4.Casandra Ventura — Cross/Redirect/Recross (Part 9)
1,306 linesMS. ESTEVAO: Good afternoon, Ms. Ventura. We are almost finished here.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Thank you.
MS. ESTEVAO: Could we please pull up Defense Exhibit 1409, which is in evidence.
MS. ESTEVAO: We are going to go through this one in full, but feel free to read through the whole thing first.
CASANDRA VENTURA: OK. There isn't a hard copy?
MS. ESTEVAO: I can give you my hard copy.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sorry.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ready?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: Could we please go to the next page, Andy, and start at the top.
MS. ESTEVAO: If you wouldn't mind, if you could read yours, and I will be Mr. Combs.
CASANDRA VENTURA: This is a different one from this.
THE COURT: Ms. Estevao, how many pages is this exhibit?
MS. GERAGOS: I believe it's my nine pages. A. This isn't like --
MS. ESTEVAO: May I approach?
THE COURT: You may approach.
MS. ESTEVAO: You can use the screen. It's six pages.
THE COURT: Let's use the screen. We have Exhibit 1409. So Ms. Ventura, take a look at the messages.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
CASANDRA VENTURA: You can go to the next page. Next page.
MS. JOHNSON: I'm sorry to object, your Honor, but --
MS. GERAGOS: Could we take this down off the screen.
MS. JOHNSON: I am not sure it was on the screen.
MS. ESTEVAO: It was an incorrect exhibit that was being brought up on the screen. We can return to this. I'll turn to a different subject. Thank you so much. Perfect. Thank you. Do you mind pulling up the first four messages.
MS. ESTEVAO: If you can read this, Ms. Ventura. Do you mind --
CASANDRA VENTURA: This is the same as what you handed me, so I saw this.
MS. ESTEVAO: This is the one that I intended. I apologize about that. This is my fault.
CASANDRA VENTURA: No worries.
MS. ESTEVAO: These green messages are from Mr. Combs, and I will read the ones from Mr. Combs.
MS. ESTEVAO: Checking on you, seeing how you're doing. Hope you're well. Just sending you love. Have a great weekend. This was sent on March 22, 2019?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And then on May 14, 2019 he said: Sending you love and light. Hope you're well.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we keep going. There is a message at the bottom.
MS. ESTEVAO: Congratulations, Cas. I truly am happy for you. You are gonna make a beautiful mother. God bless.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to the next page. Thank you.
MS. ESTEVAO: Did I read that earlier page correctly, Ms. Ventura?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you. Can you continue.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I said: Thank you. God bless.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs said: Sending you love and light. Hope all is well. Had a dream about you last night. Shaking my head. What a difference a year makes. Really happy for you. Have a blessed day. Just sending love. That's it. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And at this point had you had your first baby?
CASANDRA VENTURA: No, not yet. I was pregnant.
MS. ESTEVAO: I'm skipping ahead.
CASANDRA VENTURA: That's OK. Just a few months. I had her in December.
MS. ESTEVAO: I see. Then he says: Congratulations. I know you're so happy. I'm happy for you. God bless. You deserve it. Love. This was on December 6, 2019. Then, on March 7, 2020, he said: Miss my best friend. Hope you are well. Frankie is so beautiful. Love. Did I read that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to the next page, please.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can you read that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Miss you too and thank you. Hope you're taking care of yourself and that the family is well too.
MS. ESTEVAO: That was on March 7, 2020?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs said: Thank you so much for responding. It really means a lot. More than you know. I'm so happy for you. The kids are good. Mom is good. I hope your family is well also. I miss all you guys. Sending you nothing but love and light always. Please know I'm always here if you need me.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Same. Been reflecting a lot, like a lot. The turns of life are so crazy, but I'm happy everyone is good. Please send my love to them. And if I can express anything, take care of you.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs says: I'm trying. Just had another operation. This is gonna be my last one. LOL. Shit has definitely been rough without your friendship. I pray for a day that I can sit down with you and let you know all the things that I've reflected on. You were there for me throughout everything. You were my ride or die, and I've got nothing but love for you always. My heart is filled with joy to know that you don't hate me. And I hope you're taking care of you also. I thank God for the time that we had together. And you're one of the greatest women in the world and don't ever forget that. Love. Ms. Ventura, you were also friends with Mr. Combs throughout your relationship, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: You didn't only consider yourselves romantic partners, correct?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to the next page.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can you read from the top as soon as it's blown up.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sorry. I needed a second to gather my thoughts. The things you said blew my mind a bit. First, I don't hate you. I never have. I wouldn't be at this beautiful point in my life without having been with you. I definitely think of the same day to sit down and just talk because I know that we need closure and understanding.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs sends a tear-faced emoji in response to that. Can we go back up to the message that you sent. When you said, I needed a second to gather my thoughts, right, because you took some amount of time to respond to him, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And what did you mean when you said the things you said blew my mind a bit?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Can we go back to his message?
MS. ESTEVAO: Sure.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think those were honestly, probably, all the things I wanted to hear for a long time that I never did.
MS. ESTEVAO: Him telling you that you were his ride or die always?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Just being -- yeah, it being recognized.
MS. ESTEVAO: As the greatest woman in the world, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Not that part. Just the message in general. It was nice.
MS. ESTEVAO: That it was filled with love and affection?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: In other messages that he sent you throughout your relationship he would say that he loved you, but how is this message different in that respect?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think when you reflect on things, you just get a clearer picture, and I understood that that's how he really felt.
MS. ESTEVAO: You appreciated that this was a heartfelt message to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sure.
MS. ESTEVAO: And it was what you had been craving for a long time to hear from him, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Before this. I don't think I was craving it then.
MS. ESTEVAO: You had wanted it previously.
CASANDRA VENTURA: In the relationship.
MS. ESTEVAO: Yes.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go back to your response to this.
MS. ESTEVAO: When you said, the things you said blew my mind a bit, that's you reacting to his message?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: Are you expressing surprise?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Unexpected, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And then you say: First, I don't hate you. I never have. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: Were you afraid that he thought that you hated him?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know. I said that. I don't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: You said: I wouldn't be at this beautiful point in my life without having been with you. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Because he shaped you in many ways after 11 years, right? You shaped each other.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah. That's fair.
MS. ESTEVAO: You said: I definitely think of the same day to sit down and just talk because I know that we need closure and understanding, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: And after you sent this message you didn't get that chance to sit down and talk and get closure, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to the bottom message, please.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs says: Tears of joy. I don't even know what to say. But I'll always love you. And one day I hope you can forgive me. I pray for the day we can have closure, but most importantly talk. We're honestly lucky to be alive. We went hard. God was really watching over us. You deserve the world. And I'm happy you found someone that loves you the way you deserve to be loved and respected. Please let me know when is a good time to get together, and I'll make myself available. Tell moms and pops I said hi. Please know I send this message with all respect for your marriage. Be well and never forget who you are. Love. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: You said: We are honestly lucky to be alive. Right? What did you take that to mean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We partied quite a bit.
MS. ESTEVAO: Too much and many times, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you.
MS. ESTEVAO: We can take that down.
MS. ESTEVAO: You never had an opportunity to have that sitdown and have closure, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you moved on with your life and continued with your marriage and you had another child, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were still struggling with addiction issues, as you described on your direct testimony, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: But then were ultimately able to receive a lot of trauma treatment at the Willow House?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, amongst other things, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And were successfully able to kick your opiate addiction, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And have been maintaining sobriety since then.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Turning to after you left Willow House the summer and fall of 2023 before your lawsuit in November --
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: -- in or around October of 2023, you and your husband moved into your parents' house in Connecticut, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think it was October. We left LA.
MS. ESTEVAO: You moved into your parents' house in Connecticut because of financial issues, is that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: No. We were just moving to the east coast and transitioning at my parents'.
MS. ESTEVAO: You transitioned to the east coast and you are living with your parents, your children, and your husband in Connecticut, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We stay there quite a bit.
MS. ESTEVAO: And your husband is a physical trainer, is that right, or he was at the time?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He was.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you. And your financial situation in October of 2023 was limited to the income of your husband as a physical trainer and whatever income you were able to make at that time, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. ESTEVAO: And the house that you grew up in in Connecticut was relatively modest, right, compared to the mansions that we have seen in the government's exhibits?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sure.
MS. ESTEVAO: And at the time, in October 2023, were you performing professionally?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know if I was performing professionally, but I was preparing for a tour later that year.
MS. ESTEVAO: The Juicy Fest 2024?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't remember what it was called, but possibly.
MS. ESTEVAO: Was it scheduled to begin the following January?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And were you -- you were scheduled to go on tour. Was this Australia and New Zealand?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: So you are preparing for that tour?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were working with a Matt Testa, among other people, in connection with this tour, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes. He's an engineer.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were doing a lot of work in connection with preparing for this performance?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Was the work that you were doing in connection with the performance all throughout that fall and summer? Could you describe the extent of the work.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I mean, I don't remember it super clearly, but, yeah, we were preparing over months for January. I don't remember if it started January or we were supposed to start December, but something like that.
