Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BROKE-DIDDY? COMBS' JAIL CLOTHES GO TO AUCTION

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Diddy auctions his jailhouse close? Do his lawyers cost that much? Are they worth it? This as Fiddy weighs into the battle, promising to go all the way to the White House to stop a pardon for Diddy. I'm Nancy Grace.

Starting point is 00:00:29 This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. She is a vile, greedy abuser that took part in heinous beatings and bizarre sex acts, decades of abuse of women and so-called free coughs. This is a day that's been long in coming. Will there be justice? And I say dirty ditty going down, this is the case. Straight out to the courthouse standing by is investigative reporter Lauren Collins,

Starting point is 00:01:00 star of Pop Crime TV. A lot has been happening on the witness stand throughout the day. And Mia, not her real name, is a critical witness, Lauren Collin. I noticed that Brian Steele started off kind of going easy on Mia, but then he changed his approach. What happened? Mia is still on the stand finishing up her cross examination by Brian Steele. Today, during a break, the government actually had to speak

Starting point is 00:01:32 to the judge and say, look, the way that this witness is being treated by Mr. Steele is borderline hostile. He's being aggressive. He's he's yelling at her. He's accusing her of lying. And this type of questioning is going to prevent other witnesses from coming forward if they think they're going to be humiliated and treated like this. Now, the judge said, look, I have not heard Mr. Steele yell at the witness. I haven't heard him be too aggressive. But what I have heard is improper questions. And when Mr. Steele tries to rephrase these questions the judge said he's not sure if he's he's doing it on purpose you know not

Starting point is 00:02:10 rephrasing properly just to get out what he's trying to say but either way he needs to watch it when it comes to that and and he said you know look the government can continue to object and you know, will make the adjustments accordingly. So as Brian Steele moved along with his cross-examination, it was a little bit aggressive. He did accuse Mia of lying. He would point blank ask her, were you lying when you said this? Were you not truthful when you said this? And Mia said everything I've said in this courtroom has been truthful.

Starting point is 00:02:47 And Ryan Steele really seemed to hone in on the fact that, again, her text messages to Shawn Combs one year after she didn't work for him, two years after, even up to three years after not working for him, they still said, I love you. They still said, you know, I miss you. At one point, she texted him in 2019 that she had a dream that she was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly and that Diddy came to rescue her. We found out through Brian's

Starting point is 00:03:19 Steals cross-examination that Mia had met with the government about 27 times, the first two times meeting with the government, she did not mention any type of sexual assault or alleged sexual assault. And Mia said, well, I did not bring this up until I had my attorney. And Steele pointed out that she had an attorney in her March of 2024 meeting, but again, did not bring up the alleged sexual assault

Starting point is 00:03:44 until June of 2024. And he was really trying to get in the name of her attorney, Sean Crowley, and the fact that Sean Crowley had won this big settlement prior to representing Mia. However, there were many objections and he was not able to get that in. Huh, huh, okay. Did she crack Lauren Collin or did she stay strong? And I find it really interesting. They brought up that 400,000 settlement that she had with Diddy. Okay, what happened?

Starting point is 00:04:18 Mia actually said, everything I've said in this courtroom has been the truth and not a lie. And Brian Steele also said to her out of the blue and seemed to kind of raise his voice, well, isn't it true that he didn't touch you or violate you as many times as you've told us? And she said again, everything I've said is true. Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Starting point is 00:04:40 Okay, so he's asking, hey, he didn't rape you as many times as you're saying. Okay, straight out to Armon Wiggins, joining us out of LA Entertainment and Legal Fair Commentator, host of podcast, The Armon Wiggins Show, on the trial since day one. Did you hear what Lauren Collins just said? So Brian Skil, and I know him from the days

Starting point is 00:05:04 that I was prosecuting felonies in inner city Atlanta, he's a great defense attorney, but wait, this is his message? He didn't rape you as many times as you said, did he? So it, what, if he raped her at all, isn't one rape enough, Wiggins? I think it is enough, but I think what's interesting is, I don't think that he was saying that, I think he was saying he didn't rape you at all. I think what he enough, but I think what's interesting is I don't think that he was saying that, I think he was saying he didn't rape you at all. I think what he was trying to say in regards to her is the fact that he may have put his hands on you, he may have disrespected you, but he didn't rape you at all, is what he was saying.

