Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - DOOMSDAY FOR DIDDY: TRIAL STARTS TODAY | Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

Sean “Diddy” Combs lost his bid to delay trial, and jury selection begins today as celebrities he once partied with gather for the Met Gala. Combs appeared in court wearing glasses and a pullover after Judge Arun Subramanian allowed him to avoid prison attire during the proceedings. The judge also approved a written jury questionnaire but limited it to 30 questions. The defense seeks insight into potential jurors’ views on topics including multiple sex partners, cheating, intimate partner violence, drug use, rap, and illegal firearm ownership. Prosecutors may call Jennifer Lopez to testify as they attempt to introduce evidence related to the 1999 Club NY shooting. Lopez and Combs fled the club after gunfire wounded three people. Combs’ defense team denies all rape allegations and argues that he lives a consensual swinger lifestyle. Attorney Marc Agnifilo told the court that Combs’ behavior is legal and misunderstood. Prosecutors intend to show that Combs used his businesses to host “Freak Offs” involving male prostitutes and women allegedly coerced into sex acts. At Combs’ last pretrial hearing, prosecutors said he rejected a plea deal. Federal prosecutor Madison Smyser confirmed the offer but declined to disclose the terms. Opening statements are scheduled for May 12. Joining Nancy Grace today: Eric Faddis - Partner at Varner Faddis Elite Legal, Former Felony Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation Attorney; Instagram: @e_fad @varnerfaddis; TikTok: @varnerfaddis Dr. Bethany Marshall -  Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Robert Crispin - Private Investigator “Crispin Special Investigations," Former Federal Task Force Officer for the United States Department of Justice [DEA and Miami Field Division], Former Homicide and Crimes Against Children Investigator; Facebook: Crispin Special Investigations Inc. Lynn Shaw - Founder and Executive Director of Lynn's Warriors  [an organization committed to ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation], Host of Lynn's Warriors on YouTube; X: @lynns_warriors, Youtube: @LynnsWarriors  Lauren Conlin - Investigative Journalist, Host of The Outlier Podcast, and also Host of "Corruption: What Happened to Grant Solomon; X- @Conlin_Lauren/ Instagram- @LaurenEmilyConlin/YouTube- @LaurenConlin4   Sydney Sumner - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. It is doomsday for Diddy. That's right. The trial starting today. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.

Diddy's big day in court looms as a last minute plea deal from prosecutors is turned down by the rapper and jury selection started today, the same day as Diddy's old celebrity friends are set to gather on the luxurious Fifth Avenue Costume Institute for the Met Gala. Doomsday for Diddy, the trial starting now. Jury selection underway. This as Sean Combs turns down a plea deal. This morning, Combs in the courtroom flanked by a phalanx of lawyers. That's always a bad look in front of a jury because they're like, whoa, you have that many lawyers. You need a fleet of lawyers to get your rear end out of a sling. Whoa. Joining me in all-star panel, let's go straight to the courthouse. Standing by is Lauren Conlon. Lauren, thank you for being with us. Co-host Primetime Crime on YouTube.

Lauren, what's happening? Start at the beginning this morning. Hi, Nancy. Yes, I am outside 500 Pearl Street, the very courthouse where Diddy will be tried on five different federal counts of sex trafficking. It was a scene out here. People coming out of the courthouse screaming. We didn't really know what was going on, but there is a lot of press out here, a lot of police presence, and jury selection is expected to last about a week. You know, it's the image to Robert Crispin on the case from the get-go, private investigator, former DEA, former vice, former homicide,

federal task force officer, U.S. Department of Justice. Robert, it's always a bad look when the jury comes in. And now this is the empaneling jury. This is 60 to 100 people. They're going to whittle down to 12 jurors. But when they look over at the defense and he's got a fleet, an army of lawyers that they're like, it takes that many lawyers to get your rear end out of the sling. You've gotten it into bad luck. Yeah, it's going to be pounded in their head that, you know, you're proven guilty but they're going to look up they're going to be like wow that's a lot

