As the sex trafficking and racketeering trial of the disgraced rap mogul, Sean "Diddy" Combs, entered its fifth week and stretched into its second month in the heart of Manhattan's federal courthouse on Monday, the dramatic proceedings featured a grueling cross-examination of one of Combs' former assistants. The assistant, who has chosen to testify under the pseudonym "Mia," found herself under intense scrutiny by one of Combs' defense attorneys, who grilled her about their working and personal dynamics, hinting that her conduct contradicted the grim allegations of abuse she had leveled against him from the witness box.
Mia's final day on the stand, the culmination of three days of testimony, was largely consumed by the cross-examination. Brian Steel, a star defense lawyer, relentlessly questioned her actions and statements, particularly highlighting social media posts that expressed admiration or positivity towards Combs during and after the period when Mia claims she was subjected to abuse, manipulation, threats, and sexual assault while employed by his company.
Combs, now 55, has steadfastly pleaded not guilty to the indictment accusing him of abusing Mia, his long-time girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and others. A conviction could sentence him to a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
The intensity of Steel's questioning reached a fever pitch on Monday, prompting prosecutor Maureen Comey to intervene. The U.S. attorney informed Judge Arun Subramanian that she believed Steel was attempting to humiliate Mia as she recounted her ordeal from the witness stand. Comey argued that Steel's sarcastic remarks and accusations implying that Mia was lying amounted to harassment. While Subramanian disagreed with Comey's harassment assertion, he acknowledged that Steel's questions had become argumentative and repetitive. However, he allowed Steel to continue, assuring Comey that he would be vigilant against any abusive conduct.
Steel persistently grilled Mia on her recollections of the abuse and sexual assaults she alleged she endured under Combs' hand, inquiring why, amidst the sea of public accolades for her former boss and affirmative private texts, there wasn't a single written documentation or a confidential note to a friend detailing the torment she now vowed under oath over the past few days. At one pointed juncture, Steel bluntly accused her of fabricating her story in court. Mia, with steadfast conviction, replied, "I refuse to deceive in this sacred chamber. I have never lied here; every word I've uttered is a truth."
Steel delved deeper into Mia's conduct during the alleged years of abuse at Combs' hands, spanning her tenure at Combs Global from 2009 to 2017, querying whether she felt a moral imperative to expose him while the abuse was still ongoing. Mia responded, her voice trembling, "I was petrified and mentally conditioned; I didn't see any such duty binding me."
On Mia's third day of testimony, much of the narrative repeated itself, either echoed from the prosecution's inquiry or during Steel's cross-examination. She revisited the claustrophobic grip Combs had on her life, describing his erratic mood swings and their profound impact on her. She elaborated on her delayed realization of the abuse's severity and how therapy unearthed her PTSD. "It's been an arduous journey," she confessed. "I'm still unraveling these complexities. I'm in therapy, seeking healing."
The robust bond Mia forged with Ventura, Combs' long-time ex-lover and Victim 1 in the federal indictment against him, resurfaced on Monday. Mia testified that she concealed her multiple sexual assaults by Combs from Ventura, prioritizing the maintenance of Combs' equilibrium and ensuring the alleged abusive chaos continued unnoticed. Disclosing her rapes and sexual abuses to anyone, even Ventura, was unthinkable. She also concealed his whereabouts from Ventura, burdened by guilt. "I recall shielding him and feeling immense sorrow over it," Mia recounted, her eyes welling up. "I was shrouded in shame, contemplating the worst."
Mia affirmed that Combs was privy to and approved all ventures Ventura pursued in music and film, excluding the 10 albums under her Bad Boy Records contract, inked when she was just 19, shortly before becoming Combs' girlfriend.
Echoing scores of others who have filed suits against Combs in the past 19 months, Mia stated that seeing others speak out publicly emboldened her to come forward. Steel probed into Mia's post-employment settlement following her abrupt dismissal, prompting her to disclose that she initially proposed $10 million in mediation, ultimately settling for $400,000, with half going to her legal representation.
After a decade in Combs' shadow, Mia secured an eight-month stint with pop legend Madonna—a gig she bagged independently, without Combs' intervention. Reflecting on her exit from Combs' realm, she revealed that he abandoned a promise to aid her in launching a TV show she conceptualized. "My entire universe was instantaneously stripped from me," she lamented. "Even if, in retrospect, that world was dystopian, I was oblivious then. Hence, it felt as though everything was collapsing."
