Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense begins and ends in same day

Combs declined to testify in his own defense in the high-profile trial.

By Emma Keates | June 24, 2025 | 4:46pm

Photo: Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage

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The defense portion of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ highly-publicized sex trafficking trial both began and ended today. The prosecution rested earlier today after seven weeks of harrowing testimony from witnesses like Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, Ventura’s family and friends, the mogul’s former employees and collaborators, and more. Combs himself then spoke for what Variety reports as the longest amount of time since the trial began to tell Judge Arun Subramanian that he would not be taking the stand in his own defense. “That is solely my decision. I mean, it’s my decision with my lawyers,” Combs said after telling Subramanian he’d done an “excellent job” with the trial thus far.

Combs’ lawyers proceeded to wrap up quickly without calling any additional witnesses to the stand, Deadline reports. It’s a very similar tactic to the one employed by Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers in the movie mogul’s retrial earlier this month. That trial ended in a split verdict on two counts, with a mistrial on the third.

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It should be noted that the defense did mount a lengthy cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses over the past seven weeks. The next stage in Combs’ trial will see both sides present their closing arguments to the jury. That portion is set to begin June 26 and continue for at least a day, according to the trade. Jury deliberations will follow, with no set time limit on how long the 12-person group can take to reach a decision. If found guilty, Combs could spend the rest of his life behind bars.