MS. ESTEVAO: But fair to say that there was extensive planning going on in connection --
CASANDRA VENTURA: There was, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: -- with this tour?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: As soon as you agreed to settle your lawsuit against Mr. Combs in November 2023, you canceled this tour, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you didn't go to Australia?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I didn't.
MS. ESTEVAO: And as soon as you saw that you were going to get the $20 million, you canceled the tour because you didn't need it anymore, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That wasn't the reason why.
MS. ESTEVAO: You could have -- withdrawn. You recall posting on Instagram after the video of the Intercontinental Hotel was aired in May of 2024?
CASANDRA VENTURA: What did I post?
MS. ESTEVAO: You wrote on Instagram, among other things, domestic violence is the issue. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes, um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: It's an important issue.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And that is what you focused on in your Instagram post following the Intercontinental Hotel release?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I wrote something.
MS. ESTEVAO: You wrote: Domestic violence is the issue.
CASANDRA VENTURA: There was more to it than that, but, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: You wrote: Thank you for all the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet. The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, and this is only the beginning. The domestic violence is the issue. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: You felt that way, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: And still feel that way?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up Defense Exhibit 1016-A, which is a single page -- I'm told it's 1016 without the A -- just for the parties and the witness.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Ventura, can you take a look at this and tell me when you're ready.
MS. ESTEVAO: I move for admission.
MS. JOHNSON: No objection.
THE COURT: 1016 will be admitted.
(Defendant's Exhibit 1016 received in evidence)
CASANDRA VENTURA: It's just the one page?
MS. ESTEVAO: Yes. The exhibit is longer, but we are only going to be focused on this one page.
CASANDRA VENTURA: OK. Yes, I read it.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs says: Wanna have our last freak-off tonight? This is him sending this in September 2012. He asks: Wanna freak off one last time tonight? Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: What do you say?
CASANDRA VENTURA: What?
MS. ESTEVAO: He says: You can't read?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't want to freak off for a last time. I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you.
MS. ESTEVAO: I have no further questions.
THE COURT: Thank you. Ms. Johnson.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. JOHNSON:
MS. JOHNSON: Good afternoon, Ms. Ventura.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Good afternoon.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, could you please pull up the exhibit that was just on the screen, Defense Exhibit 1016. Could you please publish that for the jury.
THE COURT: We have it now.
MS. JOHNSON: Thank you, Ms. Gavin.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall just a moment ago that you were directed to read the message on this page that you sent that says: I don't want to freak off for a last time. I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, can you please move forward through the rest of this exhibit. I think it's on page 3 of 4. Can you go one more page. One more page. Actually, go back one.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, directing your attention to the blue bubbles in the middle of this page, is that messages that you sent?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Directing your attention to one that says, yes, I'm horny, just got over a UTI, is that a message that you sent to Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What did you say below that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did it without meds this time.
MS. JOHNSON: What does Sean respond to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: So what do you wanna do?
MS. JOHNSON: Can you go to the next page now, Ms. Gavin. Ms. Gavin, can you please blow up the top two blue bubbles.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, can you please read those two blue bubbles.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I want to see you, but I'm emotional right now. I can't do one last time. I'd rather not at all.
MS. JOHNSON: What are you referring to in those messages?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Freak-offs.
MS. JOHNSON: Thank you, Ms. Gavin. You can take those down.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, before I ask you a few more questions, I am going to admit some exhibits.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall on our direct examination the drives that you looked at and signed with your initials?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And you reviewed the contents on those drives, is that correct?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. JOHNSON: And what, generally speaking, was on those drives?
CASANDRA VENTURA: There were messages, photos, videos from devices that I turned into the government, broken devices.
MS. JOHNSON: Your Honor, just one moment. I need to grab my computer. At this time the government would offer Government Exhibits B-219, B-223, B-224, B-238, B-249, B-260, B-261, B-329, B-332, B-338, B-346, B-356, B-405, B-409, B-423, B-424. B-426, B-430, B-511, B-615, B-619, B-620, B-622, B-627-B, B-627-C, B-629, B-630, B-631, B-633, B-634, B-635, B-638, B-640, B-642, B-643, and B-645.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MS. ESTEVAO: May we have a moment, your Honor?
MS. JOHNSON: Your Honor, Ms. Geragos is going to review those, and I'll conduct the examination, and we will circle back to this, if that's all right with your Honor.
THE COURT: OK.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall defense counsel showing you some law enforcement reports documenting interviews with the government on cross-examination?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Before defense counsel showed you those reports, had you ever seen them before?
MS. JOHNSON: Were you ever asked to review those reports?
MS. JOHNSON: Were you ever asked to check those reports for accuracy?
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall being asked on cross-examination about what messages the government did or did not show you in meetings you had with the government?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Are you aware of how many thousands of messages were found on your devices, Ms. Ventura?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Exactly, no.
MS. JOHNSON: Are you aware of how many thousands of messages there are on other devices in this case?
(Continued on next page)
BY MS. JOHNSON:
MS. JOHNSON: Are you aware of how many thousands of messages and emails that have been received from some of Sean's companies?
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall yesterday that defense counsel showed you a number of messages between you and Sean where you showed love and affection of each other?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And you were showed more of those messages today; is that correct?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Throughout your relationship with Sean, were there periods where Sean was kind and loving?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Did those periods ever last?
MS. JOHNSON: What always ended up happening?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Grounds.
MS. ESTEVAO: Not specific.
THE COURT: Ms. Johnson, could you rephrase.
MS. JOHNSON: Sure.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, you just testified that the periods where Sean was kind and loving didn't last. Do you remember that testimony?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What happened when those periods didn't last?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: When those periods wouldn't last, it would just be a downswing. Yeah, I don't know how to put that.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you tell me a little more by what you mean by a downswing?
CASANDRA VENTURA: When Sean wasn't happy anymore, it affected everybody around him.
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's sustained. The jury should disregard the witness's last answer. Ms. Johnson, next question.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, how, if at all, were you affected by Sean's moods?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was pretty affected.
MS. JOHNSON: How were you affected?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was affected in various ways. Can you repeat it.
MS. JOHNSON: Sure. You testified that Sean's moods affected you. What were some of the ways that they affected you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I mean, they affected my whole life, my career, how I felt about myself, my self-worth, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: How did Sean's moods affect your career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It depended on if he was in the mood to have a freak-off, my work would take the back seat, so that would be my career not being paid attention to because I had to do other things.
MS. JOHNSON: What other things did you have to do?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I had to do freak-offs.
MS. JOHNSON: And what kind of preparation did freak-offs entail?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A lot. Me getting myself ready, head to toe, getting a room ready, setting up entertainment, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: When you say setting up entertainment, what are you referring to?
CASANDRA VENTURA: To escorts.
MS. JOHNSON: You also said that Sean's moods affected how you felt about yourself?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you tell me how they affected how you felt about yourself?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Well, throughout the relationship, I really -- I really just, like, hung on a lot of his words and everything he said, trusted his style and everything that he was doing. So when he would put me down or make me feel lesser than, I was extra hard on myself. I was already hard on myself as it was, so -- yeah. There was good, but there was a lot of negative, too.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall defense counsel asking you yesterday if Sean opened up your world?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall responding that it wasn't a "yes" or "no" answer?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you explain what you meant by that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: To the yes or no world?
MS. JOHNSON: Yes.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sorry. Can you repeat what was yesterday.
MS. JOHNSON: Yesterday, do you recall that defense counsel asked you if Sean opened up your world?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: And you responded, that's not a yes or no question.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah. I think I also might have said, like, it opened up a world. I didn't really describe it.
MS. JOHNSON: What world did it open up to you, Ms. Ventura?
CASANDRA VENTURA: To me -- I mean, I was led into his world, but I was opened up to a world of just chaos and with his lifestyle, his choosing. And wanting approval, being a part of it, it was a whole other world I didn't know, I didn't understand at the time. It was a lot.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you remember when defense counsel showed you a number of explicit texts yesterday that you sent to Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Throughout your entire 11-year relationship with Sean, who did you want to have sex with?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I wanted to sex with just him.
MS. JOHNSON: Was there anyone else you wanted to have sex with?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Not at that time.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, and I apologize for not letting you know about this, could you pull up, if you are able, defense exhibit 1166, which is in evidence. Ms. Gavin, would you mind zooming in on those messages.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall being shown this message yesterday?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, vaguely.
MS. JOHNSON: I'd like to direct you to the message that's the second message from the top. Do you see that message?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: It's sent from Sean on August 7th, 2009, at 7:52 p.m.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you see where Sean says, you supposed to be seducing me all day?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: What is your understanding of what Sean is telling you to do?
CASANDRA VENTURA: To send him sexy messages and just make him feel excited sexually.