Starting point is 00:05:37 Okay, so that's what you think he said. That's your interpretation, Mr. Wiggins, because his words were, isn't it true he didn't touch you or violate you as many times as you've told us? Those were his words. So my question to you, Armand Wiggins, is why are you sugarcoating it, airbrushing it? He said, quote, isn't it true he didn't touch you

Starting point is 00:06:02 or violate you as many times as you've told us? Now, I agree. I think that that's very I think that that's wrong. But I think the problem with me for me was and here's the thing, I'm not victim shaming at all, but it seemed like her testimony was a little bit inconsistent because it seemed like she was more emotionally attached than traumatized because when she had to out to actually leave, she was upset because she had got fired. She had then became suicidal because she had lost her job. And when he asked her, he said, Hey, well, this is your time to actually leave now. Shouldn't you

Starting point is 00:06:34 be happy? She was like, no, this wasn't a good time for me to during that time. It wasn't a good time. So it was like, then she also said that she forgot how many times she would be abused. Like when the times were good, she would forget about the abuse. How do you forget about being raped and abused? I want to follow up on what you're saying, Armand Wiggins, because I vehemently disagree with you. But if you're thinking that, how do I know a juror isn't thinking that?

Starting point is 00:07:01 Let's clarify straight out to Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us. We're now on Psycho Alan's side of LA, author of Dealbreaker. isn't thinking that. Let's clarify straight out to Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us. Renowned psycho Alice out of LA, author of Dealbreaker. You can see her on Peacock or go to her website drbethanymarshall.com. Dr. Bethany, okay, number one, rape victims go through so much trauma, right? I don't know that Mia was suicidal because she got fired or let go. In fact, they, Sean Combs and his hitch person, Corman, tried to get her to drop the lawsuit. And I want to point out regarding the lawsuit that he settled with her for $400,000. So I think we need to reframe the question, not why did you take money?

Starting point is 00:07:49 Aren't you in it for the money? The question should be, Sean Combs, why are you paying a half a million dollars to get this woman to shut up? Like you paid Cassie Ventura $20 million to get her to shut up. So why are you paying people left and right so they don't talk about what you did to them?

Starting point is 00:08:04 That's the right question. And why aren't we talking about the times she did try to get away? And he would try to call her or have his henchmen call her. And so she did attempt to get away. We can't forget about that. And women who are sexually abused often divide their experience of the abuser up into all good or all bad. It's a way of coping. So when the abuser is kind, they become overly attached. And when the abuser is abusive, then they have a clear sense of what's happening. She's trauma bonded with him. Well, another thing is that rape victims that I've represented in court, very often, especially in abusive relationships, not stranger on stranger, they try to rationalize what happened.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Like, for instance, marital rape or you're dating someone and you get raped. You try to go, oh well, he was drunk or oh well, I led him on. They rationalize what happened because they don't want to deal with the fact, I was just raped. Now, my concern is, although I disagree with Wiggins totally, the reality is if he is thinking that after watching the testimony, even though I think he's horribly wrong, is a juror thinking that. So another issue, I'm trying to figure out the significance of birthday posts on social media. Lauren Conlon, what does that have to do with anything? He seems to also be really focusing on these birthday posts that Mia did for Sean Coles year after year. Although she described to us during direct testimony

Starting point is 00:09:34 that his birthday was a traumatic day for her because that was the first time that he ever sexually assaulted her allegedly. So Brian Steele's hammering home, well how can you compartmentalize this when it was such a horrible day for you? And year after year on social media, you're wishing him a happy birthday. Guys, we are live at the courthouse bringing you the very latest. I want to go out to Sydney Sumner right now joining us. Crime stories investigative reporter who's also

Starting point is 00:10:00 been on the case from the get-go. Sydney, what do you make of Mia's testimony? Well, Nancy, I don't think Brian Steele is making the impact he thinks he's making. It's shocking to me when they ask questions like, well, why did you repost this birthday message from Combs? And the witnesses are just like, of course, of course I would repost this. That's not even a question.

