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ABC News is airing a one-hour special about the verdict in Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ high-profile New York trial on Wednesday night (July 2). The rapid turn-around Verdict: The Diddy Trial will air at 10 p.m. ET and then stream the next day on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. According to a release, the news special will feature expert analysis from defense attorney and ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire, as well as criminal trial attorney Sarah Azari, TV host and author Touré, as well as ABC News chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky and legal analyst Eboni K. Williams.
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The show will air less than 12 hours after Combs was convicted of illegal prostitution in the closely watched case, while avoiding the most serious sex-trafficking and racketeering charges that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. After deliberating for just over two days, a jury in New York federal court found Combs, 55, guilty on Wednesday morning of two counts of transporting sex workers across state lines to engage in prostitution as part of his dayslong sex and drug orgies referred to as “freak-offs.”
The jury returned a not guilty verdict on two charges that Combs committed sex-trafficking by forcing women — including his longtime girlfriend singer Cassie Ventura — to participate in the sex marathons or the one racketeering count that prosecutors claimed involved Combs and his team operating a criminal enterprise that allegedly included bribery, drug-dealing, arson threats, kidnapping and sexual assault.
ABC News said the prime-time look at the seven-week trial will provide “a detailed overview of the charges against the music mogul, reconstructing the most pivotal courtroom moments through comprehensive actor reenactments and taking viewers behind the verdict and what comes next for the once seemingly untouchable Sean “Diddy” Combs.”
The partial acquittal was a win for Combs, who had been facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and maximum term of life behind bars if he’d been found guilty of all charges. The prostitution charges carry no mandatory minimum and a maximum sentence of 20 years. Combs’ lawyers maintained their client’s innocence during the entire case, claiming that while he did engage in what they deemed regrettable domestic abuse, his employees did not act as criminal conspirators. They also argued that Ventura and another alleged victim were willing participants in the marathon sexual encounters in which the hip-hop mogul was depicted as an observer of sex acts between the women and paid male prostitutes, often recording the proceedings.
Combs did not testify during the trial and his defense team did not present any witnesses. It’s expected that they will likely appeal once a sentence is finalized. At press time it was not known if judge Arun Subramanian will grant Combs bail before sentencing; Combs has been behind bars since he was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security agents in Manhattan on Sept. 16, the same day he was indicted by a grand jury on the five felony charges.
The lengthy sentencing process could take months and is expected to include Combs sitting for an interview with the U.S. Probation Department, which will calculate sentencing guidelines based on factors including Combs’ criminal history and the seriousness of his offenses, after which Judge Subramanian will hold a sentencing at an as-yet-undetermined time. According to CNN, Combs’ attorney said on Wednesday that his client should be released immediately from detention to await his sentencing from his home in Miami. Prosecutor Maureen Comey disagreed, saying her office intends to seek prison time, noting that Combs “continued to commit a litany of crimes” after he knew he was under investigation in 2024.
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