Diddy trial recap: Alleged 'drug mule' Brendan Paul says 'loyalty' kept him quiet
This page reflects the news from Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on Friday, June 20. For the latest updates from Diddy's trial, read Paste BN's live coverage for Monday, June 23.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Court is back in session in Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal trial after an unexpected two-day break.
Following an abrupt adjournment on June 18 due to a juror's health issues and the immediately following Juneteenth holiday on June 19, the embattled hip-hop mogul returned to Manhattan federal court for the tail end of the prosecution's witnesses.
Combs' former assistant Brendan Paul took the stand June 20. The 26-year-old alleged "drug mule" testified about his 2024 arrest, demanding job, working long hours and procuring ketamine and ecstasy for Combs' "personal use." He denied being a drug mule or witnessing criminal activity at the mogul's "king nights," referencing another name for Combs' "freak off" sex parties.
A Homeland Security agent also walked jurors through flight logs, texts, financial records and hotel reports tied to Combs.
Paul's testimony comes after prosecutors on June 17 revealed personal messages between Combs, his girlfriends and his associates and also showed jurors around 20 minutes of what appeared to be video footage created between 2012 and 2014 of Combs' "freak offs."
U.S. attorneys hope to wrap testimony on June 23 and rest by end of day. Combs' attorneys expect to rest by end of day June 24 or 25, with closing arguments tentatively beginning next Thursday, June 26.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Homeland Security agent reviews Diddy's money requests, more texts with Cassie
Joseph Cerciello, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, spent a couple of hours on the stand going through more summary charts, covering everything from text messages to bank statements to flight records.
There are multiple texts from Combs' assistants to his security guards, saying Combs is asking for cash, sometimes in amounts of up to $10,000. Combs "needs $3,500 cash for his guest ASAP," one text reads. "We need $600. P.D. is about to go to Jane's house," another says. There was also a damage report from the London Hotel, saying, "The towels appear to have been soaked in baby oil."
Before Cerciello took the stand, the prosecution brought into evidence a 2017 text exchange between Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine and Combs. She tells him that while he may be able to party constantly, "I need to focus" if I want to make something of my life.
"You treat me like a hooker, to be honest," Cassie texted Combs. "You call a hooker and you have one. This hooker has been here for 10 years."
Combs responded dismissively, saying that "I love our f.o.s (freak offs) when we both want it."
Brendan Paul has mixed feelings about Diddy now
On redirect, lawyers for the government argued that because Paul wasn't actually at the "king nights," he may not know if anything criminal was happening.
Referencing Paul's comment that working for Combs was "an unbelievable opportunity," lawyers for the government pushed him, asking, "How did it end?"
"I was arrested," he replied. Then asked how he feels about Combs now, Paul said: "It's complicated."
Brendan Paul details arrest on jet with Diddy, Kristina Khorram
Paul's employment ended in March 2024, he said. He was on a private jet with Kristina "KK" Khorram and Combs headed for the Bahamas, when he got arrested for cocaine possession. The cocaine was for Combs.
Paul was asked by U.S. Attorney Christy Slavic during his testimony why he didn't tell law enforcement that the cocaine belonged to Combs. He responded simply saying "loyalty," and that his drug possession charges have since been dropped "because I have a really good lawyer."
On the stand, Paul testified that this was just cocaine he had forgotten in his bag when he went to the airport. It was 0.7 grams, he said, which Steel characterized as for "personal use as best."
"It was a mistake, right?" Steel said, to which Paul responded, "Correct," explaining neither Khorram nor Combs had asked him to bring the drugs that day, he had just forgotten them.
Steel seemed to make the suggestion that hard drugs made Combs more creative, happy and productive, and that it was in some ways beneficial to his process. "He got extremely creative. It was just an explosion," the attorney said specifically regarding the making of Combs' 2023 album, "The Love Album: Off the Grid."
Brendan Paul denies being a drug mule
"You were not some drug mule, am I right?" Brian Steel, a defense lawyer for Combs, asked during cross-examination, to which Paul responded: "Absolutely not." Asked by Steel what he understood a drug mule to be, Paul said: "Someone who traffics kilos and kilos across the world."
Steel then suggested that the amount of drugs Combs used was minimal. "This was just personal use?" he asked, to which Paul responded: "Yes, that was my understanding." Asked whether he ever observed Combs' ex-girlfriend Jane Doe, being hesitant or apprehensive before a "freak off," Paul responded no, confirming Steel's assertion that the woman, who is using a pseudonym for the trial, was "a willing participant."
"You would not work for a criminal, would you?" Steel asked, to which Paul responded: "Absolutely not."
"You never thought the 'king night' involved anything that was criminal?" Steel pushed further, referencing another name for the "freak off" sex parties that have taken a central role in the trial.
Earlier in Paul's testimony, he described the large team that Combs employed as an enterprise. Steel asked during cross-examination: "You're not saying a criminal enterprise?" and Paul responded no.
Diddy's alleged 'drug mule' Brendan Paul takes the stand
In testimony that took less than 2 hours, Paul, an alleged "drug mule" for Combs, took the stand to recount his employment with the music mogul. Paul graduated in 2022 from Syracuse and was hired as Combs' personal assistant shortly after.
