 2004, I think, to

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about 2018. So with that kind of tenure, that

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kind of senior role, she potentially saw a lot,

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you know, the inner workings, business, personal

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life, all of it. And her testimony kicked off

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with something pretty disturbing, didn't it?

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An alleged incident right back when she started

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in 2004. What did she say happened? Yeah, she

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testified that on her very first day, Mr. Combs

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and a bodyguard took her to Central Park late

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at night. Okay. And there, she alleges, Mr. Combs

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threatened to kill her if her past work, you

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know, working for rival rappers ever became a

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problem. Wow. First day. First day. It's it's

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presented as this immediate extreme threat, like

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setting the tone, establishing control right

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from the jump. That definitely paints a stark

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picture. It sounds like a well, a very forceful

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way to lay down the law, so to speak. Exactly.

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And you can see why the prosecution would lead

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with that. It suggests potentially a pattern

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of intimidation starting immediately, something

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that might have just. permeated her whole time

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there and that immediate fear that's kind of

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a hallmark you might see in cases arguing about

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organized control which you know links back to

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the already co -angle we'll get into okay then

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fast forward a bit to december 2011. there's

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this alleged incident involving the musician

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kid cootie this part sounds i mean almost like

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something from a movie script what did clark

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claim went down so miss clark testified that

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mr holmes was furious, apparently because Kid

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Cudi was dating Cassie Ventura at the time. Right.

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And she alleges that Combs showed up at her home

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with a gun and demanded she get dressed because,

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and this is her testimony, we're going to kill

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Cudi. He actually said that. I mean, that's that's

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incredibly direct, alarming. So what happened

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next, according to her? According to Clark, they

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got into a black Cadillac Escalade, drove to

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Kid Cudi's place in L .A. She said while Combs

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and his bodyguard went inside, she stayed in

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the car and called Cassie, told her Combs was

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there, had a gun intended to hurt Cootie. And

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she apparently heard Cootie in the background

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asking like, he's in my house and telling Cassie

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to stop him. This sounds like it escalated incredibly

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fast. What did Combs and the bodyguard do then?

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Well, they came back to the car pretty quickly

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and Clark testified that just then. They heard

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Cootie's car coming, so they started chasing

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him. Chasing him? Yeah, but they apparently gave

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up the chase when they saw police cars heading

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Cootie's way. But it didn't just end there, did

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it? The alleged threats continued. That's right.

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After that, Clark claims Combs told her and Cassie

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they had to convince Cootie it wasn't me and

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allegedly threatened to kill all of them if they

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didn't. Wow. So she testified that she and Cassie

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then went over to Cootie's house basically to

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talk him out of filing any police report about,

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uh... Okay, so let's connect this specific story

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back to the bigger charges. Why is this Kid Cutie

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account considered so significant for the racketeering

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aspect? Well, it's fascinating, actually, because

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this one alleged incident seems to touch on so

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many potential elements the prosecution needs.

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You've got Alev's intimidation, right? The alleged

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use of a firearm in a threatening way, forcing

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others allegedly into potentially criminal acts

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like covering things up and then using threats

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to silence people, obstruct justice potentially.

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These are all kind of textbook components you

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look for in a racketeering case. It suggests

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a pattern, a method of coercive control within

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what the prosecution is calling the Combs enterprise.

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Right. It paints a picture of this alleged M

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.O. basically. Yeah. Using fear, intimidation

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to get what you want. keep things quiet. Now,

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Clark's testimony, it went further than that

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incident, didn't it? There were more serious

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allegations, too. That's right. Yeah. She went

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on to describe something that allegedly happened

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right after that whole Kid Cudi confrontation.

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She testified she actually witnessed Mr. Combs

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physically assaulting Cassie. OK, what were the

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specifics? What did she claim she saw? Clark

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described seeing Combs. Allegedly kicking Cassie

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100 percent full force, she said, kicking her

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legs and back while Cassie was apparently curled

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up on the ground crying. Clark said she was,

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you know, deeply upset, but didn't step in because

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she claimed Combs had also threatened her. And

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did she do anything after witnessing this alleged

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assault? Yes. She testified she called Cassie's

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mother, Regina Ventura, told her about the alleged

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assault, asked for help, saying she couldn't

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call the police herself. It's worth noting, though,

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when Clark got emotional on the stand saying

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her heart was breaking, the defense objected.