MS. JOHNSON: How often did Sean give you instructions like seduce me all day?
CASANDRA VENTURA: All the time.
MS. JOHNSON: What did you do in response to those instructions?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sometimes I did it and sometimes I didn't know what to say.
MS. JOHNSON: When you did it, what kind of messages would you send to Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I would talk mainly about freak-offs and the things that I knew would actually turn him on.
MS. JOHNSON: Thank you. You can take that down, Ms. Gavin.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall yesterday that defense counsel asked you questions about your music career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: About your celebrity status?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: About your financial status?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes, I think so.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also remember that defense counsel asked you questions about how Sean supported you when you had a bad life performance at the beginning of your career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: What happened to your music career after you started dating Sean Combs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I put out music, but it wasn't the same as when I first started.
MS. JOHNSON: How was it different?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It was different because I had to give him all of my attention and made the choice to listen to him because he was the person that was running everything.
MS. JOHNSON: When you say you gave him all of your attention, who is him?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: While you were in a relationship with Sean, who, if anyone, controlled your music career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: How often would Sean direct you to turn down other opportunities in your career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Regularly.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Geragos, I know you're still looking at the exhibits, but I did want to offer Government Exhibit B-332. The government offers Government Exhibit B-332.
THE COURT: B-332 will be admitted.
(Government's Exhibit B-332 received in evidence)
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, you can publish that to the jury, please.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, who are the participants in this communication?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That's me and a person that I worked with named Martin Bowier.
MS. JOHNSON: What was Martin's role?
CASANDRA VENTURA: At that time, he was trying to help with management. I had tried a bunch of different people over many years.
MS. JOHNSON: Management of what?
CASANDRA VENTURA: My career, music career.
MS. JOHNSON: Directing your attention to the first message, I'll read the gray messages and you read the blue messages.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Okay.
MS. JOHNSON: From Martin. Is Puff okay with you doing a common video?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know. I'll find out. He'll prob say no lol.
MS. JOHNSON: Lol okay.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you turn to the next page, Ms. Gavin. Thank you.
MS. JOHNSON: Just let me know so I can me them know either way.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I'm forwarding the email. He just wants to hear the song.
MS. JOHNSON: Yup. I put the song in the email. Hit me back as soon as you can, please.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Waiting for Puff to call me back.
MS. JOHNSON: Oh, okay. Cool. Underdogs might want you to come by and listen at 3:00?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Puff said no to vid.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, if you can go back to page 2, please.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, in your last message where you said Puff said no to vid, what is your understanding of what vid Puff said no to?
CASANDRA VENTURA: The video that Martin asked me if I wanted to do or if I could do.
MS. JOHNSON: You can take this down, Ms. Gavin.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, you mentioned this a few moments ago, but when you were not working on your career while you were dating Sean, what else were you doing?
CASANDRA VENTURA: When I wasn't working on my career, I was being his girlfriend. Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: And did that involve preparing for and participating in freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: During freak-offs, what, if any, work calls did you observe Sean taking?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He took quite a bit of work calls during freak-offs.
MS. JOHNSON: How frequently would he take work calls during freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Every time.
MS. JOHNSON: During freak-offs, how often was your career discussed?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A lot.
MS. JOHNSON: And are you aware if Sean ever canceled meetings or other work obligations for freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Are you aware if Sean ever canceled meetings or other work obligations to recover from a freak-off?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What was your understanding of why Sean could do that?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, were you able to cancel meetings or work obligations for freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: If I was told to.
MS. JOHNSON: What effect, if any, did that have on your career?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A lot. I didn't get to do many of the things I wanted to.
MS. JOHNSON: And why didn't you get to do many of the things you wanted to?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Because I had a whole other job.
MS. JOHNSON: What was that whole other job?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It's basically a sex worker.
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection. Move to strike.
THE COURT: Motion is granted. The jury should disregard the witness's last answer.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, when you say you had a whole other job, did that whole other job involve participating in and performing at freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall on cross being asked questions about Sean using drugs during your relationship?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall on cross-examination being asked many questions about how successful Sean was?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall being asked many questions about how successful Sean's businesses were?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall being asked many questions about Sean's impact?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: During that same period where you testified that Sean was using drugs, was Sean also running all of his businesses?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Was Sean taking meetings during that same period?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Meetings for work?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Was Sean taking calls for work during that same period?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Was Sean traveling for work during that same period?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Was Sean making music during that same period?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Was Sean appearing on television during that same period?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And despite doing all those things, to your knowledge, was Sean also still using drugs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes, to my knowledge.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall being asked about breaking up with Sean while you were shooting a movie in South Africa in the fall of 2015 yes?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you remember also being asked about how you blocked contact with him during that time?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Would you have been able to block contact with Sean if you were not on the other side of the world from him?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, would you have been able to block contact with Sean if you were not in South Africa?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: The question needs to be phrased or additional questions need to be asked.
MS. JOHNSON: Despite being far away from Los Angeles, did Sean still contact you during that time?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: How did he contact you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I blocked him, but through other people.
MS. JOHNSON: Who were the other people who were the intermediaries?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I had one of his assistants was with me, and she was one person, but other people that were around him would try to contact me, as well.
MS. JOHNSON: Who were some of the other people that were around him that would try to contact you, if you remember?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I mean, it would be management, security, same people, assistants. Whoever was there at that time.
MS. JOHNSON: When you say management, security, and assistants, are you referring to individuals who worked for Sean's businesses?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And I apologize, Ms. Ventura, if I missed it, but what was the name of the individual who was with you in South Africa who worked for Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Mia.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall yesterday that you were asked about Sean claiming that he could not remember some of the times when he hurt you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: When Sean claims that he couldn't remember hurting you, did you believe him?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Grounds.
MS. ESTEVAO: It's vague and object to the form.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you want me to re-ask the question, Ms. Ventura?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Please.
MS. JOHNSON: Yesterday you were asked some questions about Sean claiming he could not remember some of the times when he hurt you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: When that happened, did you believe him?
CASANDRA VENTURA: No, not every time.
MS. JOHNSON: Why not?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Because I'd tell him.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you tell me what you mean by that answer?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I mean, you know the difference -- he blacked out and I could tell he really blacked out, then I would know that, but I feel like there were times where he was pretty aware of what he was doing.
MS. JOHNSON: Why did you think he was pretty aware of what he was doing?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Because it's just who he was.
MS. JOHNSON: What do you mean by that.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I had seen him be -- I had seen him be violent with other people, so I knew the difference because I had been around it. I don't know if that makes sense.
MS. JOHNSON: Let me try this another way. When Sean claimed he couldn't remember, did you think he was manipulating you?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: That's sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall earlier today that you listened to a recording between you and a man named Sugin?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: What were you talking about during that recording?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We were talking about potentially a video, a sexual video of me that Sugin had seen.
MS. JOHNSON: And during that conversation with Sugin, how were you feeling during that conversation about the video that was the topic?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was just sick about it and was feeling pressure from Sean, so I was going in on Sugin. It was just -- it was weird. It was a weird day.
MS. JOHNSON: What do you mean, you were feeling pressure from Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He was sending me messages to -- because I shared it with him, obviously, right away because we didn't know whether or not it was a freak-off video. And yeah, he just texted me quite a bit and called me quite a bit about it, so I felt like I had to handle the situation.
MS. JOHNSON: When you say he texted and called you quite a bit, are you referring to Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Who, if anyone, was directing you to speak to Sugin?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: And who, if anyone, was directing you not to let Sugin out of your sight?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall being asked if Sean supported you in not wanting freak-off videos to come out?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall defense counsel asking you about Sean accusing you of stealing his drugs while you were in Cannes?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: On the flight home from Cannes, can you remind the jury what Sean did?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He pulled up a video --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection. Beyond the scope.
THE COURT: It's overruled. A. He pulled up a video that I thought I had deleted out of his computer of me having sex with an escort, and he played it the whole flight home.
MS. JOHNSON: And where did that flight depart from?
CASANDRA VENTURA: From the South of France and landed in New York.
MS. JOHNSON: While Sean was playing that video for you the whole flight home, what, if anything, did he say?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He said he was going to release it to embarrass me.
MS. JOHNSON: When you landed in New York, what did Sean insist you do later that night?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A freak-off.
MS. JOHNSON: What were you afraid would happen if you refused that freak-off?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That the video would come out or that he would just be really angry.
MS. JOHNSON: What happened when Sean was angry?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He could be violent, he could just make you feel horrible.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall being asked some questions yesterday about a weekend in New York with Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Specifically --
MS. JOHNSON: Let me see if I can pull that up for you. Ms. Gavin, would you be able to pull up defense exhibit 1019.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes, I remember.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you remember looking at this exhibit yesterday?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, can you please go forward to page 9 of this exhibit.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, directing your attention to the bottom set of blue messages, can you read those, please.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Like the last two or --
MS. JOHNSON: Sorry. The last five, starting with okay.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Okay. I think it would be a nice switch-up for you to come here. Can you come tomorrow early, though, because I have to leave on Monday afternoon. I can book a show for us to go see tomorrow night. We can be like old times and take our Central Park walks, smoke, drink some wine, and just veg out. I'm sorry if I seem a little out of it. They put our oldest dog to sleep today.
