Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from outside court

Image source, Reuters

We’re missing one key face from the prosecution team in court today: Maurene Comey.

The Department of Justice fired Comey, a federal prosecutor and the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, in July, not long after Combs’ trial concluded.

In addition to the Combs trial, Comey has been involved in several high-profile legal battles in New York - including the cases against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

It’s not clear why the DOJ fired Comey, but in recent months, the justice department has made a habit of firing lawyers who worked on cases that angered President Trump. At the same time, Trump has a longstanding political beef with her father and pushed to have him charged with two felonies last month for allegedly lying to Congress during a 2020 hearing.

Comey filed a lawsuit last month arguing that her dismissal was unconstitutional, and without cause or notice. She is seeking her job back.

Her prosecution team was unable to get Combs convicted on the three most serious charges, but succeeded in getting a guilty verdict for the two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.

• Read more: Prosecutor in Diddy and Epstein cases fired by US justice department

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

We have some new information coming from the prosecution. Victim four, an anonymous witness who testified under the name "Mia", has decided not to speak today.

Prosecutors said her decision was in part due to a letter submitted by the defence "which can be described as no less than bullying," prosecutors said.

The judge agreed, calling the tone of the letter "inappropriate" and telling the defence not to repeat it.

Who will be addressing the court: Combs and two or three of his children. We don’t know what they plan to say yet.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Combs is wearing a white sweater, black pants, and glasses.

He has a noticeable grey beard.

His five adult children and mother are also present today, and Combs waves and blows kisses to them before taking his seat.

He scans the gallery intensely.

Combs sounds chipper when the judge greets him, responding “Morning judge!”

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Getty Images

Judge Arun Subramanian is the one who will decide the sentence for Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

He has been on this bench for about two years and was nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed in a 59-23 US Senate vote.

He was recommended to Biden by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who said in his Senate hearing introduction that "our courts need more people like Arun Subramanian".

Schumer also said Subramanian, the son of Indian immigrants, is the first South Asian judge in the Southern District of New York.

This is Subramanian's first high-profile, celebrity case. Before his nomination in 2022, he had a private law practice. Schumer said that as a lawyer, Subramanian defended victims of trafficking and child pornography.

Earlier in his career, he clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from outside court

Image source, Grace Goodwin / BBC

The sentencing hearing of Sean Combs is beginning. Outside the courthouse, the crowd has grown larger.

Dozens of reporters, photographers, and news teams are posted out front, alongside content creators livestreaming the events of the day from their phones.

Some curious onlookers have stopped across the street to watch what’s happening.

There’s also a number of people gathered both in support of and against Combs.

Someone has been blasting Combs’ music from a large speaker.

One man - who had been yelling obscenities throughout the morning and was very vocally pro-Diddy - got into an argument with several police officers, as press gathered around filming.

It’s not clear what the issue was about.

An official yelled at everyone to disperse and not block the sidewalk. Things have settled down, but there's still a group of police surrounding the man.

The sentencing hearing is about to begin. Combs is in the courtroom now.

We're expecting a long day in court with both legal teams presenting their cases for how long his punishment should be.

Combs himself will speak, along with at least four members of his legal team. There's also a video to be played.

And a woman who testified under the pseudonym "Mia" will also speak.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

The Sean Combs we saw in court throughout trial was not the same Diddy that most people are familiar with.

His hair was greyed, and he was usually dressed in a simple sweater and slacks.

It'll likely be the same at sentencing today. The judge granted Combs' motion to receive non-prison clothing to wear to the sentencing - but he kept the parameters very specific.

"He is permitted to have one button down shirt, one pair of pants, one sweater, and one pair of shoes without laces to wear to court," the judge wrote.

Some of Combs' children have just arrived at court. Earlier, we saw his mother Janice walking inside.

The trial was frequently attended by his mother, daughters and sons, who were sometimes sitting in court as victims described graphic details of Combs’ crimes.

