Combs receives warning from judge as accuser ‘Jane’ tearfully testifies about ‘hotel nights’

The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continued Thursday in Manhattan federal court, with three witnesses — including a digital forensics analyst and one of Combs’s accusers who goes by the pseudonym “Jane” — taking the stand in the high-profile sex trafficking case.

Judge Arun Subramanian warned the defense that Combs could be excluded from the courtroom if he interacts with the jury again, telling them he saw Combs looking directly at jurors and nodding during witness testimony.

Federal prosecutors say that for decades Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in marathon sexual encounters called “freak offs” and used his business empire, as well as guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes.

The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted he could face life in prison.

Here are some key takeaways from Thursday’s testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News, Associated Press and the Washington Post.

Judge threatens to exclude Combs from trial if he interacts with jury again

Witness testimony wrapped up Thursday from Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Combs’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. After the jury left the courtroom for a lunch break following her testimony, the judge warned the defense that Combs must not make any facial expressions or attempt to interact with or influence the jury.

“I could not have been any clearer in terms of what I said,” Subramanian said. “There was a line of questioning when your client was nodding vigorously and looking at the jury.”

The judge warned the defense that Combs could be excluded from the courtroom for the remainder of the trial if he does it again.

Big picture: If Combs is not allowed to be present for his own trial, that could spell a big problem for the defense team. The jury could come to their own conclusions about why the defendant isn’t present in the courtroom.

Combs accuser ‘Jane’ begins testimony

One of Combs’s accusers, who is using the pseudonym “Jane,” began her testimony on Thursday. Jane, who is identified as “Victim-2” in the indictment, alleges that she was forced to participate in “freak offs” orchestrated by Combs.

Jane, a single mother, testified that she was in a relationship with Combs from 2021 to 2024 up until his arrest. She said she first met Combs on a girls trip to Miami in late 2020. At the time he was romantically involved with a friend of hers who was also on the trip, which Combs paid for. Jane said when she met Combs, “he was really charming, really nice, and I was already drawn to him pretty instantly.”

Combs pursued Jane after the Miami trip, but the two kept their relationship private, Jane said.

She recalled fond memories of their first date in Miami in early 2021 and later that year traveling with the music mogul to Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas, saying that he gifted her $10,000 after each trip. Jane testified that every time she and Combs met up between February and May 2021, she did drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine, and enjoyed her sex life with Combs, which was consensual at the time.

Jane tearfully recalled a turning point in their relationship in May 2021 when Combs allegedly arranged for her to have sex with another man. She was asked by the prosecution if she thought she was going to have sex with someone other than Combs that night, and she replied, “No.”

“We went to a hotel room a couple of hours later,” Jane testified, “I saw assistants setting up the room, getting his room ready, there was a bustle of getting this room ready.”

Jane said she felt like she had no choice but to keep having sex with other men for Combs’s enjoyment because he was paying her rent and implied he would stop if they broke up.

She testified that between May 2021 and October 2023, Combs referred to these sexual encounters as “debauchery” or “hotel nights” and they were held in multiple cities. Jane’s testimony mirrored what Ventura told the jury about the “freak offs,” saying they would last more than 24 hours. Jane said the arrangements were made by Combs’s chief of staff, his travel agent or one of his assistants.

Before Jane took the stand, the judge told the jury that they will know her real name, but in order to protect her privacy, it will not be mentioned publicly. He also warned those in the courtroom “that they are not to document the next victim in any notes or images.”

Jane will continue testifying at 9 a.m. Friday. Prosecutor Maurene Comey said she’s going to try to ensure direct examination of Jane is completed by end of day Monday.

Big picture: Jane’s testimony of Combs speaks to the prosecutors’ allegation that the music mogul operated a criminal enterprise, in part, to have these “freak offs” whenever he wanted.

Defense cross examines Bongolan over continued contact with Ventura, Combs after alleged balcony incident

Combs’s defense team sought to poke holes in Bongolan’s credibility on Thursday by citing inconsistencies between interviews and statements given to prosecutors and a lawsuit she filed against Combs in 2024.

Bongolan told the court Wednesday that during a 2016 altercation with Combs, he held her over a 17th-story balcony at Ventura’s apartment in Los Angeles before slamming her into the balcony’s furniture.

Bongolan admitted that she and Cassie partied and took drugs together, but denied being high on the night of the alleged balcony incident. She said she didn’t report the incident to police because she was scared of Combs.

The defense asked Bongolan about her continued friendship with Ventura, pointing to text messages exchanged after the alleged balcony incident.

When asked if she was scared to still be in touch with Ventura, she testified, “I guess not.”

Following the alleged balcony incident, Bongolan admitted she also continued to hang around Combs because she was “trying to be cool” with him, but insisted she was trying to maintain some distance.

Bongolan was granted immunity to testify after invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Big picture: The defense is showing that Bongolan kept socializing with Combs, even though she claimed she was victimized by the music mogul during an incident she said still causes night terrors.

Defense presses Bongolan on balcony timeline

Bongolan testified that the alleged balcony altercation between her and Combs caused a bruise on her leg and that she took a photo of it hours after the incident happened. According to metadata from her phone, the photo was taken the morning of Sept. 26, 2016.

Defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland suggested in her line of questioning to Bongolan that the alleged balcony incident couldn’t have happened when she says it did because Combs was on tour in New York City, not Los Angeles, at the time.

Westmoreland showed the jury records for “Frank Black,” the name Combs used while traveling, from the Trump International Hotel in New York, which included dining receipts for Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, 2016.

“You agree that one person can’t be in two places at the same time,” Westmoreland asked. “In theory, yeah,” Bongolan replied, adding, “I can’t answer that one.”.

Big picture: Before the jury entered the courtroom Thursday, the judge asked the prosecution about the relevance of Bongolan’s testimony to the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charges against Combs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said Bongolan’s testimony about the balcony incident shows that Combs’s behavior showed a pattern of abuse, threats and violence that extended to people beyond Ventura who were close to her. The defense sought to sow doubt among the jury that the alleged balcony incident even happened. The prosecution needs to prove a pattern of at least two instances of racketeering conspiracy in order to convict Combs under the law.