Sean Combs trial updates | Defense closes; deliberations set for Monday

Once the defense's closing arguments conclude, prosecutor Maurene Comey will deliver the government's rebuttal and then the jury will break for the weekend.

The judge decided to charge the jury first thing Monday followed by deliberations.

Cassie Ventura lied about being raped by Sean Combs in 2018 so she would not get caught cheating on her now-husband, the defense argued in its closing argument in hopes of raising doubt about Ventura's credibility.

Ventura previously testified she met Combs for dinner in Malibu and then, back at her house, he raped her on the living room floor.

"Cassie told you his eyes went black. She said no. She cried. But he didn't take no for an answer. He didn't stop," prosecutor Christy Slavik said in the prosecution's closing argument.

"I suggest to you maybe it didn't happen," defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, suggesting the sexual encounter in question was consensual.

The jury is now taking its lunch break until 1:45 p.m.

Agnifilo said he has about an hour left in his closing argument.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said her rebuttal would take about an hour and a half.

The defense summation returned to Cassie Ventura and asked the jury to question whether she was really trafficked because Combs desired watching her have sex with male escorts.

"It's the sex that they are having," Agnifilo said. "They're swingers. This is their lifestyle."

He asked the jury to consider what they are willing to adopt to please their own partners, sexual and otherwise. At one point he said some couples could be close "by drinking lemonade with strawberries" but Combs and Ventura preferred something racier.

"Cassie wanted to do this. This is how they're close," Agnifilo said. "This was her lifestyle choice also."

The defense cast Ventura as a beautiful woman who loved sex, seeking to undermine the government's portrayal of her as a victim of sex trafficking.

"When she wasn't with Sean Combs she was with (actor) Michael B. Jordan. He's the most handsome man in the world. She's not messing around," Agnifilo said. "She's a high level. She has sexual confidence. Good for her. She's not clutching her pearls."

The jury once again saw 2016 hotel security camera footage - though notably the defense did not show the moment Combs assaulted Cassie - as Agnifilo argued the jury could interpret the video differently than prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors argued the video showed Combs dragging Ventura back to a so-called "freak off." Agnifilo said it showed Ventura encouraging Combs to return to the room as he stood in the hall in a towel and socks.

"The room is not a scary place," Agnifilo said.

Sean Combs did not sexually assault his assistant "Mia," the defense argued in its closing, seeking to quash an aspect of the forced labor racketeering predicate.

"Mia" testified Combs assaulted her several times. She alleged he woke her when she was sleeping in his home and forced her to have sex with him.

"This was not unwanted sexual contact," defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said. "Something consensual happened."

He held up a poster-sized photograph "Mia" had given to him on his birthday that showed Combs with "Mia," assistants, bodyguards and other employees. The caption beneath the photo called Combs "coolest alien rock star unicorn pizza slice."

Agnifilo said the image is evidence of the love Combs engendered among his employees, not forced labor.

"This is a racketeering enterprise, folks," Agnifilo sarcastically said.

The defense lawyer conceded Combs had a drug problem and kept drugs in his homes, but he sought to cast doubt on drug offenses as a racketeering predicate.

"These were personal use drugs," Agnifilo said. "There's no allegation Sean Combs is selling drugs."

He reminded the jury that Cassie Ventura and many other people around Combs were doing drugs.

"It's doing what people in creative fields do and all of a sudden it's part of a racketeering conspiracy," Agnifilo said.