His family members and friends also submitted dozens of letters on his behalf pleading with the judge for a lenient sentence.

Image source, Reuters

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

It’s not unheard of in the United States for jury members to do press interviews after they’ve served.

Given it’s impossible to know what swayed a jury otherwise, their reflections are always a fascinating look at how they arrived at their verdict.

One juror gave a statement to US media, disputing the notion that Diddy’s celebrity status influenced them.

Deciding to remain anonymous, the juror said their verdict was based solely on the evidence presented and the wording of the law.

An alternate juror, who listened to all the evidence but wasn’t picked to deliberate, said he would have come to the same verdict.

In an interview with CNN, he praised the performance of both sides, but said there was always some reasonable doubt.

The so-called "freak off" videos they watched, which the media did not see, were "pretty tame" and the sex acts didn’t seem forced, rather it was "just a lot of rubbing oil," he said. He also noted that the defence selection of the "freak offs" videos showed Cassie just "sitting around".

He also said the prosecution’s key piece of evidence, the infamous hotel security footage of Diddy beating Cassie Ventura, didn’t sway them. He said that's because the case wasn’t about domestic abuse.

Prosecutors had argued it showed Diddy used force to get Cassie to participate in the sexual encounters.

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from court

One of the more noticeable aspects of this trial has been the huge amount of interest from social media influencers. During the trial, extra overflow rooms were opened in the courthouse so everyone could fit in - watching the trial from TV screens.

I just spoke with YouTuber Trent Out Loud, who has 124,000 subscribers.

Trent has been covering Sean Combs’ trial for his followers from the beginning.

He tells me he isn’t hoping for the sentencing to turn out any particular way. Instead, he says he’s here to lay out all the facts for his viewers, and to describe for them what the atmosphere is like inside the courtroom.

He says he thinks Combs has probably experienced at least some rehabilitation in jail, where he’s been held for more than a year.

"I do know that does have an effect on you, especially somebody who was a billionaire and has drivers, housekeepers. He's used to going to the Met Gala," Trent tells me.

And now that Combs has spent so much time in a jail often criticised for its rough conditions, "he definitely feels the effect of his crimes", he adds. 
"What the judge will do, I do not know."

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from court

There are several influencers and livestreamers outside the courthouse today.

One of them, Oota Ongo, whose YouTube channel has about 25,000 subscribers, tells me he doesn’t personally have any opinions on Combs’ sentencing.

He does, however, think Combs needs to take some accountability.

"If he gets a chance to talk, I think he should just speak real and just speak true," Ongo says.

"Speak straight from your heart and just really speak truly, speak to your children, speak to everything, that you don't want this to be the last memory and stuff like that."

Combs is expected to speak in court today.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Some of Sean Combs' lawyers have arrived at the New York courthouse and headed straight inside without chatting to the media outside.

Court is expected to start in about an hour.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

Some of Combs' victims submitted letters to the court, which the judge will consider when determining his sentence.

Singer Cassie Ventura, the rapper’s ex-girlfriend and a key witness for the government, wrote a letter which outlined her fears and concerns.

"I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up," Ventura wrote, adding that she moved her family out of the New York area and is trying to stay as private as possible.

The letter is Ventura's first public reflection since testifying in the trial - which she says caused her "tremendous emotional pain".

She reiterated her allegations - that Combs abused her physically and sexually, forcing her to participate in days-long, drug-fuelled sex-parties.

She said the jury "failed to see" all of "the truths at hand" and that she hopes the judge would consider her fear and suffering when handing down a sentence.

"If there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe," she said. "Although I can hope for justice and accountability, I have come to not trust anything."

• Read more of her letter here: Cassie Ventura says she fears for her safety ahead of Diddy sentencing

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from court

Image source, Sean Combs' legal team

Sean Combs’ defence team will play a video in court that BBC has viewed ahead of time.

The video shows clips of Combs playing with his children over the years, and doing charity work in New York City. Ambient, emotional music plays in the background.

