It's All About the Sentence

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today.

Sean Diddy Combs received his sentence.

50 months, a little over four years.

This is Bad Rap, the case against Diddy.

I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor and practicing attorney.

This episode, it's all about the sentence.

We'll break down what happened in court today and what it all means.

Sean Diddy Combs returned to a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan today to receive his sentence.

He walked into the courtroom wearing dark pants and a light-colored sweater over a white button-down.

He shook hands with his attorneys, hugged others, and gestured towards his family crammed into the second and third rows of the gallery.

Combs has waited for more than three months since his conviction to learn how much time he would have to serve.

Remember, on July 2nd, a jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but they acquitted him of the more serious charges.

So we do have a split verdict.

Sean Combs has been found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty of sex trafficking Cassandra Ventura.

And just now the jury has decided that Sean Combs is not guilty of sex trafficking his former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane.

So the jury...

Not guilty on sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy meant Combs was no longer facing life in prison.

On the day of the verdict, Combs' defense team said in no uncertain terms, they had prevailed.

Today is a great day.

Today is a win.

Today is a victory of all victories for Sean Combs and our legal team.

But their motion since have told a different story.

Diddy's defense team spent the summer asking the judge to throw out the guilty charges or allow for a new trial.

Government prosecutors rejected this, saying there was quote, more than sufficient basis to support the conviction.

And Judge Arun Subermanian agreed.

He rejected the defense's attempts to overturn the conviction or have a new trial.

He also declined to release Combs on bail while awaiting sentencing.

So Diddy remained locked up in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he's been for more than a year.

So today today in court, it was the judge's job to weigh the evidence, hear the victim impact statements, the recommendations from all involved, and provide a correct and fair sentence.

Now, each transportation to engage in prostitution charge Combs was found guilty of carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years.

So theoretically, the maximum he could have faced was 20 years.

The prosecution argued Sean Combs should be sentenced to just over 11 years, saying the sentence would reflect Combs', quote, decades of unchecked violence and, quote, decades of psychological, emotional, and physical damage he has inflicted.

The defense requested a prison sentence of no more than 14 months.

And with the time he did in MDC counting to that sentence, that's time served.

But there's another party here, the Department of Probation.

Through interviews, they assess all of the factors in this case and also offer the judge a recommended sentence.

Probation recommended a sentence of 70 to 87 months.

So, just a little under six years to a little over seven years.

Behind Combs and his table of attorneys was an especially large crowd of supporters.

So large, in fact, that his family and loved ones were given an extra row of seating so everyone could fit.

The defense had lined up over a dozen people to speak in support of Combs, explaining why he deserved a lighter sentence.

They would take around four hours to finish.

On the prosecution side, there would be only one person who spoke during sentencing, an attorney.

There'd be no victims speaking in court.

Now, the prosecution had intended to have the woman who went by the pseudonym Mia, a former assistant of Combs, who testified in the trial that he abused her.

But this morning, we learned Mia withdrew.

U.S.

Attorney Kristy Slavic said a bullying letter from the defense was part of her reasoning.

Other victims and witnesses for the government submitted letters to the judge.

We'll get to those in a bit.

The prosecution said the defense's long lineup of Combs' supporters was an attempt to, quote, drown out the voices of victims in favor of character witnesses.

This list of character witnesses included Diddy's own attorneys.

I've never seen anything like this.

Throughout the day, his counsel took to the podium, describing the man that they've spent the past several months working for, an industry pioneer who created unparalleled opportunities for black Americans, and a man who recognizes his difficult past and has grown from it.

They even highlighted an entrepreneurship course Combs taught to fellow inmates while in jail called Free Game with Diddy.

and they pointed out that he had upcoming teaching engagements later this month.

Then, all of Combs' adult children, ranging in age from 18 to 34, approached a podium together to address the judge.

The six of them held on to each other for support.

His 31-year-old son, Justin Combs, said, I ask that you give my father a second chance, a second chance at life, a second chance to right his wrongs, a second chance to be the man he truly is.

One of his 18-year-old twin daughters, Jessie Combs, immediately broke down in tears as she introduced herself to the judge, then saying, Your Honor, he is still our dad.

They mentioned Diddy's youngest child, two-year-old Love.