Starting point is 00:10:26 I had to do what I had to do to keep Combs happy, to act appropriately on the days where I needed to be celebratory of Combs. So even though this man abused me and this man treated me horribly on a regular basis, there were periods that he treated me like I was his best friend. And of course I did whatever I had to do to make those periods last as long as possible. They lived in constant fear of Combs being angry

Starting point is 00:10:58 with whatever comment they decided to make. Remember, he controlled Pappy down to her daily appearance. So any little thing could set Combs off. So I find it very interesting that Nia is just completely forthright in what she had to do to survive those years working for Combs. Lauren Cullen, I want to hear all about Sean Combs' demeanor as evidence poured from the witness stand. How did he react? I mean, Diddy, he does seem a little bit frustrated because of the fact that there are so many

Starting point is 00:11:34 objections during Brian Steele's cross. I mean, he really seems to need to work on rephrasing these questions. So they are proper and and there's some trouble there so you can kind of see Diddy is is a little exasperated you know at this point the judge seems to be a little annoyed as well so Brian Steele will try to maybe rephrase a question or two and then the judge is just like look move on and you can kind of see Diddy will just kind of like visibly exhale a little bit and sit in his chair just frustrated. Mia, not her real name, describes PTSD, post-traumatic stress

Starting point is 00:12:13 syndrome. Listen. Mia says normal situations at work would bring on an overwhelming fear of being in trouble which previously meant violent outbursts, death threats, or suspension without pay in Combs' world. Mia says things as simple as a, where are you text are now extremely triggering because of Combs. Mia considered leaving several times, but feared Combs would have made sure

Starting point is 00:12:36 she never worked in the industry again. When Mia finally worked up the courage to quit, employment attorneys to negotiate severance and unpaid bonuses, Combs refused to speak with Mia directly during negotiations and despite her initial $10 million demand, Mia settled for $400,000. In addition to Dr. Bethany and Armand Wiggins, you can see him on YouTube. Joining me now, a special guest, longtime friend and colleague, Rob Shooter.

Starting point is 00:13:02 Rob was Sean Combs' PR guru for years. He no longer works for him. Thank goodness or I'd be grilling you even worse. Rob Shooter, host of Naughty But Nice podcast. That's at robshooter.substack.com. Author of The Forward Answer. Rob, I want to talk about what Mia has been saying on the stand all day and for several days. The fact that she lived in fear. You know, I believe it was you that first told me that Sean Combs ordered somebody to go get him a cheesecake at three o'clock in the morning and they did it. They found a place that was open. They got the cheesecake and brought it back to Sean Combs. It seems as if he was very imperious with his employees

Starting point is 00:13:48 to the fact that Mia describes PTSD. That's what she's describing. I've seen it in a lot of crime victims. Describe what you witnessed. My time working with Diddy was extraordinary, Nancy. I've never had a job. I've never experienced anything like that again. And I've gone on to work with stars even bigger than him.

Starting point is 00:14:06 It was really gruesome. It wasn't a job. It was a life. He took over your life. He demanded you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He could be really bullying. He could also be very charming. And so I understand everything that Mia's saying.

Starting point is 00:14:25 It's heartbreaking and it's an experience that very, very few thankfully will ever know. Okay, I wanna get back to these demands because if he could make a grown person get out of bed at 3 a.m. and traverse Manhattan to get him a slice of cheesecake. And it had to be the best cheesecake. It couldn't be any crap

Starting point is 00:14:49 that you get down at the Dags-Tinos, right? What could he make someone like Mia do who was already meek and mild and traumatized? I mean, I want to hear what it was like. You say it was a way of life. It was your life. Why? It was our lives because we were young. He had picked people to work with him that he could control. There was nobody on his staff, including me,

Starting point is 00:15:16 that was terribly experienced. It was all about him. He carefully groomed us all. He carefully selected us all. And if anybody came into his world who said no, who was too experienced, who knew better, they didn't last. He was the ringmaster and we played along in his circus. Rob Schueter, you stated that Sean Combs has a very carefully choreographed personal image. And you told a story about making the press move at a private airport. I guess it was Teterboro. So as they all filmed Sean Combs pulling up, at first you didn't see the private plane.

