The Diddy trial: Who will decide Sean Combs’s fate?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 May 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
Dozens of people showed up for jury duty this week at the Southern District of New York’s courthouse in Lower Manhattan. There, they would find out if they would serve as one of the handful of people who would determine whether Sean “Diddy” Combs was guilty or not. The federal government is accusing him of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Reporter Anne Branigin and audio producer Sabby Robinson reported from New York City to see the dynamics in the courtroom and how the jury pool was narrowed down. On today's episode, Anne describes Combs’s demeanor and who the other important players are – and what we can gather about each team’s strategy from the jury selection process.
Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Carla Spartos and Shayna Jacobs.
Follow our coverage of the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Spotify here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Um, how you doing this is fine morning? I'm doing good. How are you doing? Tired. |
| 0:07.7 | Yeah, I know. You got to, you got to wake up early to catch the ditty trial. That's audio producer |
| 0:15.0 | Sabby Robinson and reporter Ann Branigan. They were in line at 7 a.m. on Monday, outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan. |
| 0:23.4 | They were there because this week kicked off the start of a big trial. The trial of music mogul Sean Combs. |
| 0:31.3 | He's the producer, also known as Diddy, Puff, and Puff Daddy. He's charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. |
| 0:44.0 | Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges. |
| 0:46.9 | If convicted, he could be sent to prison for life. |
| 0:50.5 | Jury selection started this week. |
| 0:53.7 | This is a celebrity trial, so interest is high. |
| 0:58.0 | Some people got to the courthouse the night before and slept in small tenants. |
| 1:02.2 | Some were even paid to hold a spot in line for reporters to make sure they got into the courtroom. |
| 1:07.1 | An enterprising lady with a big sign advertising her services. |
| 1:12.7 | Yes. |
| 1:13.3 | Who has a hat that says hashtag line dudes on it. |
| 1:17.3 | Lawyers for government witnesses also showed up to watch this crucial process unfold. |
| 1:23.0 | Here's Lisa Bloom, one of those attorneys. |
| 1:25.3 | We as attorneys are also looking at everything that's happening in the courtroom, and we're all |
| 1:29.5 | trying to kind of suss each other out. I find it to be a really fascinating dynamic during |
| 1:34.2 | jury selection. There were content creators, a subway conductor, someone in a free |
| 1:39.6 | puff t-shirt. |
| 1:45.0 | But this isn't just a circus playing out in gossip headlines. |
| 1:49.2 | This is an important federal case playing out in our criminal justice system, one that could |
... |
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