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

0:03 Callarogus Shark Media. Good morning, and welcome to what's about to become your new obsession. I'm Nate Oliver and this is the show that just got a major upgrade. For weeks now, we've been bringing you Did He Do It? Your daily dive into the Sean Diddy Combs trial, but today marks an evolution. Starting now, we're becoming Celebrity Trials, the daily true crime podcast that covers the biggest trials happening right now or happening soon, and takes you back to the greatest courtroom dramas that ever captivated the world. We'll even have a new host, read Carter. Because here's the thing. Even if they weren't famous before they walked into that courtroom, the trial made them a celebrity. From OJ to Casey Anthony, from Harvey Weinstein to the case we're covering today, these trials become cultural moments that define our times, and we're going to be there for all of it, every day, every revelation, every bombshell. But first, let's wrap up yesterday's absolutely electric courtroom drama in Manhattan.

1:13 Today is Saturday, June twenty eighth. Yesterday was the defense's moment to shine, and Mark Agniphilo came out swinging, literally pacing around the courtroom, testing his microphone range, and delivering what can only be described as a theatrical performance for the ages. For nearly five hours, Agniphilo painted a completely different picture of Sean Diddy Comb's than the prosecution had spent six weeks building. His core argument. This isn't a criminal enterprise, It's a lifestyle. Their swingers, this is their lifestyle, Agnifilo told a jury arguing that Cassie Venturo was a willing participant in the so called freak offs. He described Combs as simply living a lifestyle of swingers, threesomes, and personal use drugs. But agnel didn't just defend the lifestyle, he attacked the entire foundation of the prosecution's case. This isn't about a crime, this is about money, he declared, pointing directly to Cassie's twenty million dollar settlement. Cassie Ventura sued Shawn Combs for thirty million dollars. Because Shawn Combs has thirty million dollars, This very investigation came out of that civil case. The defense attorney framed his client as a victim of success and race. Shawn Combs has become something that is very, very hard to be. He is a self made, successful black entrepreneur. Agnafilo suggested that maybe Combs's former employees didn't always like him, but they loved him.

2:46 The defense got personal, with the accusers, telling jurors that Jane, the pseudonymous ex girlfriend who testified against Combs, was motivated by wanting nice things and trips she posted on social media. Agnefilo painted her as someone comfortable being in that sort of strata, noting that jurors learned who her child's father is and what rapper she was with in Las Vegas. He argued, she loved Combs, but she was focused on what I am getting out of it that the world can see. On the rent payments that prosecutors said were leverage for coercion, Agnifilo flipped the narrative entirely. He described Comb's paying Jane's ten thousand dollars monthly rent as a gesture of niceness that shouldn't be construed as trafficking. She's receiving pretty crappy child support from her child's father about five thousand dollars per month. Agnafilo noted. Guess who's giving her more, the one who has no responsibility for that child at all. He's picking up the ball for someone who seems to have dropped the ball for his own kid.

3:48 And in a moment that had the courtroom buzzing, Agnifilo addressed the infamous hotel surveillance video that's been central to the prosecution's case. Rather than avoiding it, he showed it again, but with a twist. He argued the jury could interpret it differently than prosecutors, pointing out that at one point Cassie appeared to be carrying something in her right hand while Comb's pursued her empty handed. Moments later in the footage, Combs had a phone in his hand. Agnafhilo's implication this wasn't as salt. It was Comb's trying to get his phone back from Cassie. But perhaps most boldly, Agniphilo tackled the blackmail allegations head on. He acknowledged that Combs may have threatened to release sex tapes from time to time, but insisted there was a zero zero, zero percent chance he would actually do it. There's no way on God's green Earth Sean Combs is going to release one of these videos. He described what's depicted in the videos as an escape, not evidence of criminal activity. The hotel rooms are beautiful, the music is nice. Cassie is eating watermelon, he told the jury, arguing the videos were not as depraved as the government suggest. He's not the only man in America making homemade porn. It's a pretty popular thing nowadays.

5:06 Agnifilo also mocked the government's case, pointing out they only called two men to testify about having sex with Cassie during freak offs, and none of the men who allegedly had sex with Jane. He noted that both men who testified said they weren't prostitutes and didn't travel across state lines, though they did admit to receiving money from Combs and Ventura afterward. They both thought Cassie was into that, Agniphilo argued. The defense concluded with an emotional plea. You should feel bold, you should feel the courage that you will need to call this as you see it. Agnafilo told the jury he is not a racketeer. He sits there innocent, he said, pointing directly at Comb's return him to his family who have been waiting for him. But the day wasn't without drama.

5:58 During a break, Judge a Roue Zun Subremonian had to issue a warning to Agnaphillo for improperly suggesting to the jury that the government had targeted Comb's The judge said he would instruct the jury that the government's decisions about prosecutions are not for them to consider. Then came the prosecution's final word. Prosecutor Marine Comy rose for the government's rebuttal and immediately went on the attack. The defense just spent a whole lot of energy trying to blame his victims in the US government for his lies, his threats, and for his inexcusable behavior. Comy said, make no mistake, this trial was about how in Shawn Combe's world, no was never an option. Comy systematically dismantled the defense's arguments on the transportation charges. She noted that when Combs flew those men out and paid them, it wasn't for their scintillating conversation. She compared male escorts who said they would have had sex for free to people who love their jobs, but when they collect their paycheck, they're getting paid for the work they've done on the swinger's lifestyle. Defense, Comy was brutal. She reminded jurors that only one coerced sexual episode was needed to prove trafficking. That is the only number you need to care about. One freak off where the defendant knew that force, fraud or coercion was used.