Starting point is 00:15:57 And he was so angry. He actually single-handedly made all the press move where they were standing so he could re-enter Teterboro. So when he got out of his SUV, you could see the private plane behind him, describe. Yeah, absolutely true. I was on the tarmac, the press was lined up waiting for him, everybody from national shows

Starting point is 00:16:23 to local press, and he drove up in his car and he realized they were shooting this ugly airport terminal behind him and he wanted a shot of this very, very expensive private plane. So what he did is he left, he restaged his entrance, we spun the press around and we had to go down that line, Nancy, and make sure every member of the press who were videoing deleted their original footage. So we did not leave this to chance. It was something that he had thought of. I wouldn't have thought about this but he told me make sure they've all deleted the footage I don't want. I don't want to give them the choice of deciding which footage to use. They'll use the one that I give them.

Starting point is 00:17:07 So he got an entire fleet of the media to change their positions and delete video. I'm making a point. Listen to this shooter. Brian Steele shows Mia a birthday shout out from Combs captioned, beside every great man is a great woman. P.S. Sorry, I was acting crazy last night. Mia says Combs had threatened her life on a phone call the night before and she took

Starting point is 00:17:28 this as his apology. Steele asks if she reposted the message despite the seriousness of the threat and Mia responds, of course, reading off her profusely thankful caption. Thanks, Puff. Love you. You've shown me the world. So you're hearing, Rob Schueter, the posts that Mia is making about a birthday wish, and then she gets cross-examined about wishing Sean Combs happy birthday on a post. Now, I have seen rape victims go along to get along, whether it was your employer forcing sex on you, husband, partner, judge, and you don't want to make waves in the courthouse, so you put up with it and you just keep going. But he's really tearing her up on the stand about this shooter.

Starting point is 00:18:18 What do you make of it? You know him. Yeah, I think this is directed by Diddy. I think Puff is running this entire trial. He's telling his lawyers what to do, which might be a mistake, but his ego is very, very big. And news flash in and say, it is possible to think love is a monster.

Starting point is 00:18:36 A person can be a terrible person and you can still have feelings towards them. And I think that's a mistake here that Diddy is making. I think people's a mistake here that Diddy is making. I think people know the difference. And just because I post something, a birthday message, something kind towards you, doesn't mean you can't also be a terrible human being.

Starting point is 00:18:56 We are live at the courthouse covering a multi-count federal indictment on sex trafficking against Sean Combs, aka Diddy. Now, everyone seems to be weighing in with their trial expertise, and it goes from Snoop to Suge Knight to Fitty. But now we have Donald Trump weighing in. Listen. I look at what's happening and I haven't been watching it too closely,

Starting point is 00:19:23 although it's certainly getting a lot of coverage. I haven't seen him, I haven't spoken to him he used to really like me a lot but I think when I ran for politics he sort of that relationship busted up from what I read. I don't know he didn't tell me that but I'd read some little bit nasty statements. I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated whether they like me or don't like me, it wouldn't have any impact on me. That from our friends at Fox, and I ask you Mr. President, don't hank this trial. We don't even have a guilty verdict yet. Let's not talk about pardons yet. Isn't that putting

Starting point is 00:20:00 the cart before the horse? And if you'll notice, Trump's not saying I would pardon him. He says I would look at the facts. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Straight out to Lynn Shaw, joining me, founder and director of Lynn's Warriors, dedicated to ending trafficking on girls and women. By the way, all that from 50 Cent's official Instagram page. You know, Linshaw, when I covered the Natalie Holloway case and went to investigate it myself, I kept swearing on