of lawyers what is going on here what am i going to learn you know you're taking a look at sean combs and some of his finery uh i can't wait to hear how he dudes up in court. Again, joining me in all star panel, this on the eve of Sean Combs rejecting a plea deal. Listen. At his last pretrial hearing, prosecutors revealed that Sean Diddy Combs had one last chance to avoid trial, but rejected a plea deal. Federal prosecutor Madison Smizer disclosed that the deal was offered, but remained secretive about the terms. Instead, a jury will be called to hear at least three weeks of graphic witness testimony regarding years worth of beatings, drug-fueled coercive sex marathons, and multiple rapes. Joining us, high-profile lawyer Eric Faddis, TV legal analyst, founding partner, Varner Faddis, elite legal, rejecting a plea deal.

You know what I think is behind that? I think he could not admit that what he did was wrong, that he is guilty. No matter how sweet the deal, unless it was straight probation, Sean Combs is not going to take a deal, Eric Faddis, even though it may be in his best interest. He just shot himself in the foot. Well, Nancy, you know, as you know, he's proclaimed his innocence from the beginning and a deal would likely involve years in prison, I would think. You know, he's not the youngest guy in the world. And so if he did take a plea deal, that could be a death sentence for him professionally. You know, he has all of these contracts and brand deals and that kind of thing, or at least he had them. And to try to have some semblance of the possibility of getting those later, he would need to prevail at this cross

and a plea deal would not allow for that. Yeah. You know what? The death knell is ringing doomsday for Diddy. You're saying that if he pled guilty, that would ruin his what? Public persona. Are you kidding me? That's ruined. What, what are you talking about? He's already been charged under a multi-count federal indictment of drugging. You know what? Straight out to Lynn Shaw, joining me, founder, executive director, Lynn's warriors dedicated to ending sex violence on girls and women. His public image. Hey, do we have that picture of Sean Combs wearing a crown at one of his freak offs? What public image, Lynn Shaw? There is no public image. Dirty Denny is going down. We are so happy

and grateful for today because finally, finally, victims and survivors can see some sort of accountability that it got this far. And yes, it'll be very graphic in court, but it's about time the public hears the truths and the realities of what goes on with sex trafficking. We have to all get on board. They are all waiting. And not only victims and survivors, I guess alleged, I'm supposed to say of this criminal, I guess I'm supposed to say alleged, but I'm saying criminal. We here in New York City, I can't tell you the messages I am receiving. This is finally happening. We've been waiting eight months. Powerful man. There is no public image. There are no brand deals. He crossed the wrong people and dirty ditty is done. Now it's time for the public to weigh in. And you know what?

This is going down, down, down. This is the state's case to screw up. They have got witnesses. They have got freak off videos. What Sean Combs has is a very powerful and charismatic presence in the courtroom. And he's got a fleet of some of the best lawyers in the country. Number one, he turns down a plea deal. This literally as the jury is filing in, drinking in Sean Combs and all of his lawyers. This after another failed bid to delay the trial. Listen. Sean Diddy Combs loses his bid to delay trial, and jury selection begins as celebrities Diddy once pumped arms with gather for the Met Gala. Judge Arun Subramanian has allowed Combs to ditch his prison clothes. For the proceedings, where prosecutors plan to prove to a jury,

Combs used his many business enterprises to facilitate freak-offs featuring male prostitutes and women coerced into the performance. Opening statements are expected on May 12th. Straight back to the courthouse, standing there with us, Lauren Conlon. Lauren, how long do we believe jury selection will take? Jury selection is supposed to take a week, Nancy, but I think it's going to be pretty difficult here. I mean, Diddy is pretty well known in New York City.

If you remember, he was actually once given the key to New York City by the mayor. But as far as as the questionnaire goes for the jury, there have been filings that said that the potential jurors will be asked how they feel about multiple sex partners, how they feel about hip hop artists and the hip hop industry. They will be asked about if they have had any experience being sexually assaulted. And this will actually be written or verbal, depending on what the jury prefers. And Sean Combs will be present for all of that questioning. Yeah, the questions are very invasive on the jury. Lauren, what does Diddy look like? Well, Diddy walked in wearing a dark crew neck sweater and a dress shirt. He was not wearing a tie.