7:18 Comy painted Jane as a victim trapped by desperation, not greed. She's doing it out of obligation and fear she'll lose her home if she doesn't. Comy argued, when Jane began arranging her own escorts, it wasn't evidence of willing participation, it was survival. His desire for these knights was predictable and insatiable. Comy said Jane was getting ahead of his expectations to make the encounters bearable for herself. The prosecutor also attacked the defense's portrayal of Comb's as a generous benefactor, pointing to his chief of staff, Christina Korum, as proof of criminal conspiracy. If Sean Combs couldn't get himself his own water bottle or plug in his own cell phone charger, why would he commit his own crimes? Komy asked, He's the general, not a foot soldier, not a lieutenant. He delegated and his inner circle did the dirty work for him.

8:15 Comy concluded by focusing on the two violent incidents that book ended the case, the twenty sixteen hotel assault and the twenty twenty four beating at Jane's home. When violence is paired with unwanted commercial sex, it turns into trafficking, she said, So what's next. After Komy's rebuttal, Judge Subramanian gave his jury instructions and the case is now officially in the hands of twelve New Yorkers. The jury was dismissed for the weekend and will begin deliberations Monday morning. If convicted on all charges, did he face his life in prison. The jury's decision could come within days, setting the stage for what will undoubtedly be one of the most watched verdicts in recent memory. Seven weeks of testimony, thirty four wins witnesses, and countless hours of explicit evidence all come down to this, twelve people deciding whether Sean Combs was a criminal mastermind or simply a man living an unconventional lifestyle. And that brings us to an exciting announcement.

9:15 While we'll continue following the ditty verdict and any appeals. This show is expanding. We're not just covering one trial anymore. We're covering them all, the biggest, most explosive, most culturally significant trials happening right now and coming up. When we come back, Read Carter will be here with Celebrity Trials and give you a taste of what's coming, including the case that's going to dominate headlines next year, the trial of Luigi Manjone, the man who allegedly assassinated a healthcare ceo and became an overnight folk hero to millions. Stay with us, Welcome back to Celebrity Trials, your new daily destination for the most compelling courtroom drama happening anywhere in America.

10:11 I'm Read Carter, and many thanks to Nate for some awesome coverage of the Shawn Combs racketeering trial. Here's what we're about to become. Every morning, we'll bring you inside the biggest trial of the moment. Sometimes it's an ongoing case like Diddy, Sometimes it's breaking news from a courtroom in real time. And sometimes we'll take you back to the trials that shaped our culture, the moments when justice, celebrity, and public fascination collided. In ways that changed everything. And speaking of cases that are about to change everything, let me tell you about Luigi Mangoni. On December fourth, twenty twenty four, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, was walking to an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan, when a hooded gunman approached from behind and shot him dead on the sidewalk. The killer disappeared into Central Park on a bike, leaving behind bullet casings with the words deny, defend, and depose, the alleged tactics insurance companies used to avoid paying claims.

11:12 For five days, the assassin was a ghost. Then, on December ninth, a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania recognized a customer from the FBI's wanted photos. Luigi Mangione, a twenty six year old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Baltimore family, was arrested with a ghost gun, fake IDs, and a manifesto railing against corporate America. But here's where this story gets absolutely unprecedented. Mangione didn't just become a defendant, he became a folk hero. Social media exploded with support. GoFundMe pages raised hundreds of thousands for his defense women showed up to his court hearings like he was a rock star.

11:54 Free Luigi started trending. People began sharing their own horror stories about insurance denials and metasical bankruptcies. The case has everything a blockbuster trial needs. A privileged suspect who threw away his future for a cause, a victim who represented everything people hate about health care, surveillance footage that's crystal clear, and a public that's deeply divided about whether Mangioni is a terrorist or a hero. Mangioni faces first degree murder charges in New York state court and federal terrorism charges that could put him on death row. His trial is expected to begin in twenty twenty five, and it's going to be unlike anything we've ever seen. Will his lawyers argue temporary insanity? Will they put the health care system itself on trial? How do you select a jury when half the country thinks your client is a hero. The Mangioni trial is going to be appointment television, and we'll be there every single day, bringing you inside the courtroom, analyzing the strategies, and tracking every twist in what promises to be the trial of the decade. That's Celebrity Trials for today. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest from the Diddy, Verdict Watch, and continuing coverage of the biggest trials shaping our world. Whether it's breaking news from a courtroom or a deep dive into the cases that defined a generation, will be your guide through it all. Thanks for listening, and remember justice isn't just blind, it's absolutely riveting.

13:23 I'm read Carter. This is Celebrity Trials. We'll see you tomorrow.