The Sean “Diddy” Combs trial is coming to a close. On Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian outlined the steps ahead, revealing that the cross-examination of the final government witness, HSI Special Agent Joseph Cerciello, will take place early Tuesday. Following that, Diddy’s defense team is expected to conclude by the end of the same day, and jury deliberation is scheduled to begin at the end of the week.
According to Complex, Wednesday will be a charge conference, where the judge will give the formal instructions to the jury. Thursday will host closing arguments, expected to continue into Friday, with both sides expected to last four hours. Then, deliberations are likely to begin.
As the disgraced Bad Boy mogul’s high-profile federal sex trafficking trial is headed toward its final chapter, his team of legal eagles has just confirmed they will not be calling any witnesses to the stand in his defense. Shocking move or an expected strategy? Let’s get to it.
The choice was officially announced in court on Monday, June 23, with Diddy’s attorneys revealing they will rely on a limited set of submitted evidence rather than live testimony. The decision accelerates the trial’s timeline, which has already garnered massive attention worldwide.
Before we jump the gun about the move, let’s go to the Department of Justice’s breakdown of this decision. As a reminder, defendants in federal court are not required to testify or present evidence in their defense. Their guidance reads, on Justice.Gov:
“After the Government rests, the defense has the opportunity to present witnesses and evidence to the jury. The defense also has the option of not having the defendant testify. There is no burden upon the defendant to prove that they are innocent. It is the government’s responsibility to prove the defendant committed the crime as detailed in the indictment. The fact that a defendant did not testify may not be considered by the jury as proof that the defendant committed the crime. The defense may also waive his case. If the defense does not put on any evidence, the jury cannot assume that the defendant is guilty simply because they did not put on a defense. The decision to put on a defense is solely up to the defendant and the defense attorney. However, the defense will usually present its own version of the case.”
As the pace of the trial moves along, federal prosecutors are on track to wrap up their arguments by Tuesday, June 24, following testimony from Joseph Cerciello, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. After that, Judge Arun Subramanian is expected to hold a charging conference on Wednesday, June 25, with closing arguments scheduled for the following day.
As you can imagine, Diddy’s decision not to take the witness stand himself had already sparked debate, especially given the high stakes of the case. Suge Knight, the currently incarcerated founder of Death Row Records, weighed in with his thoughts on what it might take to shift the momentum.
“The only way [Combs] can even begin to take some of that pain away is if they have Puff Daddy on the stand,” Knight told PEOPLE. “And the truth come out […] Puffy should get on the stand and look these people in the eye and say, ‘This what I did.’”