Starting point is 00:20:35 air I would never put a toe on Aruban soil. But guess what? The US tourist rate went up in Aruba. So do you think Johnson & Johnson baby oil has shot through the roof? Are they missing the point? You know, I'm going to be maintaining here with this questioning my dirty, ditty death stare. We are living in this dirty, ditty dystopian dumpster world. And I think, no, the baby oil market is going to remain flat. If anything, I think people are looking at baby oil right now, Johnson & Johnson baby oil, all baby oil in a

Starting point is 00:21:13 different light. I really think they don't care about the baby oil. It brings a feeling of disgust, the baby oil. That's what we're talking about baby oil. Let's flip it over to victims, survivors, and let's talk about them and what they're going through. Again, I maintain the justice system is upside down. We're talking about all of these issues. We are not talking about trauma bonding.

Starting point is 00:21:35 We are not talking about survivors. Who's taking care of them? We're not talking about bottom girls, but that may be for a whole other program. I want to stay on focus. I want us to always flip it around to victims, survivors and maintain and empower them. And this is exactly why nobody comes forward in rape cases and sexual exploitation, because nobody wants to talk about them.

Starting point is 00:21:57 Nobody wants to help them. There's nothing out there for them. Back to trauma bonding with dirty diddy to Josh Ritter and joining me, criminal defense attorney, renowned criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor and host of Courtroom Confidential on YouTube. You know, Josh Ritter, we hear 50 now saying that he is going to intervene and go all the way to the White House to stop a potential pardon. In light of recent pardons, people are actually concerned Trump may pardon Diddy if there

Starting point is 00:22:27 is a conviction. This based on recent pardons of the Chrisleys who ripped off victims to over $30 million. One guy who founded the gang Disciples in Chicago released and he was behind bars on conspiracy for murder, it's causing shockwaves amongst the community of crime victims. And it's one thing to show Fiddy's memes and talk about that, but it's another thing when crime victims, rape victims, are in fear that if there is a potential verdict, a guilty verdict, there'll be a pardon. So what's the point?

Starting point is 00:23:10 And also, you're a former prosecutor. How does that make a prosecutor feel to go through all of this with a pardon looming over their shoulder? I just don't think he would do it. You make a really excellent point. One of the most difficult cases to put on as a prosecutor is these types of cases, these sexual assault cases.

Starting point is 00:23:29 And it's not because of the proof, it's not because of the evidence, it's because of convincing these victims to cooperate, getting them to come back into court and talk about the trauma that they've experienced, getting them to relive that, relive that, realizing that they're going to be put under the crucible of cross-examination and the whole way you're able to do it and convince them is that they're going to put this monitor away. And now there might be the idea. One point here, Armand Wiggins joining us, host of the Armand Wiggins show on YouTube. One point is if Fiddy is making all these memes he clearly believes that Sean Combs is going to

Starting point is 00:24:13 get convicted. In fact one of his memes which I'd like to show is about Vegas odds. He's saying what's the spread on this? I'm going Sean Combs for twinning. So if he is issuing all of these memes and posting them, clearly he thinks Combs is going to get convicted. I definitely think that Diddy probably will be convicted. But as it pertains to me as testimony, I did I have to honestly say it did feel a little shaky, you know, I feel like they were able to neutralize her as a witness. I don't think that she completely, I don't feel like Brian still completely eliminated.

Starting point is 00:24:51 I feel like he eliminated her as a witness. I do. I honestly feel that way. After vetting, we now represent 120 individuals who intend to bring civil claims in civil court against Sean Ditty Combs, as well as claims against many other individuals and entities that we will name as defendants as we file these individual cases. There are 60 males and 60 females.

Starting point is 00:25:17 Twenty-five of the 120 individuals who are plaintiffs in these cases were minors at the time of the acts complained of. That's from Tony Busby's official Instagram page. You know you're in trouble when there is a toll free number just for victims to call about you. To Rob Shooter joining us. Rob Shooter, are you surprised that Shawn Combs has been able to keep so many alleged victims quiet for so long?

