Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

We have just broken for lunch at the judge’s suggestion.

So far today, the prosecution's Christy Slavik has been telling the jury why the government feels it has more than proven its case.

She brings up the defence’s narrative and counter-arguments occasionally, trying to underscore why jurors should discount it.

Slavik speaks slowly, clearly and highlights powerful and graphic direct quotes from Combs, as well as showing the jury photos, to try and hit home the gravity of his alleged crimes.

Slavik has been going through each of the Jane encounters that the prosecution alleges amount to sex trafficking (remember, they only need to convince the jury it happened once).

The last one detailed to the jury is when Combs allegedly beat Jane and then forced her to have sex with an escort.

Court has paused for lunch and will return at 13.15 local time (18.15 BST).

When we come back, Slavik will finish the prosecution’s closing arguments.

Stick with us.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Slavik zooms in on one alleged incident in particular, when Combs flew Jane to New York for a trip.

Slavik shows conversations between Jane and Combs, where she says she does not want to do the so-called "hotel nights" anymore. Combs then invites her to spend time together in New York to go shopping and have dinner.

But, Slavik tells the jury, "as he’s telling Jane there won’t be a hotel night, he’s setting up a hotel night", texting escorts to come and have sex with her.

Slavik says when Jane arrives, Combs gives her a pill, and spends two hours trying to convince her to have sex with an escort.

It’s a "blatant example of fraud and coercion" to get Jane to participate in unwanted sex, Slavik tells the court.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Prosecutors are still taking jurors through their arguments about Combs’ alleged sex trafficking.

They’re focusing on the anonymous victim Jane. In particular, their focus is on the second element of the charge - that Combs knew, or had reckless disregard, for victims not wanting to participate in the so-called "freak-offs" and "hotel nights", and that he used force, fraud or coercion to get them to participate.

Christy Slavic is reading many messages from Jane which communicate that she didn’t want to participate in "hotel nights".

Slavic calls them "crystal-clear evidence". In the messages, Jane says the sex acts are giving her PTSD, and make her feel "disgusting".

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Sean "Diddy" Combs sits alongside his legal team and is wearing a pale sweater.

He has mostly kept his head down as the prosecution's Christy Slavik lays out their case to the jury.

Combs frequently stares down at his lap.

His head snapped up one time when prosecutors loudly played an audio message he sent to Jane in 2023.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

The prosecution now focuses on the witness who is known only as Jane.

Slavik breaks down Jane’s relationship with Combs into three stages: love bombing, grooming, and financial threats.

Slavik says Combs introduces the so-called "hotel nights" as fantasy concepts, but those concepts eventually became their relationship's entire reality.

The prosecutor resurfaces texts where Jane said she didn’t want to participate anymore, and audio messages from Combs where he threatens to "disappear" and tells her to "get on your job".

To Jane, that meant Combs was about to stop paying the rent for her house, Slavik says.

"He threatened to cut off her rent along with their relationship," she says.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

The prosecution's Christy Slavik has moved on from racketeering and is now laying the groundwork for the sex-trafficking charge against Combs.

She tells the jury that Combs knowingly recruited, enticed, harboured and transported Cassie Ventura and the witness known only as Jane. Slavik claims Combs used threats of force, fraud and coercion to make them engage in commercial sex acts.

He made the women believe they would suffer some kind of harm if they didn’t go along with the so-called "freak offs", Slavik alleges.

Even though both of the women agreed to participate at times, Slavik tells the jury there is enough evidence to convict Combs.

"This is not about criminalising dysfunctional relationships, this is not about criminalising unconventional sexual preferences," she tells the jury.

She shows a collage of dozens of men that had been involved in the so-called "freak-offs" with Ventura and Jane. Whispers and gasps fill the overflow room.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

The defence has argued that Combs was just worried about bad publicity. But Slavik tells the jury Combs was worried about police involvement and a criminal case regarding the video of him assaulting Cassie Ventura.

The prosecutor points to three instances she says proves her point.

1. Combs texted Ventura numerous times and lied that he was being arrested to "manipulate" her. Slavik says this shows he knew his criminal conduct could lead to police involvement.
2. Hotel security officer Eddie Garcia asked him, what if Ventura files a police report? Combs told him not to worry and put Ventura on FaceTime to reassure him. Slavik says that shows criminality was brought directly to his attention.
3. Slavik says after Combs ran $100,000 through a money feeder and handed it to Garcia, he told him "not to make any big purchases". Slavik says it’s clear the only people who would pay attention to that are police who had been tipped off about the violent assault.

Slavik says the whole incident is "a perfect illustration" of the Combs enterprise at work.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Prosecutor Christy Slavik is now outlining the elements of bribery in their case.

She takes jurors back to the infamous CCTV footage of Combs beating his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura in an LA hotel lobby in 2016.

She says Combs' first attempt at a bribe that day was offering security guard Israel Flores "a stack of money" and asking him to "not tell anybody".

Then, as Ventura left with a black eye and busted lip, Combs went into damage control, Slavik tells the jury.

At that point, Slavik says Combs' former chief of staff Kristina Khorram and bodyguard D-Rock "spring into action".

Slavik outlines the lengths Khorram went to get the assault video, through several calls and personal visits to the hotel. The jury is told she is rebuffed several times and told by a hotel security officer, Eddie Garcia, "it’s bad".

Eventually, Khorram gets Garcia’s personal phone number and has Combs call him. Garcia testified he was given $100,000 for the video and told to sign an non-disclosure agreement.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

It is a chaotic day in the courthouse. Staff here have had to open up three overflow rooms for members of the public and journalists to watch proceedings.