19-year-old Chance Combs said, Love deserves a father who tucks her in at night.

Sean Combs was emotional while his children spoke, often wiping away tears.

and hanging his head.

Diddy is first first and foremost a producer, so his team delivered what might be the most important production of his life.

An 11 and a half minute video painting Diddy in the most positive light possible.

As a cultural icon, a philanthropist, and more than anything, a devoted father.

Every Sunday I gotta slow everything down and

do the family ritual, get the family together, make some girls watching church.

There is a definition of grace that is warned.

After the video and nearly four four hours of defense arguments, it was the prosecution's final opportunity to address the judge.

Prosecutor Christy Slavic attempted to refocus the sentencing hearing on the crimes for which Combs was convicted.

The defendant very clearly knew what he was doing was wrong and illegal, she said, and he did it anyway for 15 years.

Slavic tried to compare the emotional video produced by the defense team to the grainy security camera footage showing Combs violently attacking Cassie Ventura in 2016.

The defendant is a master manipulator of his own image, she said.

That image is incomplete and misleading.

She argued that Combs has shown disrespect for the law by continuing to offend, and he continues to avoid accountability.

He continued committing crimes.

He viciously assaulted Jane, she said.

Despite what he says now, he is not a changed man now.

You cannot trust his words.

Slavic was the only person to speak for the government.

And then, around 4 p.m.

today, we heard from Sean Combs himself.

He let out a deep exhale as he rose from his seat to address the judge, the man who would soon decide his fate.

I want to thank you for giving me the chance to speak up for myself, Combs said.

One of the hardest things I've had to handle handle is having to be quiet, not being able to express how sorry I am for my actions.

He apologized to Cassie Ventura and the woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane, his ex-girlfriend.

Quote, I've been humbled and broken to my core.

I hate myself right now, Combs said.

He continued by saying he took full accountability and responsibility, and quote, I know that the prosecution wants to make an example of me.

I just want you to think about making an example of what a person can do if they got another chance.

If you give me another chance, I won't let you down.

Judge Supermanian began his remarks by acknowledging Combs' business success and impact on the black community.

He also commended Combs for getting sober.

However, the judge said that, quote, a history of good works cannot wash away the record in this case.

He noted that even after Cassie filed her lawsuit and Combs issued an apology, the rat mogul continued to behave violently towards Jane.

Judge Subramanian directly quoted a portion of Jane's testimony about a violent evening when Combs allegedly forced her into a hotel night after attacking her.

An interaction that took place just months before Combs was arrested in New York.

The court is not assured that if released, these crimes would not be committed again, the judge said.

Judge Subermanian said that his sentence should hopefully send a message to other survivors of domestic abuse that violence against women is met with real accountability.

The judge also had a message for the victims who testified.

You stood up to power, the judge said.

The number of people who you reached is incalculable.

With that, he sentenced Sean Diddy Combs to 50 months, just a little over four years, for the two prostitution-related charges.

When the sentence was read, Sean Diddy Combs sat expressionless in his seat.

Just ahead, reaction to the sentence and analysis.

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All right, so let's talk about how this sentence actually works.

Sean Combs is sentenced to 50 months in prison.

In the federal system, you typically do only 85% of the sentence.

The easiest way of calculating that is for every year, you only do 10 months in prison.

But you also have to account for the fact that he's been in MDC for a little over 12 months.

And so doing my math, that's about two and a half, three years.

Sean Combs could be out by spring or summer of 2028.

To me, that was somewhat shocking.

The words and almost the scolding that the judge gave Sean Combs and the way that he spoke about how Sean Combs' past didn't negate the facts of the case made me think that he'd be closer to probation's estimate.

His sentence would be closer to seven or eight years.

So to become 20 months below what probation has suggested, that was a surprise.

So if you got 10 defense attorneys and ask them the same question, why did the judge come to this number?

I'm assuming you'll get probably 10 different answers.

But this is what I imagine.

I think the judge was looking at the sentencing guidelines as to what someone would do in prison if they were just convicted of this crime.

And that looks something closer

to three, four years.

And if that's his metric, and then he's adding more time based on the violence that came from this case, based on that, 50 months is going on the higher end from what he is estimating is the proper amount of prison time a person should get.

