Since Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September of last year, headlines have been flooded with RICO charges, accusations of abusive behavior, and baby oil. Coverage has been star studded: Tony Buzbee accused Jay-Z of playing a part in the freakoffs, Cassie and Kid Cudi gave testimony in the courtroom, and Brian Steel joined Combs’s legal team after Anthony Ricco quit for reasons he refused to share. He was charged with some very serious crimes that could, were he found guilty, have him spending the rest of his life behind bars. Today, the jury returned a verdict on the five charges he was eventually tried for. While he will be going somewhere (and that somewhere appears to be prison), the Bad Boy for life managed to avoid a life sentence. Washington Post has coverage:
Sean “Diddy” Combs and his family were jubilant Wednesday after a jury acquitted the music producer of the most serious charges against him: sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. But the jury found Combs guilty of two prostitution-related charges that could carry years of prison time, and it was not immediately clear if he will be freed from jail while he awaits sentencing.
The responses to Diddy beating the sex trafficking and RICO charges have ranged from genuine questions about why some charges stuck and others didn’t:
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Decrees of triumph:
And people — I’m not making this up — pouring baby oil over each other to celebrate:
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And while the charges that stuck could see Combs facing upwards of 20 years, folks are already speculating on how that time could be reduced or pardoned:
And considering that many talking heads covered the Diddy trial as if he were dead to rights:
Knocking off three of the five major charges against Diddy will be an (infamous) feather in Brian Steel’s cap for years to come:
Sean Combs partially acquitted in sex-trafficking case, avoids life sentence [Washington Post]
Earlier: Jay-Z Caught Up In Diddy Freakoff Fallout
Sean Combs’s Former Lawyer No Longer Arguing Over Whether Diddy Did It
Sean Combs Recruits Super Lawyer To His Side
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.