MS. JOHNSON: Were these the types of suggestions that you made to Sean about how to spend the weekend in New York?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What ended up happening that weekend in New York?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Freak-off I would guess, I don't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: That's sustained. The jury should disregard the witness's last answer.
MS. JOHNSON: Let's go to page 17, please, Ms. Gavin.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, directing your attention to the top message in the gray bubble on the page from Sean Combs that says, you ready for tonight?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: When Sean said, you ready for tonight, what did you understand Sean to be communicating to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Ready for a freak-off, he was asking me.
MS. JOHNSON: When you respond, yes, I just gta get stuff, what stuff are you referring to?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Stuff, supplies for the freak-off and outfits and whatever else.
MS. JOHNSON: So what did Sean insist you do instead of doing things like going to the park --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: I don't know what the question is. Let's hear the question first.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, what did Sean insist you do instead of your suggestions like going to the park?
MS. ESTEVAO: Object to the characterization.
THE COURT: The question needs to be rephrased.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, you made suggestions of how you wanted to spend this weekend. Do you recall those?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I do.
MS. JOHNSON: What, if anything, did you do instead?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We had a freak-off.
MS. JOHNSON: Whose idea was that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sean's.
MS. JOHNSON: What were you afraid would happen if you did not do that freak-off?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Grounds.
MS. ESTEVAO: It assumes a fact not in evidence. Leading.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you want me to re-ask the question? I asked you if you didn't do the freak-off on this weekend in New York on October 13th, 2012, what were you afraid would happen?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know specifically what I would have been afraid of that weekend.
THE COURT: Then that's done. Next question.
MS. JOHNSON: Yesterday do you recall being asked a number of questions about the side effects of drug use?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you also recall being asked questions about a bad batch of drugs yesterday?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I do.
MS. JOHNSON: Did using drugs ever make you get violent?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Did using drugs -- I feel like drinking more so than drugs, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Did using drugs ever make you get violent?
MS. JOHNSON: Yesterday do you recall being shown a number of messages about the time period leading up to the incident at the Intercontinental Hotel?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, can you please pull up Government Exhibit B-625, which is in evidence. Can you please go to page 2.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, directing your attention to the message on this page, that's from Sean, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And it's from March 5th, 2016; is that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And it says, so what you gonna do so I can plan the rest of my night?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall seeing this message yesterday?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: And yesterday when you were asked multiple times about this question, you responded that so I can plan my night was the key phrase of this message. Do you recall your testimony?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What did you mean by that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: The so I can plan the rest of my night being the key?
MS. JOHNSON: Yes.
CASANDRA VENTURA: This point in 2016, that was just part of our -- the way I understood him. It was a weekly ask, a weekly what are you going to do, what are we going to do. It was just kind of common.
MS. JOHNSON: And so through this text exchange, what did you understand Sean was communicating to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He was asking me if we were going to do a freak-off that night, what's the plan.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you take that down, Ms. Gavin, and go to the next page, please. Can you blow up Sean's message on that page, the blue bubble.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, this is another message from Sean on March 5th, 2016; is that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And it says, what would you want to do?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: In your experience, when Sean said what do you want to do --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: I don't know what the question is. So let's hear the question.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, when Sean said what do you want to do, in your experience, what did that mean?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: That's sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: When Sean said what do you want to do, Ms. Ventura, what was your understanding of what Sean was communicating to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: After the --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection. Same objection.
THE COURT: Ms. Johnson, you're referring to the message we're looking at here?
MS. JOHNSON: Yes.
THE COURT: Why don't you re-ask the question and maybe clarify.
MS. JOHNSON: Sure.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, with respect to this message, what would you want to do, sent on March 5th, 2016, what was your understanding of what Sean was communicating to you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He wanted to know if I wanted to do a freak-off.
MS. JOHNSON: And if you did not respond to Sean messages like this by setting up a freak-off --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection. Sorry.
THE COURT: That's sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: Did you end up having a freak-off at the Intercontinental Hotel with Sean on March 5th, 2016?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What did Sean do to you during that freak-off?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: During that freak-off in the room, before I left, he hit me, and that's what prompted me to leave.
MS. JOHNSON: Where did he hit you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: In my eye.
MS. JOHNSON: And you said that's what prompted you to leave. Did you leave the freak-off before it was over?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Before he said it was over, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: What happened after you left?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He followed me into the hallway and tried to bring me back.
MS. JOHNSON: How did he try to bring you back?
CASANDRA VENTURA: He tried to drag me back.
MS. JOHNSON: And what was he wearing when he was trying to drag you back?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A towel and socks.
MS. JOHNSON: Did you eventually leave the hotel?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. JOHNSON: After Sean tried to drag you back to the freak-off and you left the hotel, did you keep hearing from Sean that day?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Did he keep reaching out to you by phone?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: By text?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Did he have other staff members reach out to you, as well?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And when I say staff members, individuals who worked for Sean reached out to you, as well?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, can you please take this down and pull up Government Exhibit B-631, which I believe the defense admitted this morning. Can you go to the bottom of page 6, please. Can you blow up the final message, please.
MS. JOHNSON: Can you please read that message, Ms. Ventura.
CASANDRA VENTURA: When you get fucked up the wrong way, you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around. I'm not a rag doll, I'm someone's child.
MS. JOHNSON: You can take that down, Ms. Gavin. Ms. Gavin, can you pull up for identification for the witness and the parties only the government exhibit marked A-441-I.
MS. ESTEVAO: No objection.
MS. JOHNSON: I was going to authenticate it first, but if there's no objection, I'll offer the Government Exhibit.
THE COURT: A-441-I will be admitted.
(Government's Exhibit A-441-I received in evidence)
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, who are the participants in this chat?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It's me and Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: Before we get to the specific messages --
MS. JOHNSON: I'm sorry. Can you please publish this to the jury, Ms. Gavin. Can you please go to page 7.
MS. JOHNSON: Focusing your attention on the top two bubbles, Ms. Ventura, do you recall being asked a number of questions on cross-examination about you sending Sean a message saying, hit me when you can, on August 20th, 2018?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: What's the exact timestamp of that message?
CASANDRA VENTURA: 4:08 p.m.
MS. JOHNSON: You can take that down.
MS. ESTEVAO: Let it be reflected that I believe Ms. Ventura misspoke. It says 4:18.
MS. JOHNSON: I think it says 4:08.
MS. ESTEVAO: Oh, I was looking --
MS. JOHNSON: There's two messages. It looks like the first message is 4:08; is that right?
THE COURT: Hold on. Ms. Johnson, do you have a question?
MS. JOHNSON: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, the first message, is that sent on August 20th, 2018, at 4:08 p.m.?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And then there's an identical message below it; is that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: And that's sent on August 20th, 2018, at 4:13 p.m.; is that right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, I want to go back to the page before this, page 6. Ms. Gavin, can you please blow up those four green bubbles.
MS. JOHNSON: Who are these messages from?
CASANDRA VENTURA: They're from Sean.
MS. JOHNSON: Are these messages sent to you from Sean before the two messages we just looked at?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It looks like that, yup.
MS. JOHNSON: And was days are these messages sent on?
CASANDRA VENTURA: August 19th, 2018, and August 20th.
MS. JOHNSON: What does the first message say?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Are you okay.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, were you asked a number of questions this morning about the time Sean raped you in August of 2018?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: What was going on in your life in August 2018 around that time?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Around that time, in August 2018, I was trying to remove myself from this relationship completely. I had moved around quite a bit in LA, and yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you have a clear memory of August 2018?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Not super clear, but clear enough.
MS. JOHNSON: Is it fair to say a lot was going on in your life?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A lot, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you have any doubt that Sean raped you?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
MS. JOHNSON: You can answer, Ms. Ventura. Do you have any doubt that Sean raped you?
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Gavin, can you please go to the next page. Can you go to the page after that. Can you please zoom in on the bottom of page 51.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, can you please read the message in the green bubble on the bottom from Sean.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I know I look bad to you, I could tell I didn't turn you on yesterday, I fell off, I'm about to get my shit together.
MS. JOHNSON: You can take that down now, Ms. Gavin.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, a few weeks after Sean raped you in August 2018, did you have consensual sex with Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And is that when your now husband FaceTimed you during that consensual sex act?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: I don't have that many questions. I just wanted to check with Ms. Geragos on the status of admitting the exhibits.
THE COURT: You may. But is there another way to do this? If it's going to take time to review the list, then you can put it in by agreement at a later time.
MS. JOHNSON: Okay. If the defense is fine with that, I'm happy to proceed that way.
THE COURT: Ms. Geragos.