We know that he he had a big win where he was granted the ability to wear his own clothes. He's a fashionable guy. He will be able to switch up. Yes, between five dress shirts, five sweaters, five socks, and two pairs of shoes without laces. And yeah, I'm thinking here, I mean, he must be pretty crushed, Nancy. The Met Gala tonight, his friend LeBron James co-chairing it, and he's stuck in federal court. You know what? Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us. Renowned psycho analyst joining us out of L.A., author of Deal Breaker. You can see her now on Peacock. Dr. Bethany, that has got to hurt because there is Sean Combs in a federal courtroom, you know, dressed up,

all these jurors coming in to take a look at him and his fleet of lawyers while across town, the Met Gala is going on. He has always been a star there. Remember all the outfits? Oh, there he is laying on the steps. Okay. Capes, walking canes, dripping in jewelry. Yeah, there we go. The Met Gala is his thing. Nancy, it's his thing. You know that necklace he's wearing right there? That looks like it's about an 80-carat diamond cross necklace. I think he's probably experiencing what we would say in my field, a narcissistic injury, meaning in his world, he's king. That with five outlets available to him is going to be very injurious. P. Diddy thinks he's right. He still thinks he's the ringleader of the circus of filth and that everybody's going

to follow along. And that's why he won't take a plea. Because with people like P. Diddy, they are so aggressively certain that their position is correct that they don't back down. In fact, they really take on the fight. You would think P. Diddy would go into court and try to manipulate by taking the plea, but he's not going to do that. He's not going to be manipulative.

He's going to insist that he is right and that everybody should conform to him. He's probably doing that with his attorneys right now. And that's going to make this trial fascinating. You know, Eric Faddis, that was always a moment for me in the courtroom when the jurors to be impaneled. I don't mean the 12 on the jury. I mean, the huge panel from which you select the jury of 12. That was always a moment. If I were to have been nervous in courtroom, that would have been that, that moment, because that's something you cannot plan for. That's something you cannot anticipate. You don't know the jurors names or who they are before that moment. I would know who all my witnesses were going to be. I would know down to the question, what they were going to say. I knew the evidence I was bringing it in. It was all marked, ready to need at least 200 jurors just to start to whittle it down to 12.

You don't know where they're from, what their experiences are, who they are. You've never seen them before. It's like shaking up a pot and picking out a number. That's what the jury selection process is. You have no way to prepare for that. What about it, Faddis? Oh, yeah. I mean, look, you can only make one first impression, right?

And so the jury's coming in. They're surveying the courtroom. They're looking at the prosecutors, the judge. But at some point, they're going to be laser focused on Diddy. What is he wearing? What is his demeanor like? How is he presenting? What are his facial expressions?

What are his reactions to what the prosecutor is saying, what the defense is saying, what the judge is saying? All of those things are going to be closely surveilled by these potential jurors as they're getting acquainted with the courtroom process and the participants therein. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We are getting reports from the courtroom, Lauren Conlon. Lauren, joining us at the courthouse, Sean Combs dressed in a Navy pullover. What? What is he going for, the Harvard freshman look? A Navy pullover? My rear end, I've never seen him in a pullover in my life. I mean, I saw the Menendez brothers

trying to pull that off in court. Didn't work. But Sean Combs, Mr. Style and a pullover. What? Well, Nancy, as you know, what you wear as a defendant in court is really important. You said it yourself. The Menendez brothers. I mean, he wants to create this image in the courthouse for the jurors that he's this innocent guy. His only crime, Nancy, as he said, is being a swinger. And that's what he wants to get across. He is not this sexual deviant. He is not this this criminal mastermind. He's just a guy that that engages in casual sex. Diddy dressed like a college freshman as crowds lined the block to get into the courtroom. U.S. Marshals and NYPD set up barricades to control flow of people. The shots you're seeing right now are of Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, a.k.a. Puff,