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And the judge told the jury to disregard that

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specific emotional phrase. Just focus on the

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factual testimony. OK. Beyond these alleged violent

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acts, Clark also describes some really. unusual

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and frankly disturbing parts of just working

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there, like an incident with some missing jewelry.

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Yeah, that was quite a story. She testified she

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was supposed to take some diamond jewelry to

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Miami. It apparently went missing. And after

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that, she was allegedly taken to this mostly

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empty building in Manhattan and subjected to

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repeated lie detector tests over five days by

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a man she described as much larger than her.

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And she claimed this guy threatened her, said

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something like, if you fail this test, they're

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going to throw you in the East River. That is

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chilling. An East River threat. Yeah. Despite

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that alleged threat, she was eventually just,

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you know, allowed back to work. But that kind

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of extreme intimidation, even over missing jewelry,

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it sort of illustrates the alleged climate of

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fear. The lengths the quote -unquote enterprise

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might go to maintain control, which again is

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potentially key for that racketeering conspiracy

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idea. It certainly suggests a very high level

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of coercion. But it wasn't just these, like...

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Big isolated incidents, was it? She painted a

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picture of the day -to -day work environment

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being pretty intense, too. Oh, absolutely. She

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described grueling hours, like 7 a .m. sometimes

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to 4 a .m. the next day. Just a huge range of

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duties. And she claimed the stress actually caused

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her to develop alopecia. More seriously, though,

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she alleged that part of her job included getting

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illegal drugs from Mr. Combs, specifically ecstasy

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or molly, and packing his bags, which allegedly

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included these drugs, plus things like baby oil

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and even a small camera. Baby oil and a camera.

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Okay. She also testified he used molly about

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once a week, used aliases like Frank Black and

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Frank White for hotels. And on top of all that,

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she claimed she was owed about $80 ,000 in unpaid

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overtime. So taking all those extra details.

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Yeah. The hours, the drugs, the packing, the

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overtime. What's their significance in the context

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of the racketeering charges? Why bring all that

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up? Well, it's interesting because. You could

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argue these details reinforce that alleged code

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of silence through fear. The extreme steps supposedly

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taken to ensure loyalty, even on things not directly

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related to, say, sex trafficking. It points to

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this potentially pervasive culture of intimidation

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and control across the board within the alleged

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Combs enterprise. It broadens the picture beyond

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just individual accusations of abuse, suggesting

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a whole system of operating. Okay. Now, the defense

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obviously wasn't just sitting there letting this

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all land. They pushed back. tried to undermine

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clark's credibility what was their main angle

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during cross -examination right the defense led

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by mark igniflow they really hammered on the

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timeline questioned her memory of specific details,

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pointing out these events happened a long time

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ago. And Clark did concede there was some haziness

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about certain details. And they also focused

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quite a bit on the fact that she kept working

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for him, right? Despite all these alleged awful

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experiences. Yeah, that was a major point for

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the defense. They asked why she stayed intermittently

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until 2018 and why she even expressed interest

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in maybe coming back as recently as April 2024.

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What was her explanation for that? Her explanation

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was basically coming from her background, not

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finishing college. It was like business school

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for her. She said she learned a lot, admired

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his ideas, his tenacity, how he was breaking

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glass ceilings. She did describe Diddy and Cassie's

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relationship as toxic as a couple, though, and

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made it clear her own initial relationship with

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Combs was 1000 percent platonic. That's quite

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the justification. What about the lie detector

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incident? How did the defense tackle that part

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of her story? They asked if she ever reported

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that whole ordeal, the tests, the threat to HR.

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She said no, she didn't. They also asked if she

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knew who the guy giving the tests was or how

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he was connected to Combs. She said she didn't

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know that either. So fundamentally, what was

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the defense trying to do with this cross -examination?

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What was their goal? The goal seems pretty clear.

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Cast doubt on her credibility, suggest her memories

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faulty, maybe unreliable, and try to reframe

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these events, maybe as isolated domestic disputes,

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not enterprise activity, or even, as they've

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kind of hinted before, part of a consensual swinger's

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lifestyle. Right. It's all about chipping away

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at that Arato narrative, to argue these weren't

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actions of a coordinated criminal enterprise,

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but rather personal problems, maybe even consensual

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things, that don't meet the legal bar for racketeering.