MS. GERAGOS: We're fine with that, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, do you recall being asked about your settlement with Sean?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you recall defense counsel also asked you just a moment ago about your financial situation in October of 2023?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: And you mentioned that you had a tour scheduled?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. JOHNSON: And you said that the settlement was not the reason you canceled the tour?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. JOHNSON: Why did you cancel the tour?
CASANDRA VENTURA: After filing my civil suit, I just was overwhelmed and I didn't -- I didn't -- couldn't continue doing that at that point.
MS. JOHNSON: What do you mean, you were overwhelmed?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I mean I didn't -- I think just addressing the past the way that I chose to, it was just quite overwhelming and I didn't want to be away from my kids at that time, you know, I just didn't want to go.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you plan to file anymore lawsuits?
MS. JOHNSON: Do you expect to get any money out of testifying at this trial?
MS. JOHNSON: How much money did Sean pay to settle your lawsuit?
CASANDRA VENTURA: $20 million.
MS. JOHNSON: Would you give that money back if it meant you never had to have freak-offs?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I'd give that money back if it meant I never had to have freak-offs. If never had to have freak-offs, I would have agency and autonomy and I would --
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
MS. JOHNSON: You can continue, Ms. Ventura.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I wouldn't have to work so hard to get it back.
MS. JOHNSON: And when you say get it back, are you talking about the agency and autonomy that you mentioned?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you remember when defense counsel asked you yesterday if freak-offs were a special time that you cherished?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: How would you describe the experience of an escort urinating in your mouth while you were on the floor?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. JOHNSON: How many times did Sean insist you have a freak-off when you still had a UTI?
CASANDRA VENTURA: All the time, frequently.
MS. JOHNSON: And did Sean beat you during freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. JOHNSON: Once or more than once?
CASANDRA VENTURA: More than once.
MS. JOHNSON: How did you --
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sorry. You could continue. I'm sorry. You can go on.
MS. JOHNSON: How did you feel during the freak-offs when Sean beat you?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Worthless, just like dirt, like I didn't matter to him, but that I was nothing, like absolutely nothing.
MS. JOHNSON: At the beginning of your relationship, were you open to freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was open in the very beginning to trying it.
MS. JOHNSON: Did defense counsel show you a number of messages that reflected some of that openness over the past two days?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: Did that openness change?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Over time, yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: And after it changed, did you want to have freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I didn't.
MS. JOHNSON: Did you feel that you could say no?
MS. JOHNSON: Did you try to tell Sean that you did not want to do freak-offs?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I tried.
MS. JOHNSON: Once or more than once?
CASANDRA VENTURA: More than once.
MS. JOHNSON: What were you afraid would happen if you refused a freak-off?
MS. ESTEVAO: Objection.
THE COURT: Could you rephrase the question.
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, you testified that you told Sean more than once that you did not want to do freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. JOHNSON: What concerns did you have, if any, about saying no to freak-offs?
MS. ESTEVAO: Same objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I worried for my safety, I worried for my career, but I also was in love with him, so I worried that he wouldn't want to be with me anymore, like, that was part of it, too.
MS. JOHNSON: No further questions at this time.
THE COURT: Thank you, Ms. Johnson. Ms. Estevao.
RECROSS EXAMINATION BY MS. ESTEVAO:
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Ventura, picking up on that, you said that you were afraid that if you said no to a freak-off, that Mr. Combs wouldn't want to be with you anymore, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That was part of it.
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
MS. ESTEVAO: That was part of it, you said?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It was part of it. We were in a relationship.
MS. ESTEVAO: You knew that Mr. Combs's sexual preference were these freak-offs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I learned, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And part of being his girlfriend meant participating in these freak-offs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know that it was a rule, but it was --
MS. ESTEVAO: Not a rule, but it was his sexual preference, and so you knew that part of being his girlfriend meant doing this sort of thing with him, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I would say I learned over time.
MS. ESTEVAO: That's what was animating the fear that he would leave you if you didn't do it, right? The part of it we were just talking about.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah. Sorry. My mind is a little bit all over the place right now.
MS. ESTEVAO: Do you want to take a moment?
CASANDRA VENTURA: You can continue.
MS. ESTEVAO: The government brought up exhibit 1016, can we bring that up, please, defense exhibit 1016.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs asked you, want a freak-off one last time tonight. And you said, I don't want a freak-off for one last time, I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, that's what it says.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to the next page. And the next page.
MS. ESTEVAO: You say, yes, I'm horny, just got over UTI, I did it without meds this time. And he asked you, what you want to do, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go on.
MS. ESTEVAO: And this is what the government went over with you just now. You said, I'm emotional right now, I can't do one last time, right, that's what government counsel pointed out, you can't do one last time?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That's what it says, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And that's in reference to your earlier text message where you said you can't do one last time, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: The text messages, the page before this, you're talking about?
MS. ESTEVAO: When you said, I can't do one last time, I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: So when you're saying you can't do one last time, you're saying you don't want it to be the last freak-off you ever do with him, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I honestly don't know what I was thinking in 2012.
MS. ESTEVAO: But you did say on the earlier page, I don't want it to be the last time, I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That's what it says, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And then the government asked you about certain devices that you turned over to the government in connection with this investigation, and you said that they were broken devices. What did you mean by that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: They were no longer working. I couldn't turn them on.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you kept these broken devices for many, many years, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And those are the broken devices -- those are the devices that the government was able to access, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. ESTEVAO: And those are the devices that ultimately had the only freak-off videos in this case, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know if it was the only ones. I don't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: Those devices are the source of the government exhibits that are the freak-off videos in this case. You're familiar with those videos, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I'm familiar with videos.
MS. ESTEVAO: That came from your devices?
CASANDRA VENTURA: That came from my devices, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Those are the devices that you kept for many years, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And those freak-off videos were from 2012 and 2014, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know what year.
MS. ESTEVAO: Suffice it to say that you kept them for over a decade, those devices for over a decade, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I guess so.
MS. ESTEVAO: Despite being broken?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Government counsel asked you about how this impacted your career and asked about Mr. Combs's ability to continue running his businesses while participating in all these freak-offs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: What did you do on your time when you were not doing freak-offs?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was recovering from freak-offs or I was working in studio.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were working in the studio on your music?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you also were seeing your friends and family?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Occasionally, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were communicating regularly with people in your circles, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were communicating with many employees at Bad Boy Records, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: The government asked you about Mr. Combs's ability to continue running his businesses, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: To your knowledge, many employees for Mr. Combs and Bad Boy understood that he had a major drug problem, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Could you rephrase that just a little bit.
MS. ESTEVAO: Are you aware of any employees expressing knowledge or concern about Mr. Combs's drug problems or drinking problems?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Was it in fact something that was discussed among you and other employees?
CASANDRA VENTURA: At certain times, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: In fact, many of his employees and staff members had to manage his moods in light of his addiction, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We all did.
MS. ESTEVAO: Which employees can you recall who discussed this with you who understood that -- withdrawn. Which employees did you discuss this with?
CASANDRA VENTURA: D-Roc for sure, Mia, Tony Fletcher. There's probably more, I just don't really remember.
MS. ESTEVAO: In fact, it was pretty common knowledge that Mr. Combs had a major drug problem, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: It's sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: Government counsel also asked you questions about Mr. Combs being hard on you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: But he was of course also quite uplifting, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And he sent you many uplifting messages over the many years, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And his messages were also conveyed orally, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And when you met with him, sometimes you met him when he was in a great mood and he lifted you up, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: In fact, most of the time that you were with him, you loved being with him, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Good amount of the time, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Government counsel asked you about being let into his world. Do you remember those questions?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you said it was a world of chaos, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Uh-huh.
MS. ESTEVAO: And it was a world of chaos, you stand by that, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Pretty crazy.
MS. ESTEVAO: It sounds like it was filled with freak-offs and drugs and alcohol and partying, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, but I was referring more to other things, but --
MS. ESTEVAO: What were you referring to?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It's fast paced.
MS. ESTEVAO: He was a major part of the entertainment industry?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And by being with him, you were able to meet all sorts of other people in the entertainment industry, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did meet a lot of people, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were able to go to fascinating places and famous events, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were able to stand by his side at the Met Gala and other premieres and other things like that, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And in many ways, being his girlfriend meant that opportunities were available to you in many different ways, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Couldn't take them all, though.
MS. ESTEVAO: Of course. But you had access to producers and people in the entertainment industry that many other people trying to come up in this business never had, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Within reason.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were given opportunities in terms of your ability to access contacts in the entertainment industry?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sometimes given, but earned, as well.
MS. ESTEVAO: Certainly. And you also had plenty of studio time, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: A lot of studio time.
MS. ESTEVAO: With access to sound engineers, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were given access to all kinds of musical artists, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: We talked about how you were put in the studio with Kid Cudi, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: What other artists were you put in the studio with?
CASANDRA VENTURA: What other artists? Nicki Minaj and I did a song together.