"We’re gonna raise some money for the children of New York for health and education," Comb says in one clip.

The video shows him giving life advice to schoolchildren and running in a marathon, as a voiceover plays of people saying how devoted he is to raising money for kids. "What I would do with my freedom is make sure I can make change."

The video also shows Combs attending the funeral of his late girlfriend Kim Porter. He can be seen crying and reminisicing about their time together, adding how much they loved each other.

The video paints a positive image of Diddy, but the judge also has letters from victims of his crimes which offer a stark contrast. We will bring you some details from those next.

Image source, Getty Images

For about 14 months, Sean Combs has been locked up at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.

His lawyers were unsuccessful in attempts to get him released on bail, after arguing the conditions inside are "horrific".

The facility is known for its past and present inmates.

Combs has reportedly shared a room with cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, who once ran a company worth billions and was convicted on multiple counts of fraud.

And previously it has been home to rapper R Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislane Maxwell.

Max Matza
US reporter

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

On Thursday, Sean "Diddy" Combs wrote a letter to the judge overseeing his criminal trial, asking for leniency during his sentencing and blaming his past behaviour on drug addiction.

In the four-page letter, he apologises "for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused" and says that he has been reformed after spending 13 months in a Brooklyn jail.

In July, he was found guilty of two prostitution charges and now faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least 11 years, but Combs' lawyers are asking that he be released later this month.

In his letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, Combs apologises for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, writing: "I literally lost my mind".

"I'm sorry for that and always will be," he continues. "My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry."

He also apologies to an anonymous woman who testified during the trial under the name "Jane" and says he became "lost in the drugs and the excess".

"I lost my way," he wrote. "My downfall was rooted in my selfishness. I have been humbled and broken to my core."

• Read more from the Diddy letter here

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Grace Goodwin / BBC

It’s shaping up to be another chaotic day in court, the finale of a blockbuster court case.

Spectators, journalists and influencers are lining up outside the courthouse.

Everyone is anxious to hear how long Combs will be put away for.

Cameras from every major media organisation line the block, and there’s a heavy police presence in the area.

The mood is a bit more muted than it was during the trial.

Some of the characters I saw during the trial don't seem to have arrived yet on this cool October morning.

But it’s a big day for the influencers, many of whom already have their livestreams going in the line leading into the courthouse.

Image source, Reuters

Sean "Diddy" Combs was one of the most successful rappers and music moguls in the US. He’s had many aliases, going by Puffy, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Love, and Brother Love at one point or another.

His career has spanned decades, from launching the careers of Notorious B.I.G and Mary J. Blige in the 1990s to a Grammy nomination for a solo album in 2023.

Though his discography as a rapper is well-known, what’s built him his empire is his label, Bad Boy Records. Over the years, it’s expanded to include Faith Evans, Ma$e, 112, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez.

Outside of music, Combs has had several brand deals, one of the biggest being with British drinks company Diageo to promote the French vodka brand, Cîroc.

In 2023, he released his fifth record The Love Album: Off The Grid, which earned him his first solo nomination at the Grammys.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Of all the high profile trials I’ve covered, Sean “Diddy” Combs was the most animated defendant in court.

He wouldn’t simply walk in and take his seat, but he’d scan the public gallery with a big smile and blow kisses and wave to his family. He was also extremely involved in his defence, passing notes to his lawyers in the middle of witness testimony.

His behaviour even got him in trouble with the judge, who found his expressions and tendency to nod at jurors unacceptable. Now for the first time, he will address the court before his sentence is handed down. In a letter, he told the judge his downfall was rooted in his selfishness and that he had been “humbled and broken” to his core.

I expect Diddy will say the same in his court remarks. His team have also prepared a video that watches like a highlight reel of his better moments.

His lawyers have acknowledged that his legacy and reputation have been destroyed, but watching Diddy, you get the sense that he thinks he still has the power to rehabilitate his image.