June 28, 2025

Saturday 6/28. "DIDDY'S FINAL GAMBLE: Defense Claims 'Swingers Lifestyle' as Jury Gets the Case"

Show Notes
Transcript

In explosive closing arguments, Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo paced the Manhattan courtroom like a man fighting for his client's life - because he was. Calling the mogul's relationships a "swingers lifestyle" rather than trafficking, Agnifilo painted accusers as gold-diggers motivated by money, not justice. But prosecutor Maurene Comey fired back with devastating effect: "In Sean Combs' world, 'no' was never an option." After seven weeks of sex tapes, hotel damages, and baby oil evidence, twelve jurors now hold Diddy's fate. Plus: Why we're becoming "Celebrity Trials" and a preview of the Luigi Mangione case that will dominate 2025.

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WEBVTT

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Callarogus Shark Media. Good morning, and welcome to what's about

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to become your new obsession. I'm Nate Oliver and this

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is the show that just got a major upgrade. For

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weeks now, we've been bringing you Did He Do It?

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Your daily dive into the Sean Diddy Combs trial, but

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today marks an evolution. Starting now, we're becoming Celebrity Trials,

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the daily true crime podcast that covers the biggest trials

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happening right now or happening soon, and takes you back

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to the greatest courtroom dramas that ever captivated the world.

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We'll even have a new host, read Carter. Because here's

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the thing. Even if they weren't famous before they walked

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into that courtroom, the trial made them a celebrity. From

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OJ to Casey Anthony, from Harvey Weinstein to the case

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we're covering today, these trials become cultural moments that define

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our times, and we're going to be there for all

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of it, every day, every revelation, every bombshell. But first,

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let's wrap up yesterday's absolutely electric courtroom drama in Manhattan.

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Today is Saturday, June twenty eighth. Yesterday was the defense's

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moment to shine, and Mark Agniphilo came out swinging, literally

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pacing around the courtroom, testing his microphone range, and delivering

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what can only be described as a theatrical performance for

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the ages. For nearly five hours, Agniphilo painted a completely

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different picture of Sean Diddy Comb's than the prosecution had

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spent six weeks building. His core argument. This isn't a

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criminal enterprise, It's a lifestyle. Their swingers, this is their lifestyle,

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Agnifilo told a jury arguing that Cassie Venturo was a

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willing participant in the so called freak offs. He described

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Combs as simply living a lifestyle of swingers, threesomes, and

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personal use drugs. But agnel didn't just defend the lifestyle,

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he attacked the entire foundation of the prosecution's case. This

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isn't about a crime, this is about money, he declared,

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pointing directly to Cassie's twenty million dollar settlement. Cassie Ventura

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sued Shawn Combs for thirty million dollars. Because Shawn Combs

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has thirty million dollars, This very investigation came out of

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that civil case. The defense attorney framed his client as

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a victim of success and race. Shawn Combs has become

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something that is very, very hard to be. He is

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a self made, successful black entrepreneur. Agnafilo suggested that maybe

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Combs's former employees didn't always like him, but they loved him.

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The defense got personal, with the accusers, telling jurors that Jane,

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the pseudonymous ex girlfriend who testified against Combs, was motivated

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by wanting nice things and trips she posted on social media.

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Agnefilo painted her as someone comfortable being in that sort

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of strata, noting that jurors learned who her child's father

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is and what rapper she was with in Las Vegas.

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He argued, she loved Combs, but she was focused on

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what I am getting out of it that the world

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can see. On the rent payments that prosecutors said were

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leverage for coercion, Agnifilo flipped the narrative entirely. He described

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Comb's paying Jane's ten thousand dollars monthly rent as a

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gesture of niceness that shouldn't be construed as trafficking. She's

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receiving pretty crappy child support from her child's father about

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five thousand dollars per month. Agnafilo noted. Guess who's giving

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her more, the one who has no responsibility for that

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child at all. He's picking up the ball for someone

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who seems to have dropped the ball for his own kid.