He disregarded the guidelines that were given to him and used his own assessment to see where Sean Combs should fit in that scale.

And then I think he went a little above that based on everything he told Sean Combs when he sentenced him.

Now, Sean Combs isn't your typical defendant for a number of reasons.

I don't typically have clients who have all of this goodwill behind them.

They don't have a re-entry list and program already set up for them to have teaching engagements and to to be monitored.

They don't have a montage of videos that are this well produced.

They don't have five defense attorneys not only stepping up to speak on his behalf, but talking about how he positively affected them.

And I think that's unique and new to even the judge.

And that could have influenced him in this sentence as well.

Don't get me wrong.

There is a lot of bad there to look at, but it is unique to have this much good to calculate with a defendant in federal court.

I can understand the argument that the government made that having so many character witnesses would mute or silent the voices of the victims.

But for Sean Combs, it cannot be held against him that through the decades of him being a producer and an artist, that there are a lot of people willing to come forward and say positive things.

They are given an opportunity to write letters just as all the victims that we know and do not know or did not know up until this point had an opportunity to speak as well.

While not everyone was heard in this sentencing hearing, the judge went through stacks of letters that were submitted both from the defense and the government.

One of them of note was from Cassie Ventura herself.

Now, we haven't heard from Cassie since she left the witness stand at the start of the trial in May.

In her letter, she writes, quote, if there is one thing I have learned from this experience, it is that victims and survivors will never be safe.

Although I can hope for justice and accountability, I have come to not trust anything.

I hope that your decision considers the truths at hand that the jury failed to see.

The defense submitted dozens of letters from those asking the judge to show mercy.

It included letters from fellow inmates, former employees, friends, and Combs' family, his mother, sister, children, and the mothers of his children.

And one of the alleged victims, Gina Wynne, also known as victim number three in the federal indictment against Sean Combs.

She wrote to the judge that she felt, quote, pressured to feel like a victim, but is now asking the judge to quote, consider releasing him back to his family.

It's interesting.

Of the four victims the federal indictment was built around, two submitted letters with the prosecution, one submitted a letter with the defense team, and the fourth victim, Jane, has not said anything.

The judge considered all of this, and he said so in his sentencing just as he gave Sean Combs 50 months in prison.

Now the question is, what's next for Sean Combs?

After sentencing, we know that Sean Combs' attorneys, Mark Icnifilo and Brian Steele, both said that they're seeking to appeal this sentence.

Mark Icnifilo believes that the strongest argument on appeal is that the judge used coercion as a basis for a lengthy sentence, a factor that he says the jury had acquitted Sean Combs of, specifically those sex trafficking charges.

Brian Steele says that this is a very bad day for everyone.

That there's a human being now in custody for 50 months based upon conduct that the jury heard, the jury resolved, and the jury rejected.

Another thing the defense is likely to do is ask the judge that they be able to recommend what prison he goes to.

Through his sentencing and the arguments, there was a great emphasis on him being in Miami, his mother having brain surgery at the age of 83.

I would imagine that a request would be made that he would be housed in a prison close to either his youngest children or his mother.

From there, the Bureau of Prison will take the sentence from the judge and calculate what Sean Combs' actual release date is.

With the arguments from the defense attorneys in terms of what they see as a path towards appealing this criminal case,

There may be a question ultimately as to how long Sean Combs will be in prison.

But that's not the only question.

That's only part of the story.

Because Sean Combs' defense team says he faces nearly 100 civil lawsuits.

Many will likely be resolved with a settlement that we won't know what the dollar amount is.

But some, theoretically, could go to trial.

This may be the end of a long criminal saga against Sean Combs, but civilly,

this is just the beginning.

Bad Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy, is a production of ABC Audio.

This episode was produced by Nancy Rosenbaum, Audrey Mozdek, and Sasha Aslanian with help from Caitlin Schiffer.

Special thanks to Katie Dendas, Caitlin Morris, Peter Haralambus, Aaron Kursky, and Michelle Margulis.

Josh Cohan is our director of podcasting.

Laura Mayer is our executive producer.

For much more reaction and analysis on the sentencing of Sean Diddy Combs, check out abcnews.com.

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