Starting point is 00:25:51 We've seen multiple civil lawsuits occur after Cassie Ventura came out, and we are asking the wrong questions. We're saying, why are you suing him for money? You're in it just for the money, Cassie Ventura or Mia. Instead of asking the question, why is Sean Combs paying millions and millions of dollars to keep these victims quiet? Why do you think so many victims have gone unheard until now?

Starting point is 00:26:21 Maybe because of what we see happening to Mia on the stand? Yeah, yeah, I think there's gonna be, that we've seen, there's a long history of this. Money, power, fame are all really intoxicating. If you can't bully them with your fame, then you throw money at the problems. And I think we have to be honest here, the tape of Cassie changed everything.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Once that video tape existed, Nancy, we saw what happened when somebody tried to leave. We saw Cassie running down a hallway. She's trying to get away from him and look what happened to her. That's why people didn't leave. It wasn't just the money, wasn't just the fame, wasn't just the power. Nancy, it was the violence. Look at it. Joining me right now is a special guest,

Starting point is 00:27:05 Dr. Dwayne Hendricks, former associate warden at MDC in Brooklyn, a former senior warden with the U.S. Department of Justice, author of Who Are You? See It, Say It, Seize It, and he is the president of A New Daylight Foundation. Dr. Hendricks, thank you so much for being with us. As of today, the defense team is whining that they don't have enough time with their client. They want to change the entire procedure of getting Sean Combs to the courthouse and getting him back to the jail. So isn't it true the correctional facility has a special place for lawyers to meet with their clients? Yes.

Starting point is 00:27:50 Inmates meet with their lawyers inside the visiting room. In the various corners, they have attorney-client rooms. There's typically two to three in each visiting room in any federal prison. Those visits are typically scheduled ahead of time through the inmates counselor, which is a part of the inmates unit team. And they normally happen during the normal visiting hours. NBC Brooklyn, the visiting hours are between 5 a.m.

Starting point is 00:28:22 and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Dr. Henry could you describe the private room where inmates are allowed to speak to their lawyers at length? Typically the rooms will have maybe two to this set up kind of like an interview style where there's like a table. One side the inmate would sit on, and there's usually no more than three chairs on the other side in case you have two council or maybe a paralegal there to take notes with that with the particular client.

Starting point is 00:29:00 The rooms are very small. They're glass, so the staff that's having oversight of that particular visit, they can't hear what's going on in the room, but they can sit at a vantage point where they can see where, you know, what's going on in that room in case, you know, emergency. And Dr. Hendricks, how long do inmates get to meet

Starting point is 00:29:22 with their lawyers hours and hours in private? They have access to a law library. Isn't it true that Sean Combs is getting additional time to meet with his lawyers? Throughout my career, it's typically, you know, no more than a couple of hours, depending on what this particular request is for that particular inmate. Now, we're talking about the Sean Combs case. As we know, he's at the courthouse first thing in the morning. And court starts around nine, nine thirty, and it's ending about four p.m.

Starting point is 00:29:52 So if visiting ends at seven p.m. with him having to undress him out, put him in a vehicle, take him back to the jail, get him fed. You know, you're talking about and it be in process back into the jail. We're talking about five fed, you know, you're talking about and then being in process back into the jail, we're talking about 515, 530, which would only give them an hour and a half to prep with him to go over a strategy for the next day. So if they're asking for additional time, I would, I could see at the ward's discretion, especially as a high profile as this case is, and all the public interests, whether it's here in America or even internationally, I don't see

Starting point is 00:30:33 any concerns with them giving them another two hours, two to three hours to prep with their client for the next day. I mean, this trial is tentatively scattered to end. The goal is to end it by the end of the month or before the 4th of July weekend. So we're talking about four weeks, you know, maybe five to 10 additional hours during the week and maybe two to three hours on the weekend,