MS. ESTEVAO: Wow.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I worked with a lot of people, didn't really transpire, but I worked with a lot of people.
MS. ESTEVAO: What about Lil Wayne?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you put out a mixed tape called RockaByeBaby, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were proud of that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Very.
MS. ESTEVAO: You put a lot of work into that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Uh-huh.
MS. ESTEVAO: And that was released, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It was released, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And when your relationship with Mr. Combs ended, you were let out of your contract, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was let out -- I had to, yeah, fight my way out of the contract, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: You weren't able to break ties with Bad Boy Records successfully, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Eventually, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: You also had singles with Rick Ross, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And Pusha T, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: Am I missing anyone?
CASANDRA VENTURA: You got a lot of people.
MS. ESTEVAO: I'm sure I'll be reminded if I missed someone. You were saying on redirect that you only wanted to have sex with Sean really, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: When we were together, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you participated in the freak-offs because you wanted to make him happy, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Part of the reason, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you knew that, as I asked you before, you knew that this was the kind of sex that he wanted to have, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I found out through experience.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you believed that you were special in his life because you were able to give him that, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sort of, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Well, you didn't think he was having this kind of sex with anyone else, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was hoping not, but I didn't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: You in fact did hold a special place in his heart, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: You believe that today, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up defense exhibit 1166, the seducing me all day part.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were asked about this message, Mr. Combs saying, you supposed to be seducing me all day, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you sometimes did that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, whatever he wanted, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: When he asked you to do certain things like this, like send him dirty text messages, you did that, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: In this message, this begins with Mr. Combs saying in the subject line, I'm so horny, and what is your response to that?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Omg I was just about to text you the same thing lolol.
MS. ESTEVAO: That's before he says you supposed to be seducing me all day, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Correct.
MS. ESTEVAO: And then your response to that is, lol, sorry, I'm nervous, I feel like I wanna fuck, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: And when you said you're nervous, you were being open about your feelings, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think so. I'm not really sure what I'm nervous about in this text.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson was asking you about how your music career was affected by participating in these freak-offs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And it's fair to say that you've always been a little self-conscious about your musical talents, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah. It's kind of like an abbreviated version of -- yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: I'll rephrase. Your ability to perform under pressure. I'm referring in particular to your performance on 106&park.
CASANDRA VENTURA: It was one performance in the beginning of my career, I did others.
MS. ESTEVAO: Of course. Did you ever suffer from feelings of self-doubt?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: Like anyone would?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were in an industry that required, really, a high level of performance?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Of course.
MS. ESTEVAO: Like very demanding and very competitive, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yup.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were meeting musical artists in the studio that were famous and the top of the entertainment industry, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection. Asked and answered.
THE COURT: Overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Can you repeat.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were in the studio with musical artists who were famous and talented, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Some of the most famous and talented in the country, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Uh-huh.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you were asked to perform at that level, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
(Continued on next page)
MS. ESTEVAO: So it would be natural to assume that feelings of self doubt would keep in when you are singing and performing with those kind of artists, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson asked you about how Mr. Combs was controlling over you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum, yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And from your understanding, was he also controlling over other people?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: In fact, he was controlling over lots of other people, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
MS. ESTEVAO: Based on your understanding.
THE COURT: Let's get a new question.
MS. ESTEVAO: You understood that he was controlling over his other musical artists under the label, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection. Beyond the scope.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Can you ask it again.
MS. ESTEVAO: Were you aware of him being controlling over other artists on his label?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was aware.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we bring up Government Exhibit B-332.
MS. ESTEVAO: This is the government exhibit about the common video. You remember those?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: You recall the specifics of this particular common video?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Specifics meaning --
MS. ESTEVAO: Meaning more details about the -- your potential involvement in the common video.
MS. ESTEVAO: So you don't know one way or another whether or not Mr. Combs' objection to your involvement in the common video was based on some legitimate concern or not, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know. Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: It could have been one of many concerns?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
MS. ESTEVAO: You have no idea?
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: You don't know why Mr. Combs said no to the common video, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: That's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: You don't know why?
MS. ESTEVAO: You also released several music videos while you were with Bad Boy Records, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: How many?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know. You'd have to count. I don't know.
MS. ESTEVAO: Several?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Several.
MS. ESTEVAO: Those were successful?
THE COURT: Let's have a brief sidebar.
(Continued on next page)
(At sidebar)
THE COURT: How much time do we have left?
MS. ESTEVAO: I just have -- maybe quite a few minutes.
THE COURT: I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
MS. ESTEVAO: Fifteen minutes.
THE COURT: OK. One thing that I'd like to avoid, and I know you're almost done, sometimes a question is asked but then you are kind of going and looking at the rest of the members of the defense team. And I think it's disruptive in terms of you have asked a question, so you should listen to the answer. And the jury is seeing it. I don't want that to be an element of this case.
MS. ESTEVAO: I apologize.
MR. AGNIFILO: It's probably our fault. I'll try and keep --
THE COURT: Ms. Estevao is in charge.
MS. ESTEVAO: I'm sorry, Judge.
THE COURT: That's fine.
(Continued on next page)
(In open court)
THE COURT: Please proceed.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were also asked by government counsel about Mr. Combs' ability to continue successfully running his company as well as being a drug addict. Do you recall those questions?
MS. ESTEVAO: And were you aware of other members of his staff knowing about his drug use?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: It needs to be rephrased.
MS. ESTEVAO: Did you have discussions with other members of staff about his drug use?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And which members of his staff knew about his drug use?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think a lot of people, but I don't know specifically who.
MS. ESTEVAO: And Ms. Johnson was asking you about when you were in South Africa, and you blocked Mr. Combs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: And she was asking you about other employees of Mr. Combs that were reaching out to you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And many of those people you also had independent relationships with, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: For example, D-Roc was like a member of your family, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Like a big brother.
MS. ESTEVAO: You were very close with D-Roc?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: In fact, you have had conversations with D-Roc that are completely independent of Mr. Combs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you knew his wife April very well too, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: And the individual Mia, who was an assistant, you also had a friendship with, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: An independent friendship with that that has remained to this day, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It was on and off, but yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And it outlasted your relationship with Mr. Combs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Like I still speak to her, yes.
MS. ESTEVAO: And many other members of Mr. Combs' staff were like family to you as well, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Some people, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And that's why when you broke up with Mr. Combs in the summer of 2015, you sent the video of Mr. Combs and Gina to many members of the staff, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: Because they all betrayed you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I was hurt.
MS. ESTEVAO: That's what you felt?
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson asked you about whether or not you believed Mr. Combs when he said that he didn't remember what he did when he blacked out.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: But you only didn't believe him some of the time, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah. They are not like specific memories of when I believed him and when I didn't.
MS. ESTEVAO: Sometimes you did believe him that he blacked out, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah, sometimes.
MS. ESTEVAO: There were certain times that you assumed that he must have blacked out given how many --
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: There were some times when you believed Mr. Combs when he said he blacked out, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson asked you about Mr. Combs ever being violent with people other than you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And those were instances of Mr. Combs being violent with people who were not his girlfriends, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection, your Honor. Beyond the scope.
THE COURT: The objection is sustained. I think you can ask it separate from what you actually asked.
MS. ESTEVAO: I can move on.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson asked you about the instance when you had a conversation with Sugin, the audio we listened to this morning?
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs wasn't there when you recorded that audio, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't believe so, no.
MS. ESTEVAO: He was on the other side of the country, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: California.
MS. ESTEVAO: And he wasn't telling you what to say, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Not in that specific moment, but before it.
MS. ESTEVAO: He wasn't giving you any specific words to say, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Not right at that moment, but we spoke before, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you texted Mr. Combs before that saying -- asking if he should take Sugin hostage, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: It's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't remember that.
MS. ESTEVAO: And you had that conversation with Sugin in the context of your fear that a video would be released, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And to your knowledge, Mr. Combs also did not want the video released, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And in fact Mr. Combs' involvement in these videos is highly embarrassing to him, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained. Rephrase the question.
MS. ESTEVAO: You understood that Mr. Combs would be embarrassed if this video was released, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: We didn't know it was going to be on the video, but yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Based on your understanding of what was typically on these videos, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Because Mr. Combs sometimes appeared himself in these videos, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Occasionally, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: And his involvement could be inferred even if he --
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
MS. ESTEVAO: If he's not in the video, right?
THE COURT: Sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up Defense Exhibit 1019, which you went over with Ms. Johnson. Can we go down to, I believe the 17th page is where she was.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs asked you: Are you ready for tonight? Ms. Johnson asked you about this message and you said, I knew that he was asking for a freak-off, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: At this point, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Based on the messages before this and your general understanding about what he wanted, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: And in response to that you said yes, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: And nowhere here did you say no, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right. In here, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we go to page 12, please.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs sends you an explicit message at the top, and you respond with another explicit message, right? I'm sorry. You begin the top of this page with an explicit message, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: And he responds with another explicit message?
