Another witness gets immunity in Diddy trial

NEW YORK CITY - Sean "Diddy" Combs, one of the most influential figures in music and business over the last three decades, is standing trial on sweeping federal charges.

Prosecutors allege Combs physically and sexually abused individuals for over a decade as the acting leader of a sordid empire. Prosecutors also allege Combs used force and coercion to get victims to engage in what he called "Freak Offs," which were often recorded and could last days.

• MORE: What's happened during the Diddy trial? Day-by-day recap
• MORE: Trump answers whether he would pardon Diddy

Frank Piazza, a forensic video analyst, will be next on the stand, followed by Cassie's friend Bryana Bongolan, a woman who claims Diddy dangled her over a balcony.

Who is Bryana "Bana" Bongolan?

Bryana "Bana" Bongolan testified that Diddy once held her over a 17-story balcony, then threw her onto balcony furniture, leaving her bruised and traumatized. She called his relationship with Cassie "volatile" and said she once saw Cassie with a black eye.

Diddy trial live updates

Rihanna and Beyoncé were mentioned during Wednesday’s testimony in trial when Diddy's lawyer, Nicole Westmoreland, questioned Bryana Bongolan about Cassie Ventura’s failed clothing lines, which she said struggled due to competition with the two superstars, before drawing an objection that was sustained after Westmoreland asked if daily drug use made business productivity difficult.

While on the stand, Bongolan said Jan. 2, 2018 as the last day she hung out with Diddy and Cassie. She revealed the date is tattooed on her neck because it’s the day she decided to get sober.

Bana filed a lawsuit against Diddy in 2024 to "seek justice for what happened to me," she told the court. She said her lawyer wrote the complaint, and that the words are not the same as what she has testified to.

She also claimed that she would give the money back to not have been dangled over a balcony.

2:15 p.m.

Bana says the incident left her in neck brace

Bana said she left Cassie’s apartment and went home after the incident in 2016. She went to take a shower because she felt "disgusting" and noticed a bruise on her leg. 

The jury was shown photos, which were taken on the day of the alleged incident, of Bongolan's legs with a visible bruise.

Bana claimed she went to the chiropractor the same day as the incident because she "was freaked out." She said she did not tell the chiropractor. "I was scared," Bongolan explained to the jury.

The jury was then shown a photo of Bana's back and neck.  She was wearing a neck brace from the chiropractor.

2:11 p.m.

Friend says she thought she was going to fall

Bana says she was close to the ledge when Diddy allegedly came up from behind her, lifted her up and held her up on the balcony in 2016.

She claimed Diddy was holding her over the balcony for about 10 to 15 seconds as he repeated "You know what the f--- you did" multiple times.

1:04 p.m.

Cassie's friend says Diddy threw a knife 

Bryana says one night Diddy banged on the door, woke her and Cassie up, entered the apartment and, during a heated argument threw a knife toward Cassie, who threw it back. 

She says she was scared to call the police, didn’t recall if she was using drugs, and didn’t see any injuries on Cassie that night.

12:58 p.m.

Bryana claimed she and Cassie would get high together

Bryana, 33, who also goes by the name Bana, claimed that she first met Cassie in 2013 or 2014 at "Young and the Reckless."

She says at the time she was working as a graphic designer for Diamond Designs.

Bryana claimed she and Cassie would get high together. 

12:45 p.m.

Second witness of the day takes the stand

Bryana Bongolan, planned to invoke her Fifth Amendment right but Judge Arun Subramanian granted her immunity before testimony began.

She's the third government witness to be given immunity.

Video expert says Cassie surveillance video was not altered

Who is Frank Piazza?

Piazza is a forensic audio and video editor for Legal Audion Video and is a certified video technician. 

Piazza analyzed a total of five phone videos for the prosecution, two cell phone videos and three surveillance videos. Piazza said the cell phone videos were recorded on March 5, 2015, the same day that Diddy was seen on surveillance footage attacking Cassie at the InterContinental Hotel.

He says the cell phone recorded the surveillance off the system and captured a clean version.

During cross-examination, he said the footage could have been recorded on a cheap system.

Jurors watched a video showing Cassie on a wall phone in an elevator lobby, with 10 seconds of missing footage. Piazza said the gap likely resulted from the motion-triggered camera not detecting enough movement to update the timestamp.
 

What happened on Tuesday?

What we know:

Soon after viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway, Diddy sought out a security guard and predicted accurately that his iconic career would be ruined — his image as the affable, successful "Puff Daddy" destroyed — if video of the beating ever became public.

Eddy Garcia, 33, testified that the hip-hop mogul made the comment repeatedly before giving a brown paper bag stuffed with $100,000 in cash to the then guard, in order to buy what he hoped was the only copy of surveillance footage of the March 2016 assault.

What's next:

Another of Combs' alleged victims, a woman testifying under the pseudonym "Jane," could take the stand as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Celebrities mentioned in the Diddy trial

TMZ's Harvey Levin told Fox News Digital that some celebrities are growing concerned about potentially being called to testify as the federal sex crimes trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs continues.

"I have heard that there are some celebrities worried about being called to testify and have even lawyered up trying to fight that," Levin said.

Names mentioned so far in court include:

• Michael B. Jordan
• Usher
• Former President Barack Obama
• Britney Spears
• Bruce Willis
• Jennifer Lopez

None of them have been accused of any wrongdoing.

What is Diddy charged with?

The backstory:

Federal prosecutors have charged Combs with a series of crimes including:

• Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy. Count One charges that, from at least in or about 2004 through in or about 2024, the defendant participated in a racketeering conspiracy during which he agreed with other employees and associates of his businesses to commit kidnapping, arson, bribery of a witness, obstruction of justice, drug distribution, forced labor, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of engaging in prostitution.
• Count 2: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion. Count Two charges the defendant with sex trafficking an adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 3: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Three charges the defendant with transporting that female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 4: Sex trafficking. Count Four charges the defendant with sex trafficking a second adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2021 and ~2024.
• Count 5: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Five charges the defendant with transporting that second female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2021 and ~2024.

He also faces more than 60 lawsuits from alleged victims.

Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs' label in 2005, and the two were on-again-off-again romantic partners for more than a decade starting in 2007. The lawsuit filed in federal court says Combs was "prone to uncontrollable rage" and subjected her to "savage" beatings. It says he plied her with drugs, forced her to have sex with other men, and raped her in her home as she was trying to end the relationship in 2018. Combs, through his attorney, "vehemently denies" the accusations.

How many years does Diddy face?

If convicted, the 55-year-old Diddy could face 15 years to life in prison. 

In documents obtained by FOX News Digital, Diddy’s defense team admitted the disgraced rapper committed "domestic violence" against a partner. Diddy’s strategy seems to be to "admit to what is a lesser, state crime to avoid federal prison."

When was Diddy arrested? 

Diddy was arrested in Oct. 2024 at the Park Hyatt New York in Midtown Manhattan. He's been in jail ever since.

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