a.k.a. Puff Daddy, a.k.a. Love. It goes on and on. Or of him at the Met Gala. There he is getting his star on the Walk of Fame. There. Now we're back at the Met Gala. And there he is with Cassie Ventura. I call her victim number one. And that is all going down across town as Diddy is facing, looking all his potential jurors eye to eye. Wonder what they're thinking. Guarantee this. He is not blinged out in the courtroom. He's trying to look like a Harvard freshman. Let's see if that works. But what are the jurors thinking? Take a listen. Sean Diddy Combs defense lawyers insist he isn't a rapist, but a swinger. Attorney Mark Agnefillo tells the court Combs simply engaged in a swinger lifestyle,

seeing nothing wrong with his behavior because it's common. Agnefillo asserts it's so common that many people find the lifestyle appropriate. In a March filing, lawyer Alexandra Shapiro wrote, prosecutors always seem to conclude that the sex lives of black men are bad enough to deserve punishment. What? Okay. Don't hate me because I'm a swinger. A swinger? That's not at all what this case is about. Number one, most of the jurors are not going to like the idea of swinging number one, which is multiple sex partners by agreement. But that said, let's just take a look at what I think will probably be state's exhibit number two. After the freak off video, this is from our friends at

CNN. Let's just watch it in full. What now this This is part of being in a consensual, quote, swinging relationship. Consensual. Oh, OK. You think Cassie Ventura? Oh, consented to that. Man, it's like he's working. He's were out for the Boca Junior Soccer Club. That was one kick and it was right to her vital organs. Now, according to reports, this is Cassie Ventura, his so-called consensual sex partner,

trying to flee a multi-day freak off where the women are drugged, completely slathered in baby oil and then raped on video. No wonder she was running. Okay. There's petulant Diddy. Yeah. He's not happy. Oh, okay. There goes about a $2,000 vase right there in the intercontinental. Now, one of the trial ploys is that CNN doctored the tape. Really? That's the best you've got, Brian Steele and Agnefellow, that CNN, one of the most trusted

names in the news business, that sounds like an ad. Oh, it is. Doctored the tape. Well, according to sources, prosecutors have gotten the full and unedited tape to play to the jury. So be careful what you wish Sean Combs for you will surely get it. You don't want the edited tape where CNN didn't want to play 30 minutes of you chasing Cassie up and down the hall. The jury can watch the entire unedited tape. I wonder what's going to be on that. And to suggest that CNN or anybody else doctored the evidence, you are really at the bottom of the barrel. I would not say that in front of the jury, but Hey, you know what? Go ahead. Let's talk about swinging to Dr. Bethany Marshall, joining a psychoanalyst out of LA at drbethanymarshall.com. Dr. Bethany,

explain that whole thing. As you know, you know how I feel, open marriage, open casket. But hey, that's just me. I have had that made into a t-shirt, which I wear on my anniversary. But swinging, Dr. Bethany, how's a jury going to react to that? Well, I think juries are pretty mature and they can understand what swinging is. Swinging is when a couple opens up the relationship to a third party. And you know, swingers play by very specific rules. They're not cheating on each other. They're not going out behind each other's backs. Typically, one couple hooks up with an individual or they hook up with another couple. So it's very sedate in some ways. It's very consensual. And I do say multi-partner family configurations in my office where there may be maybe four or five people as a part of a couple.

They are so kind. They are so polite. Could you repeat that? What? You have clients in your office. And then I heard the words four or five. What? Four or five members of the romantic configuration where they all respect each other.

See, even you choked on that. How's a jury going to respond? That's true. Four or five members of a sex configuration. That's right. Is that what you just said? And that is exactly what I said. And what's interesting, Nancy.

I don't care. But when women wake up having been drugged and their vaginas and their anuses hurt. I mean, Robert Crispin joining me, let's just address what Dr. Bethany just said. I'm not saying she's wrong and I don't care. I don't care what anybody else does. Cats and dogs sleeping together. I don't care. But when women wake up after being looted, quaaluted, roofied, and their private parts are hurting and bleeding. And then later on, Crispin, they find out that there's a video of them where their limbs have been arranged to get a better angle as they are raped. That is what the state is talking about. They're not talking about whatever that was that Dr. Bethany just said. Yeah, I think they're going, Nancy, with

that angle, because if they can get it out to the jury that a lot of these people are swingers, then that's going to kind of dull down the freak offs because the freak offs of a bunch of people having sex at the same time. And if you can buy one or two jurors and tell them that this was nothing more than just swinging, then they may go, all right, so it's freak offs. There's a bunch of people who like to be with other sex partners. Yeah, OK, I don't have a problem with that because I do it. Not me, but they might go, I do it. OK, put him on. Wait, wait, wait.

So wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Slow down, Nellie. You're saying the jury is going to react to this. How? I mean, think about the odds. OK, the Vegas odds. You were in vice. You can relate to that before you were in homicide and DOJ and your illustrious career. The odds. How many swingers do you think you're going to get on

this jury? You might get a couple of people that have cheated and don't want anybody to find out. Fat chance that they're going to answer that in a juror questionnaire. Oh, H-E-L-L-N-O. That is not going to be put in the record. Oh yeah, I cheer on my wife all the time. So I don't care what Diddy does. That's not going to happen. So Crispin, let's just look at the odds. How many people do you think are going to be on a jury of 12 with let's say four, maybe six alternates that are swingers as Dr. Bethany acts like, yeah, that happens all the time. Guess what, Bethany? Maybe in LA it happens all the time, but I don't think across the country it happens all the time. There are a larger group of people in all our neighborhoods that are swingers.

And I think that they had no. Where do you live? I mean, I'm not living in a monastery and I don't really know what my neighbors are doing unless my cat gets in their yard. But how would you know? You know, you know, we've worked in our in our time. And there's just those type of crowd that's out there. And this is unless you can think of another way. I can't. This is one way to dispel the freak offs and to explain the freak offs and take the bite away from the jury that these were drug fueled rapes. If you can get someone on a jury, listen, it only takes one.

Maybe if I can get two, I'm happy. How do you live with yourself spewing that? These women were raped. You know what? I don't have to say it. Lynn Shaw is going to say it for me. Lynn Shaw, can you address Crispin? Because if you start listening to Crispin and Faddis, you start thinking, oh, hey, maybe

it is more normal than I think. A, I don't care if it's normal. B, don't care what other people do. What I care about is a violation of the law. What I care about is a violent felony. And I find it very hard to believe that kicking Cassie Ventura in the stomach, like her kidney, hitting her in the head and literally dragging her like a caveman down the hall back to a freak off. If it was so consensual, why was she being literally dragged back to it?

Crispin, I'm ashamed of you saying this because I've worked in entertainment. I'm in the middle of New York City. I was just part of being picked for a jury. And I have to tell you here in New York, I found the other people rather conservative, working in entertainment and being around the music business. This really is not normal behavior. If he wants to call himself this dirty, ditty, bad boy, pullover sweater, you know, a choir boy, he would have come out in the beginning saying, I'm a swinger. All you have to do is look at the Cassie Ventura tape. That's what the public will see. That's what the jury will see. And they will hold him accountable. There's been too much out in the

press, out in the world about this guy. They're going to look at him and say he's rich. He's entitled Cassie Ventura. That's what they're going to look at. They don't care about a pullover sweater. They don't care about swinging. It's done. He's going down, everybody. Swinging? What did Dr. Bethany say? I mean, consensual sex configurations of multiple partners. Okay, then if everything is so consensual, why did Diddy do this?

It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life. Sometimes you got to do that. I was f***ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted.

I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I had to go into therapy. I had to go into rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace I'm so sorry but I'm committed to be a better man each and every day

I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry. That was from Diddy's official Instagram page. Can we just address what he just said? And I hope that that has been marked as the states exhibit the apology. Because number one, panel, listen up. I can't wait to hear your response on this. He says that was his quote darkest time. No, it's not. It is so by far,

not your darkest time. The time that you beat just one woman, Cassie Ventura. Oh no, no, no. You got a fleet of women claiming you did that. And a lot worse. He says, I'm disgusted, not half as disgusted as I am or not half as disgusted as how this jury is going to feel. And he's saying, I take full responsibility for what I did. Really full responsibility. Then why aren't you pleading guilty? And you know, it goes on and on. He says he is going to go to rehab. Rehab. I never heard that Diddy went to rehab. Is one person sitting on this panel that has ever heard that Sean Combs went to rehab.