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They'll likely argue, legally, that even if some

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things happened, there's no link to a criminal

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enterprise. Okay, so that's the Capricorn Clark

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testimony, which was huge. But the prosecution

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also brought in some... Tangible physical evidence

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this week, too, right? From those federal raids

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back in March? Yes, exactly. Special Agent Gerard

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Gann from Homeland Security Investigations took

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the stand. He detailed how they executed the

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search warrants in March 2024, both at Combs'

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Miami place on Star Island and his L .A. mansion.

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And it sounded like quite the operation, the

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Miami raid especially. Oh, yeah. Agent Gann described

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a really significant show of force there. 80

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to 90 agents involved. They used an armored vehicle

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to breach the security gate. Wow. Employees who

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were there got handcuffed. There were even boat

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patrols out on the water nearby. A major operation.

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And what did they actually find during these

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searches? What evidence did Agent Cannon present?

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Gannon testified they found two handguns. They

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showed photos of ammunition. They found a wooden

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box, apparently labeled Puffy, that contained

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psilocybin, mushrooms, MDMA and other drugs.

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And they also found the prosecution is calling

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hallmarks of freak offs, things like dozens of

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bottles of baby oil, lubricant, lingerie, sex

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toys. That baby oil detail, for example, it echoes

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what Cassie testified about. And the prosecution

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can argue it corroborates accounts of these freak

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offs being part of the alleged. enterprises'

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activities. And this all ties back to when the

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federal investigation actually started. Exactly.

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Agent Gannon confirmed the investigation began

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literally the day after Cassie Ventura filed

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her civil lawsuit back in November 2023. That

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lawsuit contained all those allegations of years

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of lies and being involved in hundreds of these

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freak -offs. Now, during cross -examination,

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Combs' lawyer did suggest the scale of the search,

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the armored vehicle and all that, was maybe overkill.

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But looking at how it helps the prosecution's

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case, how important It's pretty significant,

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I'd say, because it provides tangible, physical

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corroboration for some key parts of the witness

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testimonies. The drugs found seem to align with

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what Clark and another witness, George Kaplan,

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said about drug use. The freak -off items back

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up Cassie Ventura's accounts. And finding firearms,

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well, that adds weight to the claims of violence

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and intimidation, moving it beyond just people's

00:12:19.769 --> 00:12:23.159
word. So the prosecution is clearly trying to

00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:25.860
weave all this together, the testimony, the physical

00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:28.620
evidence, into this narrative of a larger criminal

00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.840
enterprise, which brings us back to the legal

00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.379
strategy itself. The Ikey charge. Can you break

00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:37.059
down why they're using this specific law ICO

00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.460
and what it lets them argue? OK, so the core

00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:41.460
strategy for the prosecution is proving this

00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:43.620
long running racketeering conspiracy spanning

00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:46.559
maybe two decades. They're arguing that Combs

00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.840
allegedly used his businesses, his employees

00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:51.120
as tools to carry out and cover up violence,

00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:54.539
abuse and commercial sex. RICO, the Racketeer

00:12:54.539 --> 00:12:56.759
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, was

00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.799
originally designed for, you know, mafia type

00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:03.120
organized crime. Using it primarily in a sex

00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.440
trafficking context like this is seen by some

00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.379
legal experts as a bit unusual, though not unprecedented.

00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.860
What RICO allows the prosecution to do is paint

00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:14.179
a much bigger picture than just isolated crimes.

00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:16.940
They can argue that Combs' businesses and associates

00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.460
weren't just legitimate entities, but functioned

00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:21.799
together as a criminal enterprise, a structured

00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:23.389
group with a passion for crime. pattern of illegal

00:13:23.389 --> 00:13:26.450
activity. In this case, allegedly things like

00:13:26.450 --> 00:13:29.289
sex trafficking, abuse, obstruction. It lets

00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:31.590
them bring in evidence about his lifestyle, his

00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:34.490
alleged power dynamics, anger issues, how people

00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:37.110
supposedly had to obey him. It gives them that

00:13:37.110 --> 00:13:40.730
360 degree view, as some call it. The R. Kelly

00:13:40.730 --> 00:13:42.950
case is often mentioned as a recent precedent

00:13:42.950 --> 00:13:45.570
for using ICO in sexual abuse scenarios. OK.