Some people are New York residents who have come to watch the end of the high-profile trial.

Many are social media influencers, who film content outside when they are not in the courthouse.

The court has not been this packed since the very beginning of the trial, and for star witness Cassie Ventura’s long and emotional testimony.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Image source, SDNY

Yesterday, we learned prosecutors told the judge to not instruct the jury on arson, but it has certainly been a focus of closing arguments today.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik takes us back to the incident of rapper Kid Cudi’s Porsche.

She alleges Combs hired someone to throw a Molotov cocktail in Kid Cudi’s Porsche because he was jealous of his relationship with Cassie Ventura.

"He literally said he was going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car," Slavik says.

She adds that Combs was the "only man powerful enough and vicious enough to light a man’s car on fire".

We are also shown an email from Ventura in which she tells someone Combs is threatening to hurt her and Kid Cudi over their relationship.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We’re about halfway through the prosecution's morning of closing arguments, which will continue into the afternoon here in New York.

The focus is racketeering - they lay out eight different categories of crimes that they say Combs and his employees committed with their "criminal enterprise".

They say he committed “hundreds” of racketeering acts in total, but they only need two.

So far they've touched on drug distribution, kidnapping, arson, and now, bribery.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Slavik is now moving to the next component the prosecution is trying to prove regarding the racketeering charge - kidnapping. She highlights two witnesses: Cassie Ventura and Capricorn Clark.

Ventura testified about a time Combs allegedly beat her and stomped on her face, and when she tried to run away, one of Diddy's security team caught up to her.

Combs allegedly forced her to stay in an LA hotel for a week while she recovered, and his staff were there making sure she didn’t leave, Slavik says.

"She wanted to go home to her mum" but she wasn’t allowed to, Slavik tells the jury.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

The prosecution is going over Combs' drug use.

They allege Combs used them to keep his former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and "Jane" (a pseudonym for a woman who testified anonymously) "awake and compliant" during the so-called "freak-offs".

Prosecutor Christy Slavik reminds the jury of the evidence they have seen of substances like cocaine, meth, xanax, MDMA and mushrooms found at Combs' properties.

The jurors have heard the names of each alleged drug dealer - Guido, One Stop, Baby Girl - as well as testimony from Combs' former assistants who say picking up drugs was part of their job.

"Getting drugs for the defendant was a group effort," Slavik says.

She called back testimony from Jane, who told the court that Combs’ chief of staff Kristina Khorram instructed her to carry drugs across state lines.

"It’s fine, I do it all the time," Khorram allegedly said.

Slavik also harkened back to the white powder guessing game, in which Mia - a former assistant who also testified anonymously - said Combs forced her to snort a white powder without knowing what it was.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

One of the components that prosecutors must prove for the racketeering charge is that Combs agreed that he or someone else would commit at least two crimes.

Prosecutors have presented several allegations against Combs. They include sex trafficking, drug distribution, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, and bribery.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik also tells jurors that the two crimes, for example, could include two instances of drug distribution, which were an essential part of the so-called "freak-offs". Former staff members have testified that they helped procure drugs for Combs.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

The prosecution’s Christy Slavik moves on to Diddy’s assistants, who she refers to as "foot soldiers".

She says they were young and didn’t necessarily know about all of his alleged crimes, but "didn’t blink to do whatever it took to keep the defendant happy".

Slavik tells jurors that Diddy’s "inner circle" and "foot soldiers" didn’t need to be happy or like committing crimes in order to prove racketeering happened.

Prosecutors just need to show that these people carried out Combs' directives, Slavik says.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

The next slides shown by the prosecution are of Combs' "inner circle".

These are people we have heard a lot about throughout the trial, but they have not testified.

They include his former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, who prosecutors called "his right hand", and his body guards.

Slavik says Khorram lived in Combs' mansion in Miami and even responded to messages on his behalf from his phone.

She says his 24/7 body guards were not a "regular" security detail doing "regular" jobs.

She reminds jurors of one instance where Combs and his security went with weapons to a diner in Los Angeles to confront his rival, Suge Knight. Slavik also mentions weapons that were seized from Diddy's home which had serial numbers defaced.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Prosecutor Christy Slavik is using a PowerPoint presentation to walk the jury through the racketeering count.

She says Combs led an enterprise, or a group of people with a common purpose, to serve and protect him.

She tells the jury that it was "his kingdom".

Slavik alleges Combs expected everyone to serve him, protect his reputation and brand, fulfil all of his desires - including sexual ones, and to enable his crimes and protect him from law enforcement.

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

The defence team faced a dilemma during this trial: should they let their own client take the stand?

On Tuesday, we heard directly from Combs in court. Judge Arun Subramanian asked how he was doing.

Combs, 55, responded he was well. "You're doing an excellent job," he told the judge.

The judge asked him to if he would be taking the stand in his own defence. Combs said no.

"That is my decision, your honour," Combs said. "That is solely my decision."

If he had, the entire case could have come down to his remarks, legal experts say.

Such a situation would be risky for the hip-hop mogul, as he would have to address many allegations of violence, some incidents of which have been filmed, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told the BBC.

High-profile defendants in criminal trials typically do not take the stand, in order to avoid opening themselves up to cross-examination.

During cross-examinations of government witnesses, Combs' lawyers already scored some wins, lawyers said.

• Read more: How compelling is the case against Diddy?

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We’re only minutes into prosecutors’ arguments, Combs watching quietly in his cream sweater, as the government tries to push its racketeering case.

They say he used "loyal employees" to help carry out his crimes.

The first sentences of their arguments reference a "criminal enterprise".

"He wouldn’t take no for an answer," prosecutor Christy Slavik also says over and over.