I can't wait to hear this. He goes on and on. Jury selection starting right now. He says he wants mercy and grace. You know what? You can get mercy and grace. You know what? You can get mercy and grace behind bars. You don't have to be walking free to get mercy and grace. Straight out to Lauren Collins joining us at the courthouse. Lauren, tell me about the scene this morning when everyone was trying to get into the courthouse. Yes, Nancy, it was crazy. There were lines wrapped around the

courthouse, incredibly crowded, lots of police presence with barricades trying to control the flow of people and the flow of press trying to get in to report or observe on the jury selection. I see one beefy looking guy that's walking around behind you. He's dressed in all gray. He looks like he's packing from what I can tell from here. He looks like a fed. He just walked out of range of your camera. So I guess the courthouse is flanked with law enforcement. Yes, it's flanked with law enforcement as it should be. Like I said, when I was here earlier, there was people going crazy walking out of the courthouse. I thought they had weapons. I thought they were going to do something violent. So I'm, I was very thankful that there was lots of police presence here. Now we understand that there is a new defense on the horizon. But

before we get to that, to Dr. Bethany Marshall, you heard that apology video. How's that going to play? Certainly they're going to bring it in because of everything that happened with Cassie Ventura, who is one of the state's strongest witnesses and one of the few victims that wants her name in open court. The other victims are going by victim two, victim three. She's going by her name. The fact that he says it's all consensual. Then what about that apology video? Did you get all that? I'm disgusted with myself. Not half as disgusted as I am. This is my darkest moment. No, no, it's not. I take full responsibility. Then why not plea? I'm going to go to rehab. No,

no, it's too late for rehab. Plus he never went. What about what he was saying in that apology video? I love when he says, I'm going to go to therapy. Like, he couldn't even pronounce the word. I'm like, yikes. I hope he's not a patient coming into my office. Anyway, what all of your listeners are going to recognize here is the honeymoon phase of the cycle of abuse, right? The man batters the woman. The woman tries to get away.

Then he becomes remorseful, says he's going to do better, that he's going to go to rehab. And then as soon as the woman comes back again, then the perpetrator gains ascendancy and power over the woman again. It is a cycle that repeats endlessly. And as I was looking at his face right now, I thought of all the women, women who are viewers, I thought of all the women, women who are viewers, who might be on the jury, maybe jurors who have daughters or sons who have been battered, and they have seen that face. They have seen that person say, and all the abusers say in all sincerity, I'm sorry, I'm going to get help. I did not mean to do it. And they look at

the person and think, I know you're lying because you're just going to do it all over again. Jurors aren't stupid. They're going to see right through this. Joining us, Eric Faddis, high profile lawyer out of LA, but practices in multiple jurisdictions. Okay, Faddis, I guess you want in on the apology video. You know, Nancy, there's something buried in there. The Bolshevik video rings pretty hollow for most, but buried in there when he's talking about hitting rock bottom, seeking professional help, going to rehab, what he could be doing is setting himself up for what's called a diminished mental capacity defense, essentially arguing that, hey, I was so whacked out of my mind on whatever

that I wasn't able to form the mental state to commit this crime. And therefore, jury, you got to give me a break. At any point in that apology video, did you hear him say one word about his mental state? You're just making that up. What I'm saying is that if he's talking about being overly intoxicated on substances, that can be used in a criminal trial. Well, he's not going to rehab. Jackie, did he say overly intoxicated in that video? Did he say one thing about drugs or alcohol?

Sidney Sumner joining me, CrimeOnline.com and Crime Stories investigative reporter. Sidney, we have watched that apology video, you and I, 50 times. I don't hear anything about I was drunk or I was high. I didn't hear anything like that. No or I was high. I didn't hear anything like that. No, ma'am. Not at all. Combs does not mention having some kind of diminished mental capacity that caused him to attack his then girlfriend. His defense would come out and said, you know, this is a years long relationship that had plenty of issues.