00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:47.409
And how is the defense fighting back against

00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:49.700
this specific RICO strategy? Well, the defense

00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:51.759
has sort of conceded there might have been abuse

00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:54.080
against Cassie, but they're strongly arguing

00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:55.919
the prosecution is trying to criminalize what

00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.159
they call consensual sex and a swinger's lifestyle.

00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:00.820
Their line is basically, even if some bad things

00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:03.639
happen, Combs' actions don't rise to the level

00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.659
of running a criminal enterprise under the specific

00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:08.580
requirements of the ARCA law. They've also argued

00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:11.399
that some details, like an alleged car firebombing

00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:14.019
incident mentioned earlier, or the drug use aren't

00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:16.279
actually relevant to the specific charges of

00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:19.440
sex trafficking and racketeering. a judge, Judge

00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.320
Subramanian, he seems to be allowing a lot of

00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:24.960
this broader testimony insofar. Yes, for the

00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.360
most part. Judge Arun Subramanian has generally

00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:29.720
sided with the prosecution on allowing this evidence.

00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:32.019
He's basically said it's relevant to understanding

00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.899
the alleged means and methods of the Combs enterprise.

00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:37.460
And the timeline they're aiming for is to get

00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:39.320
this case to the jury by around the Fourth of

00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.899
July holiday. So boiling it down. What's the

00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:45.240
absolute essential thing the prosecution has

00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:47.940
to prove for these ARCO charges to stick? And

00:14:47.940 --> 00:14:50.299
what's the main hurdle for the defense? To get

00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.200
a right co -conviction, the prosecution must

00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:56.120
prove two key things. One, that an actual enterprise

00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.580
existed, a group associated, in fact, even if

00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.580
loosely structured. And two, that there was a

00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.659
pattern of racketeering activity, meaning multiple

00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.340
related criminal acts connected to that enterprise's

00:15:08.340 --> 00:15:11.419
affairs, demonstrating a kind of criminal meeting

00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:14.779
of the minds, showing isolated bad acts isn't

00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:17.320
enough. Got it. The defense's main challenge

00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:19.200
then is to convince the jury that these events

00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.639
were just personal failings or maybe consensual

00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:24.179
activities, however problematic, that don't meet

00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:26.860
that high legal threshold for RICO. They need

00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:29.220
to decouple the personal stuff from the business

00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:31.360
structure in the jury's mind. Okay, let's try

00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:33.240
and pull this all together then. Thinking back

00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:35.379
over this intense third week, what are the really

00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:37.759
critical takeaways? I think the week was really

00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.720
defined by that compelling and often pretty harrowing

00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.460
testimony from Capricorn Clark. The alleged threats,

00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.299
the Kid Cudi kidnapping plot, the alleged assault.

00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.159
It was powerful stuff. And then having that testimony

00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.360
buttressed by the physical evidence from the

00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:53.940
guns, the drugs, the stuff linked to freak offs

00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:56.179
gave it more weight. And in terms of the overall

00:15:56.179 --> 00:16:00.139
case, how did this week really shift things or

00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:03.019
solidify things for the prosecution? It feels

00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:05.440
like this week significantly bolstered their

00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.960
central racketeering conspiracy charge. It painted

00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.720
a much more detailed and arguably much more disturbing

00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:15.019
picture of how the alleged Combs enterprise supposedly

00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:18.000
operated, its methods, the fear it allegedly

00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:21.039
instilled. And even though the defense is working

00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.519
hard to pick holes in that narrative, it seems

00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.759
like. For now, at least, the judge is letting

00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.360
the prosecution present that wider story. That

00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.299
seems to be the dynamic right now. Yes, the judge

00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:32.240
is allowing the prosecution to connect these

00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:34.039
various threads, the violence, the drugs, the

00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.080
threats, the alleged sex acts under that ICO

00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.500
umbrella, which is absolutely crucial to their

00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:41.039
entire strategy. So for you listening, as we

00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.519
wrap up this deep dive on week three, here's

00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.940
something to chew on. How does using a law like

00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:48.919
ICO designed for organized crime? Change how

00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.679
we think about accountability when it comes to

00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:52.759
powerful figures and allegations of widespread

00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.179
abuse or misconduct. What does it really mean

00:16:56.179 --> 00:16:59.519
when personal actions, however awful, are argued

00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.320
to be part of a larger criminal enterprise? It's

00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.240
definitely a complex legal and ethical question,

00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:06.240
and one this trial is forcing us all to confront.

00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:08.019
Thanks for joining us on the Deep Dive.