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Today, the jurors in Diddy’s trial said they’d reached a verdict on four of the five criminal counts against the hip-hop mogul.
In a note to the court just after 4 p.m. ET, the jury said it had made up its mind on the prosecution’s two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. But on the remaining count — racketeering conspiracy — the panel said it could not get to a unanimous decision because of “unpersuadable” opinions.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian asked the lawyers for suggestions about what to do next. The sides agreed they’d like jurors to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy charge. Ultimately, Subramanian instructed the jurors to keep talking.
“I remind you of the instructions I gave you yesterday,” Subramanian said. “You should not hesitate to change an opinion when convinced, weigh your opinion dispassionately and follow my instructions on the law.”
The upshot: The jurors will be back in the federal courthouse tomorrow for more closed-door deliberations on count 1. We’ll keep you updated on all the key developments.
🔎 The view from inside
By Adam Reiss, Chloe Melas, Katherine Koretski and Jing Feng
Diddy looked slightly on edge this morning, though he turned around to face family members, waving and making a prayer hands gesture. He chatted with his mother, Janice Combs, and blew kisses to her. “Relax. It’s going to be alright, Ma,” Diddy could be heard telling her. He added: “I like your shirt, your outfit.”
When the jury’s afternoon note came in, the mood in the courtroom became tense. Diddy’s defense team formed a tight horseshoe-shaped huddle around him for over 10 minutes. Diddy looked dejected and stared at the floor, hands folded in his lap. He later appeared to be wiggling his fingers as one of his attorneys whispered into his ear. His face was stone cold.
👨⚖️ Analysis: No big shock here
By Danny Cevallos
The partial verdict is not a shocker to me — if the verdicts on counts 2 through 5 are guilty. Anything else on counts 2 through 5 would be a surprise. I expected a relatively quick verdict on all but racketeering conspiracy, in part because that count was always the most complicated. Even the verdict form for count 1 takes up more page space than any of the other counts.
Count 1 was always going to be tough for a jury. It’s tough for the attorneys to understand, too.
PSA: Every night during Diddy’s trial, NBC’s “Dateline” will drop special episodes of the “True Crime Weekly” podcast to get you up to speed. “Dateline” correspondent Andrea Canning chats with NBC News’ Chloe Melas and special guests — right in front of the courthouse. Listen here.
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