And this was simply an argument that got a little bit out of control a little bit that doesn't feel like a little bit to me throwing a base somebody that you love or claim to love does not feel like a little bit of an argument that got out of hand so no he doesn't mention that he was drunk or high. What got me, Sydney, is the kidney punch, the kidney kick. Did you see him kick her right in the kidney? It's ridiculous, Nancy. No amount of violence should ever be tolerated in a relationship, much less one like this.

You're a celebrity. You should be held to a higher standard. And it seems like Combs only used his wealth and power to cover up bad behavior. I'm going to address Eric Faddis' diminished capacity argument in just a moment. But needless to say, Sean Combs runs a billion dollar empire that he has built from scratch, according to prosecutors, by violence, threats, beatings, and it goes on and on. That's how he amassed a billion dollar fortune, according to prosecutors. But what he's saying in that apology video,

Lynn Shaw, joining us from Lynn's Warriors, what do you make of it? I pray that he brings up that the Cassie incident, that's certainly putting perfume on the pig, the beating, the aggravated assault with hands and feet as the deadly weapon. I want them to say that's consensual. So then the state can bring on that apology video. If he didn't do it, why is he apologizing, Lynn? First of all, that wasn't an apology. That was save me, save me, invoking God. And I'm at my lowest point. First of all, we have to remember physical violence is never accepted in any kind of relationship. Second of all, I never heard him say at all in that apology, as I put air quotes around that, I am sorry, Cassie.

I'll do better. He never addressed her by name. I don't even understand. That's a piece of garbage. Throw it out. I maintain. Victim after victim had stories of abuse like this. You know what?

He's just going down. That's all I can say. It's done. Dirty Diddy is done. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Investigators taking a second look into the 1999 Club New York shooting based on allegations Combs bragged about bribing witnesses and jurors at trial, sharing that he pulled the trigger, not Jamal Shine Barrow. Barrow served nine years in prison for opening fire and injuring three while celebrating a new record deal with Combs and his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez. The lawsuit alleges Combs shared that Lopez carried the

gun and passed it to him during the altercation. Victim Natanya Rubin has also long insisted that Combs shot her, not Vero. Lopez was never charged in the shooting and Combs was acquitted of four counts criminal possession of a weapon and bribery. The same way you're sure that I have on a green shirt, I'm certain that he shot me. Now, was he aiming at me? Was I the object of his fire? Absolutely not. I should not have been because I didn't do anything to him. I watched them both fire their guns. I watched them. I got hit right here in my nose, in between my eyes, which means I'm facing directly at you. That victim speaking, and that is from The Art of Dialogue. Now, rumors swirling that Jennifer Lopez will be called into court on that case. The shooting showing a propensity for violence and escaping justice. We're waiting to find out if that's going to happen. But Faddis,

actually, although he completely fabricated it from whole cloth, brought up a defense that we believe will be used at trial, although it did not rear its ugly head in the apology video. Listen. Diddy's defense may now be arguing he did not have the mental capacity to commit the alleged crimes. The lawyers plan to put psychiatrist Dr. Ely Aoun on the stand to explain that due to drug and alcohol use, Sean Combs did not have the capacity to form the mens rea required to commit the alleged offenses. In other words, a guilty mind. Prosecutors are fighting to form the mens rea required to commit the alleged offenses. In other words, a guilty mind. Prosecutors are fighting to block the testimony claiming the rap mogul needed to file prior notice of his intent to argue a mental disease or defect bearing on the issue of guilt. Eric Faddis, this is going to be difficult.

It is for all lawyers, but I'd like a yes, no answer. Isn't it true that voluntary use of drugs or alcohol is never a defense? No, Nancy, I don't believe that's accurate. So voluntary intoxication can potentially be a defense for what are called specific intent crimes. Crime, charge three in this case, transporting someone across state lines with the intent,

the specific intent that they engage in prostitution, that specific intent crime for which voluntary intoxication could be applicable. The defense is going to argue that he did not have a lucid awareness of exactly what was going on and what he was doing. 50 miles a minute. Hold on. Let's just break down what you just said for real. Okay. You said that when Sean Combs was making phone calls and texting all his contacts, you mean the sex workers in other States that he was flying in, he was too drunk or high to know what he was doing. Is that, that's what that means, what you just said. So you're actually going to argue that in front of a jury. Diminished capacity when he's calling all his friends, well, employees, going, hey, could you get me those prostitutes from New York that I really like and fly them into L.A. or fly them into Florida?