CASANDRA VENTURA: It's an explicit page, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: We don't need to go through all of these. Suffice to say that you were actively participating in this sexting back and forth, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Um-hum.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up Government Exhibit B-625, please. Can we scroll down to -- there we go.
MS. ESTEVAO: Mr. Combs asked: So what you gonna do so I can plan the rest of my night. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Johnson asked you about this, and you responded that you understood that to mean that he wanted a freak-off, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can you read again your response at the top of the page.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Baby, I want to FO so bad, but I don't want to fuck myself up. What am I to do.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you. When he was asking you, what are you going to do so I can plan my night, that was a question posed to you, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: And you responded: I want to FO so bad, but I don't want to fuck myself up. Right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: You did not say no in response to his message, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up Defense Exhibit 1088, please, page 17.
MS. ESTEVAO: And government counsel was asking you about the Intercontinental incident and about whether or not you left the freak-off early. Do you remember that?
MS. ESTEVAO: And this message at the bottom suggests that the plan was to have a short freak-off, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can you read this message, please.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think if we start at 7 or 8 and end at 4 at the latest, take a Xanax and/or Ambien and go to sleep, we'll be OK. And you rest tomorrow and all day Sunday. You'll be good. And drink a lot of water. We'll be good. But we won't have hours to be caught in a matrix. If we do it, I want you to call Garren and see what he has so it can really be a turn on. But if we're gonna do something, the sooner the better.
MS. ESTEVAO: You stated that you were feeling overwhelmed after your civil lawsuit, right?
MS. ESTEVAO: And that's because this has been hard on you, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: You publicized a lot of very private information, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And have been subjected to a lot of scrutiny, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: And your name has been in the press, right? And it has been hard on Mr. Combs too?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection.
THE COURT: That's sustained.
MS. ESTEVAO: You stated on redirect that you did not have any additional lawsuits other than your suit against Mr. Combs, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Right.
MS. ESTEVAO: You have recently received a settlement from the Intercontinental Hotel, didn't you?
MS. ESTEVAO: You did not?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I haven't received a settlement from the Intercontinental.
MS. ESTEVAO: Did you make a demand on the Intercontinental?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I did.
MS. ESTEVAO: Did you receive anything in response to that demand?
CASANDRA VENTURA: No, I haven't.
MS. ESTEVAO: Do you anticipate receiving some settlement in that case or matter?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I do.
MS. ESTEVAO: How much do you expect to receive?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know the exact number.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can you provide an estimate?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I think it would -- 10 million, maybe.
MS. ESTEVAO: And have you reached the end of settlement discussions with the Intercontinental?
CASANDRA VENTURA: I have.
MS. ESTEVAO: So you expect to receive 10 million?
CASANDRA VENTURA: From the Intercontinental, yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you.
THE COURT: Anything further?
MS. JOHNSON: Yes, your Honor. I have one question on redirect.
THE COURT: I'm asking Ms. Estevao.
MS. ESTEVAO: I have a couple more questions. Thank you.
THE COURT: It's past 15 minutes, so can you get it done in a couple of minutes?
MS. ESTEVAO: Yes. I will be brief. Can we pull up Defense Exhibit 1159, please. Can we go to the next page.
MS. ESTEVAO: In response to Mr. Combs' message of August 5, 2009, when he asked, when do you want to freak off, LOL, what do you say?
CASANDRA VENTURA: LOL. I'm just going up to change and put my ring in. I just picked it up. I'm always ready to freak off. LOLOL.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can we pull up Defense Exhibit 1409, please. Can we scroll down, please. The next page. Next page. Can you highlight the first bubble.
MS. ESTEVAO: Ms. Ventura, this is the last thing I am going to ask you to read.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Thank you. Are you ready?
MS. ESTEVAO: I'm ready.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Sorry. I needed a second to gather my thoughts. The things you said blew my mind a bit. First, I don't hate you. I never have. I wouldn't be at this beautiful point of my life without having been with you. I definitely think of the same day to sit down and just talk because I know that we need closure and understanding.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you so much.
THE COURT: Ms. Johnson.
MS. JOHNSON: Yes, your Honor. I apologize. I have three questions, but I'll be very brief.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. JOHNSON:
MS. JOHNSON: Ms. Ventura, to be clear, do you have any pending lawsuits?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Pending lawsuits, no.
MS. JOHNSON: Do you have any financial stake in the outcome of this trial?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Absolutely not.
MS. JOHNSON: And defense counsel asked you a number of questions about the broken electronic devices that you kept after your relationship with Sean was over.
MS. JOHNSON: Why did you keep those devices?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Because I didn't know what was on them, and I feared bringing them to the Apple store and somebody else seeing what was on them. They were broken.
MS. JOHNSON: When you say you feared what was on them, what specifically were you worried about being on those devices?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Explicit videos.
MS. JOHNSON: No further questions.
MS. ESTEVAO: Can I ask just one question?
THE COURT: It's just going to be one question.
RECROSS EXAMINATION BY MS. ESTEVAO:
MS. ESTEVAO: You just reached the settlement with the Intercontinental last week, right?
MS. JOHNSON: Objection. Beyond the scope.
THE COURT: That's overruled.
CASANDRA VENTURA: I don't know if it was last week. In the past month.
MS. ESTEVAO: Before your testimony today, right?
CASANDRA VENTURA: Yeah.
MS. ESTEVAO: Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you very much, Ms. Ventura. Have a great weekend.
CASANDRA VENTURA: Thank you. You too.
(Witness excused)
THE COURT: We are going to take a break. Ms. Ventura, why don't you go ahead. You've been here a long time. We will let Ms. Ventura leave the courtroom, and we will take a recess. Members of the jury, we will take a recess, and then we will be back with the next witness. All rise.
(Jury not present)
THE COURT: Ms. Comey, who do we have next?
MS. COMEY: Next will be Yasin Binda, your Honor.
THE COURT: Who will be presenting the next witness?
MS. SMYSER: I will, your Honor.
THE COURT: Ms. Smyser. How much time do you need to prepare, to get everything ready? Is it Mr. Binda?
MS. SMYSER: No. It's Special Agent Binda.
THE COURT: Are they ready?
MS. SMYSER: Yes. Just need a few minutes.
THE COURT: Let's take 10 minutes, and then we will come back at 3:30. Ms. Johnson, you were getting up. Did you have something?
MS. JOHNSON: I'm sorry, Judge. I thought you were done.
THE COURT: Mr. Agnifilo.
MR. AGNIFILO: Your Honor. It might not end up being a problem because we have a witness before this, but the witness after this one is someone named Dawn Richard, and the parties have a strong difference of opinion on the scope of your Honor's order precluding large amounts of this particular witness' testimony. It might not be a problem, because I don't know that we are going to get to Dawn Richard today or not, but I don't want start the break without putting this on the Court's radar screen. If the Court remembers, I believe this witness was cited in the government's last enterprise letter, and we objected that the letter was too late in time, and we asked the Court to preclude this witness' testimony concerning what essentially --
THE COURT: Forced labor issue.
MR. AGNIFILO: Forced labor. But the important part is the way it was phrased in your Honor's order. Your Honor was referring to the government's enterprise letter of April 20, 2025. And what your Honor stated in the order, and maybe over the break we can find the transcript, is, your Honor said that everything under what was sort of paragraph 5, the letter -- if the Court remembers it. It may or may not -- was broken into different sections, and there is one section 5 and the Court said everything in section 5 is off limits. And we have a difference of opinion as to essentially what your Honor intended by your order and, as a result, what is going to be part of this witness' testimony and what is not.
THE COURT: What's the difference of opinion?
MR. AGNIFILO: I'm taking your Honor's order at face value, and number 5 has four subdivisions in it. And I believe the order on its face says that all of the four subdivisions of number 5 are off limits.
THE COURT: It's consistent with my recollection.
MR. AGNIFILO: Yes.
THE COURT: Let's hear the response.
MS. COMEY: Thank you, your Honor.
If I may, this is referring to the April 25, 2025 transcript. Your Honor's ruling was at page 45, lines 19 through 24. You said: The Court will exclude the evidence in item 5. The other remaining evidence is not excluded. Then later, on page 51, lines 1 through 8, Ms. Johnson said: I just want to make sure I understand that the Court's ruling is that the government can't argue forced labor as to employee number 4, that's Ms. Richard, but employee number 4 is an individual who has been on the government's witness list for other testimony, and we still intend to call her, and I understand that the Court's ruling on this would not preclude our calling her, and your Honor said: That's correct.
THE COURT: That's also consistent with my recollection.
