Diddy trial judge rebukes lawyers after sealed information appears in media report

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Today, U.S. government prosecutors attempted to put a finer point on the case they’ve presented over the last five weeks. They walked jurors through text messages, phone logs, hotel bookings and other evidence of what they say points to a sprawling criminal conspiracy led by a man with a relentless desire for “freak offs.”

Diddy’s defense team continued to forcefully push back, again suggesting that the women in Diddy’s life were willing participants in the drug-dazed sexual episodes. Both sides’ legal arguments are familiar at this point, but the lawyers are clearly trying to drive home their key points as the prosecution prepares to rest its case.

Here’s what you need to know about Day 25 of the trial:

• DeLeassa Penland, a special agent with the U.S. attorney’s office, testified that Diddy appears to have paid for male escort Jules Theodore’s round-trip air travel from Los Angeles to New York in August 2009 — potentially bolstering one of the U.S. government’s charges against Diddy: transportation to engage in prostitution.

• In an effort to illustrate that Diddy’s “freak offs” were consensual, the defense read text messages showing the hip-hop mogul and ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura exchanging dates for their next marathon sexual encounter. “It can be any date you choose,” Diddy told Ventura in one text in August 2009, according to the evidence.

🔎 The view from inside

By Adam Reiss, Chloe Melas, Katherine Koretski and Jing Feng

Judge Arun Subramanian was furious this morning.

He rebuked the prosecution and the defense over an online article that appeared to include details from a sealed proceeding. He asked the lawyers whether they knew the report’s source. “Someone is lying,” Subramanian said. “The transcript was sealed.”

“The court imposed a gag order on the government, the defendant, all attorneys for the defense, and anyone involved was made accountable,” Subramanian added. “What happened here … may result in civil or criminal contempt charges for all involved.”

In other news: Diddy, wearing a cream-colored sweater, did not seem engaged in today’s proceedings. He occasionally leaned forward to read papers on the defense table — but overall, he didn’t look especially interested in the special agent’s testimony.

👨‍⚖️ Analysis: Why the air travel testimony is so crucial

By Danny Cevallos

Penland’s testimony about Diddy appearing to have paid for a sex worker’s air travel, by itself, may be enough for the jury to convict on Counts 3 and 5, “Transportation to Engage in Prostitution,” also called the “Mann Act.” In the last month, most of the focus has been on the other charges — sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

The necessary elements for a Mann Act conviction are (1) knowingly transporting (or attempting to transport) a person in interstate or foreign commerce, (2) with intent that the person engage in prostitution (or other specified illegal sexual activity). There is no requirement of force, fraud, or coercion, as there is with the sex trafficking charges. There is no defense of consent.

As much as sex trafficking and RICO charges have dominated the coverage, the Mann Act charges are quietly the easiest charges for a conviction in this case. The government just needs evidence of interstate travel and a desire to get a prostitute to prostitute. The prosecutors pretty much got all of that with one witness: a special agent who wasn’t even an eyewitness to anything, but who read records into evidence.

🗓 What’s next

Here’s what we know about the coming days:

• The government will likely rest its case Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey confirmed.

• Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s lead defense lawyer, said the defense needs two to five days to lay out its case, but that timeline isn’t set in stone.

• The jury could get the case as early as next week, Subramanian said.

PSA: Every night during Diddy’s trial, NBC’s “Dateline” will drop special episodes of the “True Crime Weekly” podcast to get you up to speed. “Dateline” correspondent Andrea Canning chats with NBC News’ Chloe Melas and special guests — right in front of the courthouse. Listen here.