You think that that could be done while you're high or drunk? The law requires a lucid awareness, an understanding of what you're doing, of the facts and circumstances surrounding your actions. And defense can certainly argue to this jury that they didn't know what he was doing when he was dialing his phone. Okay, hold on. It's an argument that can be made. What about the rapes and the Sean Combs sitting back like an Oscar-winning director going, could you move her left leg over and put her right arm above her head

so we can get a better angle of the rape? Are you suggesting that he was high or drunk and didn't know what he was saying? Certainly the prosecution can present for double evidence that he did know what was going on. But as to the question of whether he can present this kind of argument to the jury, I think on some of these charges, on some of these allegations, I hear something. It's a bell tolling. OK, what about that? What about, of course, Faddis is totally ignoring a huge and vast body of law that says voluntary use of drugs or alcohol is not a defense. Okay. That said,

Lynn Shaw, jump in, Lynn. Yeah, jump in. I'm jumping out of my seat here trying to maintain my control. I mean, I'm not a lawyer. I don't play one on TV. We need the video evidence. What are you talking about? This was a complicit operation. I want to know about all the other people involved who are actually carrying out his dirty ditty deeds. Who was phoning? Who was making the travel arrangements, the hotels, the car services? Who was securing the drugs, the lube, everything we've talked about for months about dirty ditty. This was a sex trafficking operation across state lines. If they can stick with that, we're going to have an outcome that is positive for all sex

trafficking survivors and victims. I maintain he is going down. There is no defense here. Again, I'm not a lawyer either, but you know what? Video evidence, too many people talking about the same way they were treated, drugs, all this stuff going on. Why, though? I have to leave you with this. Why was this allowed? Who are the other complicit players? How did he get away with

this for so long? He is done. Dirty diddy down. And it begins today with lines wrapped around the courthouse, barricades, law enforcement trying to keep the public out. Everyone trying to get into the courtroom to see Sean Combs on day one of his trial. This is jury selection straight to the courthouse, standing by Lauren Collin, co-host Primetime Crime on YouTube. Lauren, what about juror number two? That certainly started off with a bang. Oh, Nancy, juror number two. this is really interesting. Juror number two had a family member who had experienced domestic violence, but actually said that this would not affect them being fair and impartial. They also were asked about public figures like Michael B. Jordan and Mike Myers, and they also said their familiarity with these public figures would not affect them being impartial. The voir dire started about an hour and a half after Diddy arrived, which is around 9 a.m. So they, yeah, they're

getting things done, Nancy. Joining me, private investigator Robert Crispin, former federal task force officer, USDOJ, DEA in Miami Field Division, now CrispinInvestigations.com. Robert, you also investigated a lot of vice cases. I just don't think a jury is going to buy the swinger aspect or the fact, the example that Faddis gave. I was too drunk to know what I was doing because there are so many counts. I mean, you've heard it before. What? I was drunk. What happened? Yeah, that's not a defense, obviously. You know, your lawyers will tell you that. You know, in his video, if I can go back to that for just one quick minute, he refers

back to God a lot. And I tell you, as an investigator investigating a lot of people that were currently under investigation, not in custody yet, you watch their behavior. And if they're a prime suspect, there is a pattern. And I think the doctor will tell you and other investigators will tell you that guilty people or people believed to be guilty always immediately turn to God. They start going to church all the time. They start talking about God. That is to an investigator, one of the signs that your target is probably guilty or pretty darn close to being guilty. That God fearing, bringing them into their interviews where there's no pattern that we know of. Did he go to church every Sunday or talking about God? But in this video, he refers to it in more than one occasion. We wait as jury selection

unfolds. It's expected to take multiple days, very long days in the courtroom. Let's see how Sean Combs holds up under jury selection, looking each juror in the face as they answer questions about him, Sean Combs. The trial set to start May 12, but in actuality, it started today. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.