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And in a moment that had the courtroom buzzing, Agnifilo

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addressed the infamous hotel surveillance video that's been central to

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the prosecution's case. Rather than avoiding it, he showed it again,

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but with a twist. He argued the jury could interpret

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it differently than prosecutors, pointing out that at one point

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Cassie appeared to be carrying something in her right hand

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while Comb's pursued her empty handed. Moments later in the footage,

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Combs had a phone in his hand. Agnafhilo's implication this

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wasn't as salt. It was Comb's trying to get his

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phone back from Cassie. But perhaps most boldly, Agniphilo tackled

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the blackmail allegations head on. He acknowledged that Combs may

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have threatened to release sex tapes from time to time,

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but insisted there was a zero zero, zero percent chance

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he would actually do it. There's no way on God's

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green Earth Sean Combs is going to release one of

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these videos. He described what's depicted in the videos as

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an escape, not evidence of criminal activity. The hotel rooms

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are beautiful, the music is nice. Cassie is eating watermelon,

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he told the jury, arguing the videos were not as

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depraved as the government suggest. He's not the only man

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in America making homemade porn. It's a pretty popular thing nowadays.

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Agnifilo also mocked the government's case, pointing out they only

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called two men to testify about having sex with Cassie

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during freak offs, and none of the men who allegedly

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had sex with Jane. He noted that both men who

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testified said they weren't prostitutes and didn't travel across state lines,

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though they did admit to receiving money from Combs and

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Ventura afterward. They both thought Cassie was into that, Agniphilo argued.

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The defense concluded with an emotional plea. You should feel bold,

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you should feel the courage that you will need to

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call this as you see it. Agnafilo told the jury

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he is not a racketeer. He sits there innocent, he said,

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pointing directly at Comb's return him to his family who

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have been waiting for him. But the day wasn't without drama.

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During a break, Judge a Roue Zun Subremonian had to

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issue a warning to Agnaphillo for improperly suggesting to the

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jury that the government had targeted Comb's The judge said

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he would instruct the jury that the government's decisions about

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prosecutions are not for them to consider. Then came the

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prosecution's final word. Prosecutor Marine Comy rose for the government's

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rebuttal and immediately went on the attack. The defense just

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spent a whole lot of energy trying to blame his

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victims in the US government for his lies, his threats,

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and for his inexcusable behavior. Comy said, make no mistake,

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this trial was about how in Shawn Combe's world, no

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was never an option. Comy systematically dismantled the defense's arguments

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on the transportation charges. She noted that when Combs flew

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those men out and paid them, it wasn't for their

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scintillating conversation. She compared male escorts who said they would

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have had sex for free to people who love their jobs,

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but when they collect their paycheck, they're getting paid for

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the work they've done on the swinger's lifestyle. Defense, Comy

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was brutal. She reminded jurors that only one coerced sexual

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episode was needed to prove trafficking. That is the only

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number you need to care about. One freak off where

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the defendant knew that force, fraud or coercion was used.

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Comy painted Jane as a victim trapped by desperation, not greed.

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She's doing it out of obligation and fear she'll lose

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her home if she doesn't. Comy argued, when Jane began

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arranging her own escorts, it wasn't evidence of willing participation,

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it was survival. His desire for these knights was predictable

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and insatiable. Comy said Jane was getting ahead of his

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expectations to make the encounters bearable for herself. The prosecutor

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also attacked the defense's portrayal of Comb's as a generous benefactor,

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pointing to his chief of staff, Christina Korum, as proof

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of criminal conspiracy. If Sean Combs couldn't get himself his

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own water bottle or plug in his own cell phone charger,

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why would he commit his own crimes? Komy asked, He's

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the general, not a foot soldier, not a lieutenant. He

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delegated and his inner circle did the dirty work for him.

