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Today, defense attorney Teny Geragos cross-examined “Jane,” a pseudonym for one of Diddy’s ex-girlfriends. Geragos pressed her on the inner workings of her relationship with the hip-hop mogul and attempted to complicate the witness’ wrenching account of alleged forced sex, physical violence and abuse.
Here’s what you need to know:
- PRESSURE: Jane said Diddy “introduced me to this lifestyle, under a lot of emotional pressure.” She said that she originally “didn’t understand the terms of the relationship,” but she eventually learned the rapper expected frequent “freak offs” with escorts. She described a “pressure to do these things he desired,” as well as “fulfill my duties as a girlfriend.”
- MONEY: Jane confirmed Diddy wire-transferred around $150,000 to her during their relationship. He sometimes used the offer to pay her rent as a “tool,” she testified, implying that the gestures were a “reminder” of his power.
- DRUGS: Diddy’s alleged reliance on drugs and alcohol concerned Jane, she said. She recounted a trip to the Turks and Caicos when he appeared to have jaundice, graying gums and shaking hands. “I felt like he was overdoing the partying,” Jane said.
🔎 The view from inside
By Adam Reiss, Chloe Melas and Katherine Koretski
Jane repeatedly broke down crying during her direct examination yesterday. But she was markedly more reserved and less visibly emotional during today’s cross-examination. In one notable moment, however, she became testy with Geragos during an exchange about luxury handbags.
Geragos asked her whether she had ever received Bottega bags. Jane replied: “I’m sure you have one.” Geragos then asked her how much a Bottega bag costs. Jane responded: “How much does my body cost?” The witness asked for a short break after the heated back and forth.
Diddy, for his part, nodded and even smiled throughout Jane’s cross-examination. He nodded vigorously as she described putting on lingerie to please him.
👨⚖️ Analysis: The credibility question
By Danny Cevallos
Jane may be a victim of Diddy’s domineering cruelty. She may have been mistreated by him. She may have been under his Svengali hold. But she also may have credibility problems.
It’s interesting that our justice system trusts jurors — no matter their background or education — to decide whether witnesses are credible. In fact, the courts place few limits on a juror’s ability to make credibility determinations.
The court can instruct the jury to view with caution the testimony of, say, an informer or a drug addict. The court will also tell jurors that if they believe a witness knowingly testified falsely concerning an important matter, they can distrust the witness’s testimony concerning other matters. But these instructions mostly empower — not restrict — a juror from making credibility determinations.
In my view, Jane’s cross-examination gave the jurors reason to distrust her testimony. First, she was at times snarky with the defense counsel during cross-examination. Bad idea. It never looks good. But worse, she didn’t own bad facts. She has an explanation for everything.
When confronted with the sexually explicit text messages she sent Diddy, she said she did it only to keep him happy. When witnesses don’t own bad facts, it looks bad.
When witnesses fight with the counsel during cross-examination, it looks bad. It means that even if Jane is telling the truth about everything, the jury may find she told the truth about nothing.
🗓 What’s next
Tomorrow: “Jane” is expected to return to the stand for more cross-examination. The proceedings will start later than usual, at 1 p.m. ET.
BTW: Every night during Diddy’s trial, NBC’s “Dateline” will drop special episodes of the “True Crime Weekly” podcast to get you up to speed. “Dateline” correspondent Andrea Canning chats with NBC News’ Chloe Melas and special guests — right in front of the courthouse. Listen here. 🎧
