‘This Is Monumental’: Legal Experts Weigh in on Shocking Diddy Verdict

Legal experts reacted to news of the verdict in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s trial on Wednesday by calling it a major win for the rapper, who was found guilty of only two of the five counts against him after three days of jury deliberations.

Combs was facing five felony counts: one of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper and producer was found guilty on Wednesday of only the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors accused Combs of overseeing a criminal enterprise in which he would abuse and coerce victims, including his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Footage was released showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in 2016.

“Convictions in #DiddyTrial just on transportation for prostitution (counts 3 and 5) is a win for him. It could have been a lot worse,” Mediaite founder and and ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams wrote on X.

CNN legal commentator Elie Honig reacted in real time on The Situation Room to the verdicts as they came in. As he heard Diddy was not not found guilty of sex trafficking Ventura, one of two victims prosecutors relied on, he called it a “major blow” to the prosecution.

“That is obviously an enormous win for the defense. It means the jury did not credit Cassie Ventura’s testimony. That’s a huge blow to the prosecution,” Honig said, later making a similar statement after hearing Diddy was also not found guilty of sex trafficking the other victim, referred to as “Jane.”

“This is monumental,” CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates said as she covered the trial in New York.

CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister joined Coates for her coverage and called it “the best possible outcome for the defense.”

Coates noted that the Southern District of New York has a near-perfect conviction rate.

“Think about the resources that are being used in this case… Six prosecutors, including Maurene Comey, a top prosecutor in the SDNY who handled Dylan Maxwell and other infamous cases as well for almost eight weeks, the devotion of resources and time and energy and cost resulting in prostitution-related charges. Now, that might be a black eye if people are thinking about the rate of conviction, but they believed in their case,” she said.

The former federal prosecutor said Combs is facing up to 10 years, but because he’s a first time offender, he could spend only two years in prison. The rapper was facing life in prison if found guilty on the more serious charges.

MSNBC legal commentator Lisa Rubin suggested there were “racial dynamics” at play in the trial, noting the prosecutors were all white women. Rubin referred to them as “lawyer Barbies.”

“I think both the gender and the racial dynamics are worth talking about. Earlier this spring, I went to cover an unrelated event down near the federal courthouses, and I was there on may 1st when I saw all six of the prosecutors on this team walk from their office, which is now at the court of international trade, to the courtroom itself. And they filed in a single file line and they are all white women to a person, six of them, and they almost look like lawyer Barbies proceeding as they were walking to the court,” Rubin said.

Rubin noted there were seven people of color on the jury and “that dynamic may not have gone over particularly well with them.”