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Comy concluded by focusing on the two violent incidents that

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book ended the case, the twenty sixteen hotel assault and

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the twenty twenty four beating at Jane's home. When violence

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is paired with unwanted commercial sex, it turns into trafficking,

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she said, So what's next. After Komy's rebuttal, Judge Subramanian

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gave his jury instructions and the case is now officially

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in the hands of twelve New Yorkers. The jury was

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dismissed for the weekend and will begin deliberations Monday morning.

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If convicted on all charges, did he face his life

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in prison. The jury's decision could come within days, setting

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the stage for what will undoubtedly be one of the

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most watched verdicts in recent memory. Seven weeks of testimony,

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thirty four wins witnesses, and countless hours of explicit evidence

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all come down to this, twelve people deciding whether Sean

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Combs was a criminal mastermind or simply a man living

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an unconventional lifestyle. And that brings us to an exciting announcement.

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While we'll continue following the ditty verdict and any appeals.

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This show is expanding. We're not just covering one trial anymore.

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We're covering them all, the biggest, most explosive, most culturally

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significant trials happening right now and coming up. When we

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come back, Read Carter will be here with Celebrity Trials

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and give you a taste of what's coming, including the

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case that's going to dominate headlines next year, the trial

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of Luigi Manjone, the man who allegedly assassinated a healthcare

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ceo and became an overnight folk hero to millions. Stay

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with us, Welcome back to Celebrity Trials, your new daily

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destination for the most compelling courtroom drama happening anywhere in America.

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I'm Read Carter, and many thanks to Nate for some

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awesome coverage of the Shawn Combs racketeering trial. Here's what

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we're about to become. Every morning, we'll bring you inside

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the biggest trial of the moment. Sometimes it's an ongoing

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case like Diddy, Sometimes it's breaking news from a courtroom

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in real time. And sometimes we'll take you back to

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the trials that shaped our culture, the moments when justice, celebrity,

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and public fascination collided. In ways that changed everything. And

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speaking of cases that are about to change everything, let

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me tell you about Luigi Mangoni. On December fourth, twenty

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twenty four, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, was

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walking to an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan, when a

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hooded gunman approached from behind and shot him dead on

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the sidewalk. The killer disappeared into Central Park on a bike,

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leaving behind bullet casings with the words deny, defend, and depose,

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the alleged tactics insurance companies used to avoid paying claims.

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For five days, the assassin was a ghost. Then, on

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December ninth, a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania recognized a

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customer from the FBI's wanted photos. Luigi Mangione, a twenty

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six year old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Baltimore family,

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was arrested with a ghost gun, fake IDs, and a

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manifesto railing against corporate America. But here's where this story

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gets absolutely unprecedented. Mangione didn't just become a defendant, he

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became a folk hero. Social media exploded with support. GoFundMe

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pages raised hundreds of thousands for his defense women showed

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up to his court hearings like he was a rock star.

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Free Luigi started trending. People began sharing their own horror

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stories about insurance denials and metasical bankruptcies. The case has

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everything a blockbuster trial needs. A privileged suspect who threw

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away his future for a cause, a victim who represented

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everything people hate about health care, surveillance footage that's crystal clear,

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and a public that's deeply divided about whether Mangioni is

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a terrorist or a hero. Mangioni faces first degree murder

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charges in New York state court and federal terrorism charges

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that could put him on death row. His trial is

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expected to begin in twenty twenty five, and it's going

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to be unlike anything we've ever seen. Will his lawyers

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argue temporary insanity? Will they put the health care system

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itself on trial? How do you select a jury when

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half the country thinks your client is a hero. The

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Mangioni trial is going to be appointment television, and we'll

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be there every single day, bringing you inside the courtroom,

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analyzing the strategies, and tracking every twist in what promises

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to be the trial of the decade. That's Celebrity Trials

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for today. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest from

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the Diddy, Verdict Watch, and continuing coverage of the biggest

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trials shaping our world. Whether it's breaking news from a

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courtroom or a deep dive into the cases that defined

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a generation, will be your guide through it all. Thanks

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for listening, and remember justice isn't just blind, it's absolutely riveting.

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I'm read Carter. This is Celebrity Trials. We'll see you tomorrow.