Starting point is 00:30:59 depending on what else is going on. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Dr. Hendricks, isn't it true that the MDC is open on the weekends and the lawyers could go meet with Combs on the weekends? Yes. on the weekends? Yes, and again, it is open visiting hours are from 9am to 4pm weekends and holidays and it's visiting is open until 7pm on a normal weekday. So they have, you know, depending on how long it takes the marshals to get him back to the jail, it's not going to take them very long to be in process to the east building where he's currently being housed. So they'll probably have about an

Starting point is 00:31:48 hour and a half to meet with him and depending on which attorneys he's going to meet with, what their strategy is going to be, it's not an unusual request for him to meet with his attorneys for a couple more hours. I mean there's a nine between a nine and 10 o'clock count each day in the facility. And they can put him on an out count in the visiting room while he's down there visiting. Because again, this trial is only gonna last

Starting point is 00:32:15 a few more weeks. And the last thing the Bureau of Prisoners and more specifically MDC Brooklyn does not want to do is be a part of any hindrance to him having effective counsel and giving grounds for them to, you know, on appeal to say, hey, you know, he didn't get effective counsel because the institution didn't allow him to visit with his attorneys. And then they're going to look at historical data.

Starting point is 00:32:39 They're going to look at how big, you know, how many inmates were housed at that facility in the past versus what they have now. And in making a sound correctional judgment decision, it just doesn't make sense to not try as much as possible to accommodate this request. A lot of them have never come forward. They'd rather just disappear, forget about it. They're too scared. They are terrified of him.

Starting point is 00:33:05 As we all are watching the testimony pour from the witness stand, we learn that Sean Combs' prison clothes have been auctioned. Does he need the money that badly? Do his defense lawyers cost that much? I thought it was worth a billion dollars. Are the defense attorneys worth it? Listen. Diddy's prison outfit is going up for auction, but it's not his MDC uniform. The rapper's iconic costume from his role as Lawrence Musgrove in the 2001 romantic thriller drama, Monsters Ball, is expected to sell for

Starting point is 00:33:45 a hefty penny when bidding begins next week. Combs only appears in the early parts of the film before his character is executed. His costume consists of a gray hoodie, jeans with one pant leg cut off, and black shoes. One of his first major film roles, Combs starred alongside Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, in the late Heath Ledger. So Josh Ritter, you're a veteran trial lawyer, former prosecutor. What happens when Dee Dee runs out of money?

Starting point is 00:34:11 Please don't tell me that we, the taxpayers, are gonna have to pay for his defense. No, I don't think we are. I think, unfortunately for his attorneys, they're on the hook. They're just gonna have to see it through the rest of the trial. I cannot imagine, though, even as expensive as they are, that they have burnt through

Starting point is 00:34:30 all of his money. But I will say, you know, if you're a man going to prison, money really isn't worth all that much to you if it can't keep you out of prison. So maybe he is paying quite a bit of money. To Dr. Bethany Marshall, interesting, he's paying a fleet of high-powered defense attorneys to represent him. An estimate weeks ago, weeks ago, five or six weeks ago, was a $10 million price tag so far. And that is before the litigation actually started.

Starting point is 00:35:01 That was pre-trial prep by these lawyers. But he's also spending a lot of money on PR initiatives, trying to make himself look good in the public eye. Now, he's got to hope that the jurors see that. Nancy, this is a great question because when I have sociopaths come to my office, they are very grandiose, pompous, self-assured, menacing, threatening until they get in trouble. And then they freak out. They employ as many resources as possible to protect themselves. And it's usually as they're on the brink of some type of incarceration or getting charged

Starting point is 00:35:40 that they actually come to therapy and then they try to employ me in some way to help them protect them, to write a letter, to do some kind of a statement for them. So I'm not surprised we're seeing that bigger pattern unfold with P. Diddy, that he threatens and controls until he's about to get caught. And then he dispenses all of his minions to cover it up for him.

Starting point is 00:36:03 You know, back to Lynn Shaw, joining us from's Lawyers, a nonprofit to stop sex trafficking. It's a real David and Goliath here. The alleged rape victim up against a machine like Bad Boy Enterprises, like Sean Combs. Yeah. And this is what we constantly hear. How can I fight this? I don't have the money. I don't have the community on my side.

Starting point is 00:36:26 I don't have lawyers who believe me. Or I have no money, so nobody will work with me. You know, it's simply that equation we see over and over again. It's the power dynamic over a vulnerable person. I want to keep the focus on that because here's what I ultimately think. Jurors and everybody's going to remember all the time. They are going to remember that Cassie video. We have to pray that they remember that one piece of video and that will open up for everything else to follow. We really have to just focus on that because I have too many victims, survivors, not a ditty.

Starting point is 00:37:03 I know a few of them that have actually I've known over the years. They've reached out to me and all sexual assault rape survivors are watching this with such an eagle eye. They want him held accountable. It goes far beyond just his case. It's about society. It's about culture. And they want this power dynamic. They want somebody to answer for it.

Starting point is 00:37:24 And I still maintain in some way, shape or form, dirty ditty is going down. Armon Wiggins is joining us, Entertainment Legal Affair commentator host on the podcast, The Armon Wiggins Show, been covering the trial since day one. Armon Wiggins, I sense that there's a vast group of people out there that want Sean comes to walk.

Starting point is 00:37:48 They don't want to believe Cassie Ventura. They don't want to see that. I got in an argument with Ray J the other day of all people. They don't want to see that gash on her forehead. They don't want to hear that testimony. And if they do hear it, if it manages to somehow sink in, then they go, oh, well, she was just in it for the money. Really?

Starting point is 00:38:10 She put up with that for 10 years for a payoff years and years later. Now with Mia on the stand, we hear about Combs paying her $400,000 to get her to shut the hay up and go away. But there is a faction, a fringe faction of people that don't want to hear these women. I mean, could somebody actually believe that all these women are lying and that Combs is the only one telling the truth? Why do people want Diddy to get off? I think that's what happens when it comes to women. I think it's an unfortunate situation because they see a man with power and then they see these women and they try to make it seem like Cassie was a whore or somehow she

Starting point is 00:38:55 could have brought this on herself and there's no excuse and I like what was said earlier about that video. It doesn't matter. That video still stands. We cannot unsee that video. So at the end of the day, I feel like that video sets precedence. And if you know what you know, then Diddy did it. It just boils down to me, who has the better legal team? Like I said before, the defense does a good job by creating doubt in certain witnesses. But at the end of the day, we have to look at the facts. Diddy is guilty, in my opinion. He's done it to the assistants. He's done it to Cassie. He's done it to everyone that's worked for him. Every woman that's been attached

Starting point is 00:39:33 to him, they have felt indebted to him because of this emotional bond. They feel like they need to be the ultimate fixer in his life. And he's somehow manipulated these women emotionally and mentally. And somehow there are a subset of people that feel like, you know what, they brought this on themselves. They could have left. And the reality is this man has wowed them, schmoozed them, gotten them things, given them things.

Starting point is 00:39:59 And, you know, they kind of fell victim to that. And I still stand for the victims, for sure. You know, Armand, you said something and I said, oh, how much I disagree with you. But I'm glad you said it, because you can't win a trial if you're emotionally attached to the testimony. I said, I disagreed with you about Mia. But the fact is, maybe you're right. I'm not saying she's lying.

Starting point is 00:40:25 What I'm saying is, maybe the defense made inroads with her, and there's a crack in her testimony. Not that she's lying, but it's the perception of the jurors that you have to think about as a trial lawyer. What do they think? So advice to the state, since you didn't ask, get in there and shore up Mia. Pronto. We remember an American hero, Lieutenant Charles Harrison, Pasco County Sheriff's, shot in the line of duty, leaving behind grieving children, Charles, Sandy, and Michelle sentenced to life without dad. American hero Charles Harrison.

Starting point is 00:41:09 Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart podcast.

Your Ad Here

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BROKE-DIDDY? COMBS' JAIL CLOTHES GO TO AUCTION

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.