Another former assistant had told him to get in to get out and to make good connections, but that it would be a very tumultuous job, Paul told jurors. The assistant told Paul if he had a girlfriend to break up with her, and that he would never see his family, but it would be worth it for the connections.
Paul's duties included making Combs' meal plans, coordinating workouts, packing "a lot of joints" and making sure he was on time for things like flights. Paul said he usually worked between 80 and 100 hours a week, but was always on call. He started at $76,000 a year, but by the time his employment was over, he was making $100,000 a year, Paul told jurors.
Asked about procuring drugs for Combs, Paul said he did it more than five times but less than 10. He observed Combs doing cocaine, ketamine, marijuana and ecstasy, but not all that often, he said, and verified that he had arranged and cleaned up after "hotel nights" but only a few times.
Who is Brendan Paul, Diddy's alleged 'drug mule'?
In February 2024, music producer and Combs' collaborator Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. mentioned Paul, a former Syracuse University basketball player and aide for Combs, in his civil lawsuit against the mogul that alleged sexual assault and harassment.
On the afternoon of March 25, 2024 — the same day Combs' homes were raided in Miami and Los Angeles — Paul was arrested by local police at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Per an arrest affidavit obtained by Paste BN at the time, Florida prosecutors leveled two felony charges of possession of a controlled substance against him, alleging he'd packed cocaine and marijuana-laced candy in his luggage.
"Brendan Paul: Works as Mr. Combs' Mule," Jones' lawsuit said, adding two photos of Paul and Combs together for reference. Jones claimed Paul allegedly "procured, transported and distributed" drugs including ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana and mushrooms. Jones also said Paul would acquire and distribute guns for Combs and "negotiate the fees the sex workers received and would ensure that the workers are paid" on Combs' behalf.
On Dec. 17, 2024, prosecutors declined to proceed with the one outstanding charge of cocaine possession, and the case was closed. Paul had "completed a pre-trial diversion course sometimes offered for first-time offenders," his attorney told Paste BN at the time.
Judge adjourned court after juror reported vertigo
Combs' sex-trafficking trial unexpectedly adjourned on June 18 due to a juror's health. Judge Arun Subramanian excused the jury in Combs' trial after a juror reported vertigo-like symptoms on the way into court. The trial was already scheduled to take a brief recess on June 19 in observance of the Juneteenth holiday before returning June 20.
Jurors were shown apparent 'freak off' tapes from 2012 to 2014
The videos were shown in three to four-minute increments on June 17. Jurors were all wearing earphones, and the monitors that had been used during testimony were cut off to the courtroom gallery. At one point, the gallery could hear the faint sound of heavy breathing, and the judge reminded jurors to make sure that their headphones were fully on because the microphone feed appeared to be picking up the video.
Throughout the roughly 20 minutes of footage, DeLeassa Penland, a special agent for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, looked uncomfortable on the stand and at one point appeared to close her eyes and wince.
Diddy falsely told Cassie he was going to be arrested after 2016 hotel assault
Phone and text records unveiled June 17 showed Combs pleaded with former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine to return to the Los Angeles-area hotel where surveillance footage captured him attacking her in a hallway.
"I went and checked everything and spoke to security. Jules left so you're good and as long as you don't disturb the other guests, they'll leave you be," Ventura Fine texted him, referring to a sex worker they hired for an alleged "freak off."
"I am about to be arrested," Combs texted Ventura Fine after she left the hotel, saying police were at the building. Records showed he called her five times in 22 minutes, but there's no evidence law enforcement was involved in the incident.
Is 50 Cent testifying in Diddy trial? Rapper says he'll reach out to Trump to prevent pardon
While 50 Cent hasn't been announced as a witness in Combs' trial, the rapper is looking to give President Donald Trump his two cents on the legal matter. In an Instagram post on May 30, the "In da Club" emcee said he would reach out to Trump after the president said he would "look at the facts" in Combs' case, suggesting a pardon could be on the table.
The rapper shared a clip of the president's comments in his post and wrote that Combs "said some really bad things about Trump," adding that he will "reach out so he knows how I feel about this guy."
No, Eddie Murphy did not testify in the Diddy trial
Despite videos circulating online, which appear to show artificially generated court sketches of Eddie Murphy testifying at the Combs trial, the actor hasn't been in the courtroom and isn't expected to be called as a witness.
While a specter of celebrity hangs heavy over the proceedings, many of the big names roped in have merely been name-drops from the stand by lesser-known witnesses from Combs' inner circle.
The only true "celebrities" to testify thus far have been Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine, Kid Cudi and Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard.
Why is Diddy in jail?
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling case that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and later charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper has pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him.
What is a RICO? Racketeering meaning
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes days-long sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have on video.
Where is Diddy now?
The disgraced music mogul is in custody, and, despite repeated attempts at bail, has remained confined to the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. He has been in jail since his arrest on Sept. 16, 2024.
How to stream the Diddy trial
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
Paste BN will be reporting live from the courtroom. Sign up for our newsletter for more updates.
Contributing: Paste BN staff
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