Special agent will continue evidence testimony in Diddy trial

(NewsNation) — A federal agent who has testified to evidence, including hotel receipts and text messages detailing "Freak Offs" conducted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, will resume testimony Tuesday in the sixth week of his criminal trial.

U.S. Attorney's Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland will be called back to the stand as a summary witness, or someone who testifies to condense voluminous amounts of evidence.

Penland has presented evidence about sexual events allegedly set up by Combs that included escorts and his ex-partner Casandra "Cassie" Ventura.

This week started off with a bang Monday as Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed a juror for what he called “inconsistencies” and lack of candor. 

Questions arose over whether juror No. 6, a Black man, primarily resided in New York or New Jersey after he informed a court staff member that he had moved in with his girlfriend, who lives in the neighboring state. 

Subramanian said allowing the juror to remain could threaten the integrity of the judicial process and could lead to “another set of shifting answers.”

“In other words, there’s nothing that the juror can say at this point that would put the genie back in the bottle and restore his credibility,” the judge said. 

That juror was replaced by one of the alternates, a white man from Westchester. 

Combs’ defense team opposed the juror's dismissal, arguing he was one of only two Black men on the jury, which would likely harm Combs. They also requested a mistrial over the matter. 

“There has been no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct brought to the court’s attention. Zero,” the judge said, rejecting the defense’s third request for a mistrial.

The state presented two summary witnesses who testified to the numerous text messages, emails and other correspondences between Combs, his staff and the accusers. 

Prosecutors called paralegal Ananya Sankar, who works for the prosecutors office, to read aloud texts from Combs’ former girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” to his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram. 

In the texts, Jane wrote, [Combs] “just threatened me about my sex tapes that he has on two phones. He said he would send them to my baby daddy.”

Jane noted she didn’t typically involve Khorram in such matters but said she needed help because Combs was having one of his “evil-ass psychotic bipolar” episodes and, along with threatening her, was saying he’d call the police on her.

Jane also told Khorram she was heavily drugged in the tapes.

Texts showed that Jane previously told Combs she felt he exploited her with their “dark and humiliating lifestyle.” She wrote that for the three years they were together, she felt confused by their relationship. 

Jane testified for nearly a week during the trial, telling jurors that she felt compelled to participate in a dayslong “hotel night” in which she engaged in sexual events with others. 

Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.