MS. COMEY: I think the dispute is that, your Honor, some of the testimony that we had already been planning to introduce from Ms. Richard to prove up the enterprise acts in our February 1 letter and to prove up the sex trafficking charged in Count Two with respect to Ms. Ventura overlapped with some of the proof that we would have used had your Honor allowed us to argue that Ms. Richard was a victim of forced labor; and in particular it's that she observed violence, she observed Mr. Combs being violent with Ms. Ventura. We would have argued, had we been permitted, that some of her observations of him being violent was coercive as to her. We will not be making that argument because we understand your Honor's ruling, but we believe her witnessing Mr. Combs be violent to Ms. Ventura is still admissible under our February 1 enterprise letter which notified the defense that we would be proving sex trafficking in part through violence to Ms. Ventura and to prove up Count Two.
And, similarly, we expect Ms. Richard would testify that she observed Mr. Combs and his security in possession of guns, that she observed Mr. Combs in possession of and distributing drugs, and that Mr. Combs and other -- at least one other employee of one of his companies threatened Ms. Richard to keep her silent about the violence and the other crimes that she observed. All of that we think falls comfortably within our February 1 enterprise letter, which previewed those types of acts as the way the enterprise operated. Had your Honor permitted us to, we would have also argued that that is evidence of forced labor. We will not be making those arguments, and we will also not be introducing any evidence on direct examination of Ms. Richard's own experience of violence or coercion at the hands of Mr. Combs because we understand that would only be relevant as to forced labor of Ms. Richard. We will not be eliciting testimony about that topic from her on direct.
THE COURT: With that explanation, Mr. Agnifilo --
MR. AGNIFILO: That's all well and good, but that's totally inconsistent with your Honor's order.
THE COURT: When did this issue come up, by the way, between the parties? Because you now have a present understanding that there is an issue.
MR. AGNIFILO: Yes.
THE COURT: But the issue is coming up at 3:30 p.m.
MR. AGNIFILO: I thought we were going to the end of the day. I emailed the government over lunch when I saw that we were going to end early. And what I suggested to the government -- I'm not the government. It's only a suggestion.
THE COURT: This is reflective really of the issue that the Court addressed earlier, the list of ground rules for the remainder of this proceeding where the parties will be addressing these issues in good faith before we get to the courtroom so that we can address these issues at the beginning of the trial day, which you tried cases in this district. All the folks in the front table have done it, and that's the standard practice. If something could come up during the day, it is brought up early, and the parties tell the Court, we need to get here -- you can tell me to get here at 5 a.m. I will be here to address these issues. But when it comes up at 3:30 p.m., and I don't know how long Special Agent Binda is going to be testifying, but we have the jury here, and they are working really hard. If we have to send them home early because there is a real detailed issue, that's a problem. I'm not saying that to you. I am saying that everybody here.
MR. AGNIFILO: You can say it to me. It's fine. I am happy that we are -- I did not think that we would finish this witness as early as we did. We moved heaven and earth to do that. I didn't think we would be in this position. So as soon as I saw, frankly, that we were going to be in this position, it really wasn't until the lunch break, I emailed the government and I said, we have this great difference of opinion as to this one witness. Why don't you call the other witness first, and then hopefully it will break so that we can maybe resolve this issue at the end of the day.
THE COURT: What I understand Ms. Comey is saying is that taking the Wayback Machine to the hearing that we are talking about, I was told that there were portions of the new enterprise letter that related to existing parts of the case that were reflected in an earlier enterprise letter or that were part of the indicted and the charged acts. As to those pieces of the final enterprise letter, the Court said that's fair game because it was in either the prior enterprise letter or it was in the indictment, so there is no concern with a late disclosure. As you identified, there was the one paragraph that we -- that the Court ruled was out. What I understand Ms. Comey is saying, they are operating consistent with that understanding, that what they are going to put in is either going to relate to material that was in the prior enterprise letter or that was reflected in the charged acts in the indictment. Is that right, Ms. Comey?
MS. COMEY: That's exactly right, your Honor.
THE COURT: What I need some help with, and you can do it after the break, is that if there is a portion of the transcript or if there is something that I'm missing, let me know. If you can do it now, great.
MR. AGNIFILO: What I am going to give your Honor is, I am going to give your Honor the government's last enterprise letter. I'll give your Honor the portion of the transcript where you discuss it, and we will take it from there.
THE COURT: It may be more nuanced than that. I understand that.
MS. COMEY: Your Honor, if I may just expand the record a bit. We informed defense counsel on May 13 that Ms. Richard would be either the next or the second witness after Ms. Ventura. They have had 3500 for Ms. Richard for weeks and it has been clear, through the 3500, what her direct testimony would be. And I would also note that Ms. Richard has flown from across the country to be here to be available to testify today. We would ask that she be permitted to testify, and frankly we take some issue with the defense raising this issue so late in the game when they have been on notice of this for a while.
THE COURT: How long is Agent Binda expected to testify, Ms. Smyser?
MS. SMYSER: Her direct is no more than 45 minutes, your Honor.
THE COURT: How long do you expect Ms. Richard to take?
MS. STEINER: Approximately 30 minutes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Agnifilo, when we come back from the break, are you going to have these materials that you are going to show me?
MR. AGNIFILO: Yes, I am. I am going to have them, as long as our printer works. We have a printer on our 24th floor, and my credibility is now dependent on a printer, but I will make it work.
MS. COMEY: Your Honor, we can print copies of the enterprise letters for your Honor and for Mr. Agnifilo.
THE COURT: We'll just deal with it. Let's take 10 minutes and we will come back.
MS. COMEY: We will go do that.
(Recess)
MS. COMEY: Your Honor, may I be heard, now that we have gotten a chance to look at the enterprise letter?
THE COURT: Yes.
MS. COMEY: On the April 20, 2025 letter, paragraph 5 was the subject of your Honor's order. And I think crucially paragraph 5 begins by saying: On multiple occasions between certain dates, the defendant and others obtained the labor and services of employee 4 by force and threats of force in addition to serious harm and threats of serious harm, including through some of the methods described in paragraph 2 of the earlier letter, in addition to the following. The reason I highlight that is, it makes clear that the subparagraphs are tied to the forced labor allegations. It is not saying these are all of the purposes for which we will be offering this evidence at trial. It is tied to the forced labor allegation. So that is why the government I think very reasonably understood your Honor's ruling to be that we could not prove up forced labor using this evidence. However, as we clarified at the end of the conference, we can use her testimony to prove other aspects of our case, so that is what we would ask that we be permitted to do.
THE COURT: Just so I understand, Ms. Comey, the subparts of paragraph 5.
MS. COMEY: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Those subparts in any prior enterprise letter.
MS. COMEY: A and B are not. C and D would be covered by the broad categories in the February 1 letter for which we did not disclose which witnesses or which pieces of evidence but generally said that we would be proving up different racketeering acts, and those are contained in paragraphs B1, B2, B4, and B5 of our February 1 enterprise letter.
(Continued on next page)
THE COURT: But 5C and D are independently relevant to the sex trafficking charge; is that correct?
MS. COMEY: Precisely, your Honor.
THE COURT: So 5C and D are in, 5A and B are out.
MR. AGNIFILO: Can I be heard, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. AGNIFILO: That's not your Honor's ruling that we've been sort of laboring under is, most respectfully, not that. It's that 5 is out, and 5 has four subcategories.
THE COURT: 5 is out as to the RICO charge. That's why I asked that question, because 5C and D would be evidence the government could bring on the independent sex trafficking charge, which had nothing to do with the RICO charge, except the fact it's also one of the predicates, right?
MR. AGNIFILO: If it were explicitly in one of their enterprise letters --
THE COURT: What does the independent 1591 charge have to do with the separate RICO charge, for which an enterprise letter was provided?
MR. AGNIFILO: The government --
THE COURT: I'm asking you the question, what does one have to do with the other, meaning you have an independent 1591 charge, meaning the government dropped their RICO charge today. They would still have that 1591 charge, they would still call Ms. Richard to testify concerning violence perpetrated against Ms. Ventura, correct, Ms. Comey?
MS. COMEY: Correct, your Honor.
THE COURT: Right. So I'm saying there's no enterprise letter, there was no other bill of particulars sought as to that particular issue. So there was no relief sought in the way of a disclosure. The disclosure was directed towards the RICO charge. So that's why I asked the question, because 5C and D, first of all, it's not coming in for the forced labor acts that are in paragraph 5, Ms. Comey has confirmed that. Ms. Comey is just saying that 5C and D, that kind of testimony may be elicited in direct examination of Ms. Richard because it goes to, among other things, the 1591 charge.
MR. AGNIFILO: That might be along --
THE COURT: That's not something we addressed by the order, it's not what was intended by the order, and 5C and D are in, 5A and B are out consistent with my prior ruling.
MR. AGNIFILO: My exception is noted. Thank you, Judge.
THE COURT: It is. With that, let's have our jury back.
(Continued on next page)
(Jury present)
THE COURT: Ms. Smyser, you may call your next witness.
MS. SMYSER: Your Honor, the government calls Special Agent Yasin Binda. YASIN BINDA, called as a witness by the Government, having been duly sworn, testified as follows: