Given at the end is an article. Analyze it and output in the following JSON format.
{
"analysis": {
"bias": {
"score": "1-10, where 1-10 measures UNFAIR or UNHELPFUL bias.
As the AI analyst, you must judge:
1. Fairness of Bias:
- Is the tone/alarm proportional to events?
- Is criticism warranted by facts?
- Are similar actions judged equally?
2. Utility of Bias:
- Does the bias help readers understand real implications?
- Does it highlight genuine concerns that neutral language might minimize?
- Does it provide valuable context through its perspective?
Example: An article about climate change might use emotional language
and scary scenarios. While this is technically 'bias', it might be
USEFUL bias if it helps readers grasp real dangers that cold, neutral
language would understate.
A high bias score should only be given when bias is both unfair AND unhelpful.",
"description": "Explain both unfair and useful bias found. For each biased element:
1. Is it fair/warranted?
2. Does it serve a valuable purpose for readers?
3. Should it be removed or retained?"
},
"missing_context_misinformation": {
"score": "1-10",
"points": [
"", # DIRECTLY provide essential context the reader needs without ANY phrases like "the article lacks/doesn't/fails to mention/omits" etc. Simply state the relevant facts. Each point up to 5 sentences as needed. Up to 10 points. NEVER refer to the article itself or what it's missing - just supply the information directly. The missing context should try to compensate for the bias in the article, and not just add related information.
]
},
"disinformation_lies": {
"score": "1-10",
"points": [
"" # Provide corrections for verifiably false statement. These lines should be brief. Upto 10 points.
# Use Wikipedia (via the search tool) to verify events and dates up through 2025-07-02. Any event dated ≤ 2025-07-02 should not be marked as disinformation if it matches Wikipedia. Only flag statements you can not verify or that Wikipedia contradicts as of 2025-07-02.”
]
}
},
"summary": [], # A list of 2 to 5 paragraphs. Provide a version that: * Retains key facts and proportional concerns, * Removes unfair bias while keeping warranted criticism, * Adds critical missing context, * Corrects any inaccuracies. Remove author attribution. Maintain article's POV - no meta-references. You can decide the most appropriate length based on the article.summary can be longer than the article if needed.
"title": "Provide an Appropriate Title Based on the Article's Content.",
"changes_made": [
"List significant changes made in the summary",
"Include both removals and additions",
"Note bias adjustments"
],
"key_words": [
"3-10 relevant terms to help identify related articles",
"Focus on major themes and topics"
],
"keywords_update": {
"keyword-to-add-or-update": "new summary or updated to replace the previous"
}
}
KEYWORDS UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS:
- We want to save new information from beyond your knowledge cutoff of Mar 2024.
- Information can come from the provided article or Wikipedia.
- Pick up to 3 keywords of highest importance to update with new information.
- If a keyword lacks a summary, write one from scratch.
- For each keyword, list one line per new fact (up to 50 sentences per keyword).
- Each fact must:
1. Be one or two sentences long.
2. End with 1-3 references in brackets, e.g. [apnews], [nytimes,wikipedia].
3. Immediately after the reference(s), append a hyphen and the date of the event or when the fact was reported, in ISO format:
`Statement. [source] - [YYYY-MM-DD]`
- If you update an existing keyword's source (e.g. [foxnews] → [apnews]), ensure the replacement is supported by an article.
- Ensure each keyword is specific enough that its new facts warrant inclusion.
<example>
ARTICLE TOPIC
Raiding of 100+ immigrants allegedly illegal alients and alleged members from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and the Hells Angels for deportation. Authorities also found drugs at the underground nightclub at a strip mall in Colorado Springs. President Donald Trump praised the raid, saying on TruthSocial it had targeted some of the worst people in the US, whom he alleged judges are reluctant to deport.
keywords worth updating:
tren-de-aragua (I am sure this gang has a big list of information, but this deportation will be worth a mention)
tren-de-aragua+deportation (a more specific keyword that can take more detail about this incident)
trump+illegal_deportation (add this to the list of illegal deportations conducted by trump administration)
colorado_springs (this is a unique event for this town. an update here will add some trivia.)
trump+immigration (a key fact worth mentioning about how trump is implementation his immigration policies)
keywords to not update:
trump (too broad. not one of top 50 facts related to trump.)
illegal_deportation (depending upon existing content, may be too crowded for this incident to be added)
colorado (too broad, unlikely to fit this event in top 50)
drug_raids (too broad, unlikely to fit this event in top 50)
</example>
<existing_keywords_summaries>
sean-diddy-combs+sex-trafficking :
rico+racketeering-conspiracy :
cassie-ventura+testimony :
sex-trafficking+prosecution-challenges :
freak-offs+evidence :
mann-act+transportation-prostitution :
celebrity-criminal-trials :
federal-sex-crimes+conviction-rates :
witness-credibility+financial-motives :
domestic-violence+sex-trafficking :
sean-diddy-combs+trial-verdict :
rico+celebrity-prosecutions :
sex-trafficking+consent-defense :
mann-act+interstate-commerce :
witness-testimony+financial-settlements :
sean-diddy-combs+trial-verdict :
rico+celebrity-prosecutions :
sex-trafficking+consent-defense :
mann-act+interstate-commerce :
witness-testimony+financial-settlements :
</existing_keywords_summaries>
<wikipedia_requested_titles>
TITLE Sean Combs
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969) is an American rapper, singer, producer, and actor. Combs has used many stage names during his career. He currently uses Diddy but has also used P Diddy and Puff Daddy. He was born in Harlem, New York. He started his musical career in 1988. He is in connection with Bad Boy Records. He is the richest hip hop musician. Combs has won three Grammy Awards. Three albums that he executive produced were put on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2001 Combs acted in Made. In 2010, Combs released his fifth album known as: Last Train to Paris.
== Legal issues ==
On November 16, 2023, Combs' ex girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura filed a $30 million sexual assault lawsuit against him, alleging that he subjected her to a decade-long “cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking.” Cassie claimed that the abuse began when their relationship started that also included a 2018 rape after she tried to leave him, and multiple instances of domestic violence. Combs' attorney has denied the allegation. He would settle the lawsuit on November 17.
On March 25, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security raided Combs' property relating to a ongoing investigation. On September 16, police arrested Combs on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering in Manhattan. He would appear in court the next day and the judge denied his bond.
=== Claims about sexual misconduct ===
In September 2024 one of Combs's daughter's came forward to expose her father's incestual attacks.
== Personal life ==
Combs has six children. He is also the stepfather of his former girlfriend Kimberly Porter's son Quincy.
== Discography ==
Studio albums
1997: No Way Out
1999: Forever
2001: The Saga Continues...
2002: We Invented the Remix
2006: Press Play
2023: The Love Album: Off the Grid
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Documentary ===
== Awards ==
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
== References ==
TITLE Mann Act
The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law. It was passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825; codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421–2424). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois.
The act made it illegal to bring women or girls from one state into another for the purpose of "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose," which means for them to have sex for money. The law was there to stop human trafficking. Most human trafficking was people taking young women from place to place for prostitution. The Mann Act was one of a group of laws about moral reform, during an era that was known as Progressive Era.
It had a problem though: the language used was often ambiguous or unclear. It was even used to make agreed sex between adults a crime. This was because people thought of sex as immoral if the two people were not married. Congress changed it twice, in 1978, and 1986, so that it would only be used for prostitution or other illegal sexual acts.
== Promotion ==
In the 19th century, in many American cities, people could only sell sex for money in some areas of the city. These were called red light districts. During that time, cities became more urbanized; also more women started to work. This meant that there would be more cases, where courtship could take place without supervision. In this environment, a concern of "white slavery" started: the fear was that women would be kidnapped and forced into prostitution. In 1847, Charles Sumner had described the Barbary slave trade. The ideas originally were from this description.
Communities started to set up vice commissions, to look how widespread local prostitution was. They also looked into questions, if the prostitutes were forced, and if cartel-type organizations ran local prostitution. These commissions also closed the brothels and the red light districts. The laws in the cities, which were liberal at first became more and more restrictive. Throughout the last few decades of the 19th century, there was more and more opposiition to an open prostution on the streets. The Federal Government responded to this with the Mann Act. The purpose of the act was to make it a crime to "transport [...], or aid to assist in obtaining transportation for" or to "persuade, induce, entice or coerce" a woman to travel. Many of the changes that occurred after 1900 were a result of tensions between social ideals and practical realities. Family form and functions changed in response to a complex set of circumstances that were the effects of economic class and ethnicity.
According to historian Mark Thomas Connelly, a group of books and pamphlets appeared announcing a startling claim: There was a conspiracy, which trapped white girls, seduced them, and forced them into prostitution, or 'white slavery'. These stories started around 1909. They often wrote about innocent girls "victimized by a huge, secret and powerful conspiracy controlled by foreigners", as they were drugged or imprisoned and forced into prostitution.
This excerpt from The War on the White Slave Trade was written by the United States District Attorney in Chicago:
One thing should be made very clear to the girl who comes up to the city, and that is that the ordinary ice cream parlor is very likely to be a spider's web for her entanglement. This is perhaps especially true of those ice cream saloons and fruit stores kept by foreigners. Scores of cases are on record where young girls have taken their first step towards "white slavery" in places of this character.
Connelly says that these issues were real problems that had been there for a long time. The concerns simply made them bigger. These issues came from the fact that many young girls from the countryside came into the cities looking for work. Some of them became prostitutes, because they were well-paid.. A number of Vice Commission reports had drawn attention to the issue. Some people of the time questioned the idea of abduction and foreign control of prostitution through cartels. Emma Goldman was a noted radical and feminist. She asked "What is really the cause of the trade in women? Not merely white women, but yellow and black women as well. Exploitation, of course; the merciless Moloch of capitalism that fattens on underpaid labor, thus driving thousands of women and girls into prostitution. With Mrs. Warren these girls feel, 'Why waste your life working for a few shillings a week in a scullery, eighteen hours a day?' ... Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of woman is responsible for prostitution." While prostitution was widespread, contemporary studies by local vice commissions indicate that it was "overwhelmingly locally organized without any large business structure, and willingly engaged in by the prostitutes."
Suffrage activists, especially Harriet Burton Laidlaw and Rose Livingston, took up the concerns. They worked in New York City's Chinatown and in other cities to rescue young white and Chinese girls from forced prostitution, and helped pass the Mann Act to make interstate sex trafficking a federal crime. Livingston publicly discussed her past as a prostitute and made the claim that she was abducted and developed a drug problem as a sex slave in a Chinese man's home, narrowly escaped, and experienced a Christian conversion. Although her claim was unsupported by evidence, her story exemplified the stereotypes used to pass the Mann Act—fear of foreigners, especially Chinese men; abduction and drugging in order to be raped and enslaved; a narrow escape; and salvation through Christian conversion. Other groups like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Hull House focused on children of prostitutes and poverty in community life while trying to pass protective legislation. The American Purity Alliance also supported the Mann Act.
=== Notable prosecutions under the Mann Act ===
== References ==
== Books and articles on the subject ==
Langum, David J. (1994). Crossing Over the Line: Legislating Morality and the Mann Act. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 1–311. ISBN 978-0-226-46880-8. OCLC 30075897.
Haines, Gerald K.; Langbart, David A. (1993). Unlocking the Files of the FBI: A Guide to Its Records and Classification System. Wilmington, Delaware: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8420-2338-2. OCLC 25873598.
Donovan, Brian. White Slave Crusades: Race, Gender, and Anti-vice Activism, 1887-1917. United States: University of Illinois Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-252-09100-1ISBN 978-0-252-09100-1.
== Other websites ==
"International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic" (PDF). Paris, France: The United States Library of Congress. May 18, 1904.
TITLE Cassie Ventura
Casandra Elizabeth Ventura (better known as Cassie; born August 26, 1986) is an American singer, actress, model and dancer. She began her career by way of meeting record producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004.
Cassie's self titled first album was released in August 2006. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200. It has the Billboard Hot 100 Top 3 hit "Me & U". She released the song "Official Girl" (which also had Lil Wayne) in 2008. Then she released "Let's Get Crazy" with Akon and "Must be Love" with Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Cassie is signed up to modeling agency Wilhelmina Models and One Management. She earlier modeled for Calvin Klein one. She has been shown in magazines, like GQ.
Cassie made her movie start as Sophie Donovan in the dance movie Step Up 2: The Streets in 2008. She also sang the lead song "Is it You" from the Step Up 2 soundtrack.
Cassie was born in New London, Connecticut.
== Lawsuit against Combs ==
On November 16, 2023, Ventura filed a $30 million sexual assault lawsuit against Combs, alleging that he subjected her to a decade-long “cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking.” Cassie claimed that the abuse began when their relationship start that this included a 2018 rape after she tried to leave him, and multiple instances of domestic violence. Combs' attorney has denied the allegation. The lawsuit would be settled for undisclosed sum on November 17, 2023.
== References ==
TITLE Human trafficking
Human trafficking (or Trafficking in human beings) is a way to exploit people. People are sold, bought, traded much like slaves , and are even sold to couples who don't have children. It is estimated to be a $5 to $9 billion-a-year industry. Trafficking victims typically are recruited by using force or because they are deceived, or fraud is used, power is abused, or they are simply abducted. Threats, violence, and economic problems can often make a victim consent to exploitation.
Human trafficking should not be confused with human smuggling.
== General ==
Exploitation includes forcing people into prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. For children exploitation may also include forced prostitution, illegal international adoption, trafficking for early marriage, or recruitment as child soldiers, beggars, for sports, such as child camel jockeys or football players, or for cults.
The norms based on international human rights law, such as Vienna Declaration and the Yogyakarta Principles prohibit human trafficking and Council of Europe and Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union also prohibit them and do effort to save the victims.
== Sex trafficking ==
Sex trafficking is human trafficking, where the main idea is to trick or force people so they can be used for sexual needs. This is fundamentally different from sex work or prostitution. Prostitution and sex work is legal in many countries. Human trafficking is almost always illegal.
=== Victims ===
Many are women, but it is not rare for men to also be trafficked. Their ages, ethnic and their socioeconomic background all vary. Still there are groups of people that are more high-risk.
Homeless and runaway young people
People that move from other countries and have low resources
People who have gone through physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
People who have been mistreated in their life and have low social skills
=== Perpetrators ===
In 2017, researchers analyzed 1,416 child sex traffickers that were arrested in the United States in the past 10 years and it was found that 75.4% of traffickers are male and 24.4% are female. In average they were younger than 30 years.
=== Methods ===
Trafficking controlled by pimps: A person is controlled by one trafficker called a pimp. They sometimes use promises of marriage or possible modeling chances to attract victims. Other times they simply use intimidation, brainwashing and kidnapping.
Trafficking done by gangs: It is a lot like pimp-controlled trafficking, but a person is controlled by a large group of people. They can also attract people by making them trust them. Gangs now have been using sex trafficking because it is safer and leaves more money than drug trafficking.
Trafficking done by a person's family: The person is controlled by members of their own families. They let them be exploited and ask for something in return, usually drugs or money.
Trafficking done by cybersex: Cybersex trafficking means the live streaming of forced sexual acts and/or rape on camera of trafficked victims.
Forced marriage: When a person is sent to another country, forced into a marriage and then is forced to participate in sexual conduct with their new partner, then the experience is considered sex trafficking.
== Child trafficking ==
Child trafficking is defined as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" of a child for the purpose of exploitation. The commercial sexual exploitation of children can take many forms. This includes forcing a child into Child prostitution or it can be other forms of sexual activity like child pornography. Exploitation may also involve forced labour or services like slavery. It can mean practices similar to slavery such as servitude or the removal of organs, illegal adoption, or recruitment as child soldiers.
== Related pages ==
Child marriage
Forced marriage
Political corruption
Hague Adoption Convention
Gaslighting - A form of psychological abuse that can make human trafficking easier
== References ==
TITLE Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessman, media personality, and politician who is the 47th president of the United States since 2025. Before, he was the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. Trump was also the chairman of The Trump Organization from 1971 to 2017.
Trump is a billionaire. Much of his money was made in real estate in New York City, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City. From 2004 to 2015, Trump was the host of his own reality television show The Apprentice.
Trump became the Republican Party nominee for president in 2016. He won that year's presidential election against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He was inaugurated as the 45th president in 2017. Trump lost a second term to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. He did not agree with the result and said he won the election by a "big amount". He tried but failed to change the election results.
In 2022, Trump announced another presidential campaign for the 2024 presidential election, where he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to be elected the 47th president.
In 2023, Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. In 2024, he became the first former U.S. president convicted of a felony. He is the first felon to serve as president.
== Early life ==
Donald John Trump was born at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, New York City. He is the son of Fred Trump and his wife Mary Anne (née MacLeod). They married in 1936. His mother was born on the Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland. Donald was one of five children. Donald's oldest brother, Fred Jr., died in 1981 at the age of 43, due to an alcohol addiction. Trump's sister, Maryanne, is a judge in New York. Trump's father's parents were German immigrants.
His grandfather, Frederick Trump, immigrated to the United States in 1885. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1892. Frederick married Elisabeth Christ (October 10, 1880 – June 6, 1966) at Kallstadt, State of Bavaria, Germany, on August 26, 1902. They had three children. He studied at Fordham University until transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump was not drafted during the Vietnam War. This was due to four college deferments and one medical deferment. In an interview with The New York Times, he said his medical deferment was because of heel spurs.
== Career ==
=== Hotel developments ===
Trump began his career at his father's real estate company, Elizabeth Trump & Son. He later renamed the company The Trump Organization, which has its headquarters at 40 Wall Street. The company focused on middle-class rental housing in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. One of Trump's first projects, while he was still in college, was the revitalization of the foreclosed Swifton Village apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father had purchased it for $5.7 million in 1962. Trump became closely involved in the project. With a $500,000 investment, he turned the 1200-unit complex with a 66 percent vacancy rate to 100 percent occupancy within two years. In 1972, the Trump Organization sold Swifton Village for $6 million.
Trump has developed many real estate projects. They include Trump International Hotel and Tower in Honolulu, Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, and Trump Tower in Tampa. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one Trump construction project was put on hold in favor of another (Trump International Hotel and Tower in Fort Lauderdale). Trump Towers in Atlanta was being developed in the housing market, however the project fell after the 2008 recession and instead buildings that didn't belong to Trump were built.
In its October 7, 2007 Forbes 400 issue, "Acreage Aces", Forbes valued Trump's wealth at $3 billion. Since 2011, his net worth has been estimated from $2 billion to $7 billion. Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.1 billion in 2019.
=== Beauty pageants ===
From 1996 until 2015, Trump owned part or all of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants.
=== Wrestling support ===
Trump is a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) fan, and a friend of WWE owner Vince McMahon. In 1988–89 he hosted WrestleMania IV and V at Boardwalk Hall (dubbed "Trump Plaza" for storyline purposes) and has been an active participant in several of the shows. Trump was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 at Madison Square Garden for his contributions to the promotion. He made his sixth WrestleMania appearance the next night.
=== The Apprentice ===
In 2003, Trump became the executive producer and host of the NBC reality show The Apprentice, in which a group of competitors battled for a high-level management job in one of Trump's commercial enterprises. In 2004, Trump filed a trademark application for the catchphrase "You're fired!"
For the first year of the show, Trump earned $50,000 per episode (roughly $700,000 for the first season), but following the show's initial success, he was paid $1 million per episode. In a July 2015 press release, Trump's campaign manager said that NBCUniversal had paid him $213,606,575 for his 14 seasons hosting the show.
On February 16, 2015, NBC announced that they would be renewing The Apprentice for a 15th season. On February 27, Trump stated that he was "not ready" to sign on for another season because of the possibility of a presidential run. On June 29, after a widespread negative reaction stemming from Trump's campaign announcement speech, NBC released a statement saying, "Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump." Trump was replaced by former Governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
=== Political activity before 2015 ===
Trump switched between political parties a number of times. He registered as a Republican in 1987, a member of the Independence Party in 1999, a Democrat in 2001, a Republican in 2009, with no political party in 2011, and a Republican in 2012.
In 2011, Trump said that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya; Obama was actually born in Hawaii. If Obama had been born in Kenya, he would not have been allowed to run for president. Trump repeatedly said that Obama was lying about where he was born, an idea called "Birtherism". Even after Obama shared his birth certificate with the public, Trump suggested that it could be fake.
== 2016 presidential campaign ==
=== Announcement ===
Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for president of the United States for the 2016 elections on June 16, 2015. He made the announcement at 11am EST from his headquarters in Trump Tower in New York City. Trump launched his campaign saying, "We are going to make our Country Great Again" with a commitment to become the "greatest jobs president." Trump's official campaign slogan was "Make America Great Again." That was first used by Alexander Wiley, but Donald Trump trademarked it.
On May 4, 2016, Trump became the presumptive nominee after his only challengers, Texas United States senator Ted Cruz and Governor of Ohio John Kasich, dropped out.
=== Border security and illegal immigration remarks ===
During his announcement speech he stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration, which drew a reaction from critics.
=== Ideology ===
Trump has described his political leanings and positions in many ways over time. Politico has called his positions as "eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory". He has listed several different party affiliations over the years, and has also run as a Reform Party candidate. The positions that he has revised or reversed include stances on progressive taxation, abortion, and government involvement in health care.
He has supported Christian groups in the U.S., claiming that he will reverse unfavorable tax treatments preventing them from expressing themselves in the political arena and promising to revive a more widespread use of the phrase "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" in department stores. Other issues he highlighted include taking care of military veterans, making the military "strong", aggressive bombing of the Mideast terrorist group ISIS, surveillance of certain mosques in the U.S., and making trade agreements more favorable to American workers.
=== Primaries ===
Trump entered a large field of candidates consisting of 16 other Republican candidates campaigning for the nomination, the largest presidential field in American history. By early 2016, the race had mostly centered on Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. On Super Tuesday, Trump won the majority of the delegates and remained the front-runner throughout the primaries.
Finishing in June 2016 with nearly 14 million votes, Trump broke the all-time record for winning the most primary votes in the history of the Republican Party.
=== General campaign and election ===
After becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump's focus shifted to the general election, urging remaining primary voters to "save [their] vote for the general election." Trump began targeting Hillary Clinton, who became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 6, 2016 after beating Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries, and continued to campaign across the country. Clinton had established a significant lead in national polls over Trump throughout most of 2016. In early July, Clinton's lead narrowed in national polling averages following the FBI's conclusion of its investigation into her ongoing email controversy.
On September 26, 2016, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton faced off in the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Lester Holt, an anchor with NBC News, was the moderator. This was the most watched presidential debate in United States history.
On November 8, 2016, Trump won the presidency with 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232 votes, even though Trump won a smaller part of the popular vote than Clinton. He is the fourth person to become president without winning the popular vote. The final popular vote difference between Clinton and Trump is that Clinton finished ahead by 2.86 million or 2.1 percentage points, 48.04% to 45.95%, with neither candidate reaching a majority. Trump's victory was considered a big political upset, as nearly all national polls at the time showed Hillary Clinton with a modest lead over Trump, and state polls showed her with a modest lead to win the Electoral College. In the early hours of November 9, 2016, Trump received a phone call in which Clinton conceded the presidency to him. Trump then delivered his victory speech before hundreds of supporters in the Hilton Hotel in New York City.
Trump's presidential transition team was led by Chris Christie until November 11, 2016, when Vice President-elect Mike Pence took over.
== First presidency, 2017–2021 ==
=== Inauguration ===
On January 20, 2017, Trump was sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts as President of the United States at his inauguration ceremony at the United States Capitol Building. Within his first hour as president, he signed several executive orders, including an order to minimize "the economic burden" of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
On the Saturday following Trump's inauguration there were massive demonstrations protesting Trump in the United States and worldwide, including the 2017 Women's March.
=== Cabinet and staff ===
The following people were part of Donald Trump's cabinet. They are the most senior officers of the executive branch.
Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson (2017-2018), Mike Pompeo (2018-2021)
Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin
Secretary of Defense: James Mattis (2017-2019), Mark Esper (2019-2021)
Attorney General: Jeff Sessions (2017-2018), William Barr (2019-2021)
Secretary of the Interior: Ryan Zinke (2017-2019), David Bernhardt (2019-2021)
Secretary of Agriculture: Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Labor: Alexander Acosta (2017-2019), Eugene Scalia (2019-2021)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Price (2017), Alex Azar (2018-2021)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson
Secretary of Transportation: Elaine Chao
Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry (2017-2019), Dan Brouillette (2019-2021)
Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: David Shulkin (2017-2018), Robert Wilkie (2018-2021)
Secretary of Homeland Security: John F. Kelly (2017), Kirstjen Nielsen (2017-2019)
The following people held other important jobs in the executive branch. They are also selected by the president.
White House Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus (2017), John F. Kelly (2017-2019), Mark Meadows (2020-2021)
United States Trade Representative: Robert Lighthizer
Director of National Intelligence: Dan Coats (2017-2019), John Ratcliffe (2020-2021)
Ambassador to the United Nations: Nikki Haley (2017-2019), Kelly Craft (2019-2021)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Mick Mulvaney (2017-2020), Russell Vought (2020-2021)
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: Mike Pompeo (2017-2018), Gina Haspel (2018-2021)
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt (2017-2018), Andrew R. Wheeler (2019-2021)
Administrator of the Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon (2017-2019), Jovita Carranza (2020-2021)
=== First days ===
On January 23, 2017 Trump signed the executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement between the United States and eleven Pacific Rim nations—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam that would have created a "free-trade zone for about 40 percent of the world's economy." Two days later, he ordered the construction of the Mexico border wall. He reopened the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline construction projects.
On January 27, an order suspended admission of refugees for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns about terrorism. Later, the administration seemed to reverse a portion of part of the order, effectively exempting visitors with a green card. Several federal judges issued rulings that curtailed parts of the immigration order, stopping the federal government from deporting visitors already affected.
On January 30, 2017, Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates because of her criticisms of Trump's immigration suspension. On January 31, 2017, Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
=== Allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election ===
Trump claimed there was no collusion and no obstruction and on May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey after he reportedly asked for more information and funding for the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. The White House stated that this was not true, and that Trump fired Comey in order to end the investigation. After The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn was under investigation by U.S. counterintelligence agents for his communications with Russian officials, Flynn resigned on February 13, 2017. Two days later on February 15, Trump's Secretary of Labor-nominee Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination due to not having support from Democrats or Republicans to confirm his nomination.
As of March 2018, Trump is reportedly a "subject" of the Robert Mueller investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, meaning his conduct is being looked at, but not a "target" which would indicate the likelihood of criminal charges.
=== Military actions ===
On April 7, 2017, Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Airbase as a reaction to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.
=== Healthcare ===
On May 4, 2017, the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA) was passed narrowly to replace and repeal Obamacare by the United States House of Representatives with a vote of 217 to 213, sending the bill to the Senate for voting. This is the second time the AHCA was voted in the House as the first version was not approved by the House in March 2017.
=== Paris Agreement withdrawal ===
On June 1, 2017, he announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate agreement, making the United States one of only three nations, including Syria and Nicaragua, to do so. On June 16, 2017, President Trump announced that he was "cancelling" the Obama administrations deals with Cuba, while also expressing that a new deal could be negotiated between the Cuban and United States governments. In response to President Biden's rejoining of the Paris Climate agreement, President Trump withdrew once again after being inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
=== First actions to impeach ===
On July 12, 2017, California Representative Brad Sherman formally introduced an article of impeachment, H. Res. 438, accusing the president of obstructing justice regarding the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
=== LGBT rights ===
On July 26, 2017, Trump tweeted that the "United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." Trump cited the alleged "disruption" and "tremendous medical costs" of having transgender service members.
=== Unite the Right rally ===
Between August 11 and 12, 2017, there was a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia regarding the removal of Confederate statues. Trump did not speak out against white nationalists explicitly, instead condemning "hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides" leading people to think he did not take a harsh approach on racism.
=== North Korea ===
In late August, Trump dramatically increased tensions against North Korea, warning that more threats against the U.S. will be responded to with "fire and fury like the world has never seen." North Korean leader Kim Jong-un then threatened to direct the country's next missile test toward Guam. Trump responded in his war-related service that if North Korea took steps to attack Guam, "things [would] happen to them like they never thought possible."
In March 2018, Trump fired United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Mike Pompeo. Later that month, the White House confirmed that President Trump would accept a meeting invitation from Kim Jong-un. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "in the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain."
In May 2018, Trump announced on Twitter that he will meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on June 12, 2018, in Singapore for peace talks.
=== Immigration ===
In September 2017, Trump controversially oversaw the rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or "DACA" which removed protections for children immigrants and removed benefits. The decision was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Two injunctions in January and February 2018 allowed renewals of applications and stopped the rolling back of DACA, and in April 2018 a federal judge ordered the acceptance of new applications; this would go into effect in 90 days.
=== Hurricane Maria ===
On October 3, Trump visited Puerto Rico after it was damaged by Hurricane Maria and the next day visited Las Vegas to visit the victims from the Las Vegas shooting.
=== Economy ===
In December 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which cut the corporate tax rate to 21%, lowered personal tax brackets, increased child tax credit, doubled the estate tax threshold to $11.2 million, and limited the state and local tax deduction to $10,000.
In February 2018, Trump praised the bill for increasing pay for millions, after announcements of bonuses from many companies. These bonuses have been criticized by the bill's opponents as publicity stunts, and economists have said many of them would have happened anyway due to low unemployment.
=== First impeachment ===
On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to have Trump impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the Senate found Trump not guilty of all charges.
=== 2020 re-election bid ===
Trump announced his plans to run for a second term by filing with the FEC within a few hours of assuming the presidency. This transformed his 2016 election committee into a 2020 reelection one. Trump marked the official start of the campaign with a rally in Melbourne, Florida, on February 18, 2017, less than a month after taking office.
By January 2018, Trump's re-election committee had $22 million in hand, and it had raised a total amount exceeding $67 million by December 2018. $23 million was spent in the fourth quarter of 2018, as Trump supported various Republican candidates for the 2018 midterm elections. He made an official re-election campaign launch on June 18, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.
In the 2020 primaries, Trump faced primary challenges from former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and former U.S. Representatives Joe Walsh. Former South Carolina Governor and former U.S. Representative Mark Sanford also campaigned against him but withdrew from the race.
Trump lost re-election and refused to concede.
=== Defeat and attempts to overturn results ===
On November 7, Trump was defeated by former Vice President Joe Biden after Trump lost Pennsylvania and Nevada. Trump claimed voter fraud through the mail-in voting and threatened to use the United States Supreme Court to stop the states from counting the vote. He had unsuccessfully sued many states trying to make him the winner in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia.
Many Republican representatives and senators planned to object the United States Congress's formally recognizing Biden's electoral college victory on January 6, 2021. In early January 2021, Trump made a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in an attempt to find "11,780 votes" trying to remove Biden's victory in the state.
=== U.S. Capitol riots ===
On January 6, 2021, while the United States Congress were certifying the election results, rioters stormed the United States Capitol in violent protests across Washington, D.C..
After this, Trump got his Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts deleted. On January 8, 2021, Trump was banned from Twitter. The events from the Capitol riots led to new efforts to impeach Trump from the presidency.
=== Second impeachment ===
His actions towards the Capitol riots, led to the U.S. House to impeach Trump for a second time, making him the only President to be impeached twice.
=== Court appointments ===
During his presidency, Trump appointed three justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
== First post-presidency, 2021–2025 ==
=== Election obstruction case (in federal court) ===
Trump is being prosecuted (as of 2024), "for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election". About when the case can go to trial: "it almost certainly" cannot happen before the presidential election in November, according to Politico.com; Furthermore, about the chances of the case going to trial: "there’s still [a possibility, or] a narrow window" for that to happen. The case is being handled by a lower court in the federal court system.
Media said that the Supreme Court’s decision in July, says "that former presidents have “absolute” immunity from criminal prosecution over actions that fall within their “core constitutional powers,” and that they are also entitled to immunity for many other “official” acts."
The indictment was [made narrow, or] narrowed by the supreme court's decision (in July), according to media.
Earlier (August 1, 2023) a Washington D.C. federal grand jury indicted Trump on four counts related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election:
Conspiracy to defraud the United States
Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
Obstruction of an official proceeding - and trying to obstruct that proceeding
Conspiracy against rights
This Election obstruction case, is sometimes called the "federal election case in Washington D.C." Trump is charged with conspiring to subvert the 2020 election, according to media.".
Trump is charged with conspiring to subvert the 2020 election, according to media".The judge (in the trial) "has scheduled a Sept. 5 hearing to set a course for the case", according to media. Furthermore, during the previous month, a new "indictment [... removed] some specific allegations against Trump".
==== 2024 hearing in U.S. supreme court ====
The supreme court made (July 2024) its decision about its hearing about Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution. The decision says, according to media, that "Trump is immune from prosecution for some [things, or] acts in" at least one of the court cases, the federal election case; Furthermore, "The opinion leaves much [without a decision, or] unresolved; Furthermore, the court has sent "the case back to trial court for further proceedings".
Some of the decisions (by the court), are called an opinion.
Earlier (April 2024), the U.S. supreme court started to hear (ideas or) arguments about immunity against prosecution.
The hearing is sometimes called Trump v. United States (2024).
=== Falsifying business records (trial in state court) ===
In May 2024, Trump was convicted by a jury; The judge (in the case) is supposed to hand down a sentence, on November 26; Earlier, Trump "had a probation interview as part of the sentencing process for his criminal conviction", according to media; Furthermore, he "did the interview [by video link, or] virtually from his Florida home ... with a probation officer at the Manhattan court"; Trump's lawyer was alongside Trump. From the day of getting his sentence, Trump will have 30 days to make an appeal. Trump is not detained (as of the beginning of July). He has not been ordered to (pay or) post bail (in this case.)
A (theory about Law, or a) "legal theory [was used in the court case,] that [made it possible or] enabled prosecutors to [change or] transform 34 misdemeanor counts [...] into a felony case against" Trump, according to Politico.com.
Earlier, Michael Cohen [gave] his testimony; He is "prosecutors’ key witness against" Trump, according to the media. Earlier, Stormy Daniels gave her testimony.
Earlier (April 15, 2024), the trial started.
Earlier (March 30, 2023) the Manhattan district attorney's office confirmed that a New York grand jury had indicted Trump.
Media wrote (September 3, 2024) that the judge is "weighing requests from Trump to toss out the verdict or postpone the sentencing hearing until after Election Day".
=== Classified documents case (in federal court) ===
There is no date for the trial in Florida [as of July 5]; Trump's lawyers have asked the judge, if Trump can get a "chance to argue the immunity issue", in front of the judge "between now and early September, [... and that will delay or pause] all other proceedings in the case by two months". Earlier (March 1, 2024) a hearing was held; The judge "did not [make or] issue any rulings", during the hearing.
Earlier (June 8, 2023) the Justice Department indicted Trump in Miami federal court, for
on purpose, keeping "national defense information under the Espionage Act"; He has been charged with doing those 31 times.
"One count of making false statements, and"
(together with or) "jointly with a personal aide ... conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding government documents, corruptly concealing records, concealing a document in a federal investigation and scheming to conceal [the efforts of those two people, or] their efforts".
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. The judge in the court case tried to find out in court if the U.S. attorney general "is supervising Jack Smith" [as of June 2024]; The judge did not get information about how much contact there is between the special prosecutors and the U.S. attorney general.
On July 15, 2024, the judge at Donald Trump's trial for withholding classified documents after his departure from the White House annuls the entire procedure, considering that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegal.
The case is sometimes called the Government and classified documents case.
==== Background ====
On December 19, 2022, (a committee of the U.S. Congress, or) the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack recommended criminal charges against Trump for obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and inciting or assisting an insurrection. Earlier (August 8, 2022) FBI agents searched Trump's residence, office, and storage areas at Mar-a-Lago to find government documents and material Trump had taken with him when he left office in violation of the Presidential Records Act. The items taken in the search included 11 sets of classified documents; Four of those had the tag "top secret" and one had the tag "top secret/SCI", the highest level of classification. The search warrant (was signed by, or) was approved by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
=== Other trials and cases ===
==== Georgia election interference case (in state court) ====
The state of Georgia has criminal charges against Trump. A trial "will not come before a jury in 2024", according to media (in June). Furthermore, an appeals court made a decision (early June 2024), to stop pretrial proceedings while a panel (of three) judges thinks about having the lead prosecutor kicked off the case; She is also the district attorney of Fulton county.
Earlier (May 2024), an appeals court made a decision to hear the [ demand] that the district attorney should be kicked off the case against Trump. Three "of the 13 felony counts [that] Trump faces in the case", have been taken away, according to media (on March 13, 2024); Furthermore, "the central charge of a racketeering conspiracy aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state", is still in place. (A count, is an offence that a defendant gets charged with, in an indictment.)
As of 2024's first quarter, there are allegations that there has been (wrong behavior or) prosecutorial misconduct in that case. The judge ruled (March 15) that the district attorney "can continue" in the case against "Trump and his co-defendants ... if one of her top prosecutors on the case ... is removed from the team"; That prosecutor resigned that day. In regard to the court hearings about taking the district attorney off the case (or disqualifying her): On March 1, there was a court hearing. Earlier (February 27) one of those that witnessed at an earlier hearing, testified again; He had been ordered to testify again. Media said earlier (February 23) that a new affidavit from a private investigator, says that phone records show that the district attorney and Nathan Wade had more than 2,000 phone calls and more than 11,000 text messages during an 11 month period of 2021; The district attorney and Wade have testified that they were not in a romantic relationship during that time; Earlier (February 15) a hearing started; Earlier (February 12), the judge in the case said that he will consider taking district attorney Fani Willis off the case, if there was a financial conflict-of-interest between Willis and the man that she gave a job to (as special prosecutor in the Trump case); That man is Nathan Wade.
Earlier (February 2), Willis said in a document to the court, that she has been in a personal relationship with Wade since 2022.
As of the beginning of March 2024, trial dates for 15 defendants have not been set; Four other defendants have earlier made a guilty plea.
The court case is in Fulton County Superior Court, a state court. Georgia election racketeering prosecution, is one of the names of the case.
==== New York State's fraud case (trial in civil court) ====
In September 2022, the New York State Attorney General filed a fraud case (a civil lawsuit) against Trump, his three oldest children, and the Trump Organization.
In February 2024, the court found Trump (responsible according to law, or) liable. Trump said he would appeal the verdict. In March, the court system said that he "can post a bond of $175 million while he appeals the verdict". On April 1, he posted bond. A U.S. authority has asked [the court] (and "filed notice"), "for evidence that the company, which backed the bond ... can pay up if" necessary.
The case is sometimes called New York civil investigation of The Trump Organization.
==== E. Jean Carroll's lawsuits (trial in civil court) ====
In February 2024, there was a verdict against Trump. The next month, Trump got "a bond that will prevent E. Jean Carroll from immediately enforcing [a c. $83 million, or] an $83.3 million defamation verdict while Trump" is appealing (or asking for another trial, in a higher court).
=== Cases with a final decision (or verdict) ===
==== Case about being on the ballot (March 2024) in Illinois ====
Trump won a case in March 2024; He gets to have his name on the ballot in Illinois. During the previous month, Trump appealed a court ruling in Illinois, that says that the Illinois Board of Elections must remove Trump's name from the ballot of the (March 19) primary election.
=== 2024 presidential campaign ===
On November 15, 2022, Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States presidential election and created a fundraising account.
He has won 995 delegates, as of March 6, 2024. He needs to have 1,215 to win the primary elections (or the Republican presidential caucus).
Trump won in Utah, Alaska, California, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Those elections were held on Super Tuesday.
He lost Vermont and American Samoa (March 6, 2024).
Earlier (March 4) he lost Washington D.C.
Earlier Trump won 4 states: Missouri, Michigan, South Carolina, and Iowa. He won a landslide victory in the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses.
On July 15, 2024, the first day of the Republican National Convention, Trump announced JD Vance as his nominee for vice president.
==== Attempted assassination ====
On July 13, 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump. People at the rally and in videos have shown that Trump was bleeding from his right ear after the shooting. He put his fist into the air for a few seconds. He was quickly brought to a vehicle afterwards. He was brought to the hospital. The shooter and a spectator were killed. Trump and two others were injured.
== Second presidency, 2025–present ==
=== Presidential transition ===
Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States in November 2024. He beat vice president Kamala Harris. He became the second president in U.S. history elected to serve non-consecutive terms after former president Grover Cleveland. The Associated Press and BBC News described it as a comeback for a former president. At age 78 at the time of the 2024 election, Trump is the oldest person to be elected U.S. president, and the first convicted felon to become U.S. president. He was also set to become the first Republican in twenty years to win the popular vote in the U.S. presidential elections. Trump received congratulatory messages from politicians all over the world.
== Personal life ==
Trump has five children by three marriages and has ten grandchildren. Trump is a Presbyterian. As a child, he began going to church at the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens.
=== Marriages ===
Trump married his first wife, Czech model Ivana Zelníčková, on April 7, 1977, at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. They had three children: son Donald Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977), daughter Ivanka (born October 30, 1981), and son Eric (born January 6, 1984). Ivana became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988. By early 1990, Trump's troubled marriage to Ivana and affair with actress Marla Maples had been reported in the tabloid press. They were divorced in 1992.
Trump married his second wife, actress Marla Maples in 1993. They had one daughter together, Tiffany (born October 13, 1993). The couple were separated in 1997 and later divorced in 1999.
In 1998, Trump began a relationship with Slovene model Melania Knauss, who became his third wife. They were engaged in April 2004 and were married on January 22, 2005, at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, in Palm Beach, Florida. In 2006, Melania became a naturalized United States citizen. On March 20, 2006, she gave birth to their son, whom they named Barron Trump.
=== Health ===
A medical report by his doctor, Harold Bornstein MD, showed that Trump's blood pressure, liver and thyroid function were in normal range. Trump says that he has never smoked cigarettes or consumed other drugs, including marijuana. He also does not drink alcohol, a decision after his brother's death caused by alcoholism. His BMI, according to his December 2016 visit on Doctor Oz, is just under 30, which is "high".
In February 2019, a new medical test found Trump to be clinically obese. He was later diagnosed with coronary artery disease.
On October 1, 2020, Trump announced on Twitter that he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19. He was briefly hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
== References ==
== Other websites ==
Donald J. Trump for President campaign website
Bio of Trump at the Trump Organization
Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
Profile at Project Vote Smart
Donald Trump on IMDb
Trump Appearances on C-SPAN
Donald Trump at the Open Directory Project
</wikipedia_requested_titles>
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<article>
Whether prosecutors in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs have proven their case is a question that will be answered by his jury, which soon will start deliberating in the hip-hop mogul’s blockbuster sex trafficking trial after hearing from 34 witnesses in testimony over more than six weeks.
A conviction certainly is not assured, with lawyers and legal analysts saying there is ample room for jurors to find reasonable doubt – particularly on the racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
“This is not a walk in the park case; this is not a home run, at all,” said trial attorney and legal analyst Misty Marris. “There are a lot of technicalities where I think the prosecution case has vulnerabilities.”
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Federal prosecutors allege Combs and some of his closest employees comprised a criminal enterprise that used threats, violence, forced labor and bribery to force his ex-girlfriends Cassie Ventura and “Jane” – a pseudonymous accuser – to participate in sexual acts called “Freak Offs” or “hotel nights,” and to protect his reputation.
In the government’s closing argument Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik worked to distill these allegations down to their essence, explaining how they together encompass a single charge: racketeering conspiracy.
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Illustration by Leah Abucayan/CNN/Getty
How a trial works: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ federal criminal trial is underway
Combs, she said, sat atop a “kingdom” whose purpose was to serve, enable and shield him from accountability as it fulfilled his personal and sexual desires – allowing a powerful man to become “more powerful and more dangerous.”
“The defendant used the money and the gravitas from his businesses to facilitate the crimes that he and his inner circle committed,” Slavik said.
Combs also is charged with two counts of sex trafficking Ventura and Jane and two counts of transporting the women and male escorts for the purposes of prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted of the most serious charges, Combs could face up to life in prison and a minimum sentence of 15 years.
While the evidence supporting charges of transporting people for prostitution is relatively straightforward, it remains to be seen whether prosecutors have effectively linked Combs’ alleged criminal activity to an enterprise – and indeed proven such an enterprise existed, legal analysts said. And accusations of sex trafficking and the case more broadly have been undercut by the defense’s contention that these acts, while perhaps unseemly, were consensual and separate from his lawful businesses, the analysts said.
“Was (Combs) running a criminal enterprise?” asked CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. “Or was he running a legitimate, iconic business that was overwhelmingly successful, and he was just a very flawed and broken person who was doing some personal things on his personal time, and not using an organization to further criminality?”
“Those are the competing narratives in the courtroom.”
The case for racketeering conspiracy
Prosecutors’ toughest challenge will likely be securing a conviction on the racketeering conspiracy charge, experts agreed, citing its complexity and the novelty of its application in the Combs case.
The charge stems from the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which was created to prosecute organized crime, like the mafia. Any racketeering case is focused on a so-called “enterprise,” or a group of people engaged in the alleged misconduct.
To secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove Combs and at least one other person committed at least two crimes known as “predicate acts” within a 10-year window to further the enterprise. They specifically sought to prove transportation for purposes of prostitution, witness tampering, bribery, forced labor and drug-related offenses, but on Wednesday indicated they would not argue attempted arson and attempted kidnapping, according to a letter prosecutors submitted to the judge.
Combs has been charged alone, despite prosecutors alleging the enterprise included Combs and members of his inner circle, including his bodyguards and high-ranking employees.
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Sean "Diddy" Combs and his defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo watch as Joseph Cerciello, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, is questioned by defense lawyer Teny Geragos during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., June 24, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Prosecutors in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs case no longer pursuing attempted arson and kidnapping theories
In fact, jurors did not hear directly from many of these people – and that will be “one of the biggest uphill battles for this particular prosecution,” said CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates.
For example, prosecutors have referred to Combs’ former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, as “an agent and co-conspirator” of the defendant. Though she was mentioned by multiple witnesses and her messages with Combs were presented in court, she was not called to testify. Khorram has denied wrongdoing, and her attorney has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment throughout the trial.
“The absence of that testimony does leave some room for a seed of doubt to be planted that the defense will undoubtedly exploit,” said Coates, who hosts the CNN podcast “Trial By Jury: Diddy.”
In a typical RICO prosecution, one might expect to see multiple defendants, like a mobster and his underbosses, Jackson said. But that’s not the case in Combs’ trial. Prosecutors have suggested employees obtained drugs, baby oil and arranged hotel rooms and flights.
“The issue for that is going to be, were they really aware?” he said. “You could be an employee getting baby oil, you can be an employee getting hotel rooms … Do you know what your boss is doing, or do you do what you’re told?”
Combs sits beside lawyer Brian Steel during testimony in his sex trafficking trial on June 20.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
The case for sex trafficking
To convict Combs of the two sex trafficking charges – one each for Ventura and Jane – jurors must find that prosecutors proved he compelled them to participate in commercial sex acts through force, fraud or coercion.
Some of these elements are evident, the legal experts indicated. In Ventura’s case, physical force was viscerally illustrated by the InterContinental Hotel surveillance footage showing Combs assault Ventura in 2016 – first published by CNN. Physical violence was constant throughout Ventura and Combs’ 11-year relationship, according to Ventura’s testimony and that of other corroborating witnesses, who told the jury they witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura on numerous occasions.
The jury also saw photographs of bruises and gashes on Ventura’s body, which were injuries she testified she sustained on dates separate from the 2016 hotel incident. Prosecutors worked to use that evidence to establish a pattern of physical violence they argue shows she was forced and coerced into “Freak Offs.”
In the cases of both women, experts said, there was a degree of financial coercion: Aside from being his girlfriend, Ventura was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy record label when she was 19 years old, and he wielded great power over her career. Jane, meanwhile, testified she and Combs entered into a “love contract” where he agreed to pay her $10,000 rent, but that he threatened to cut her off financially if she stopped participating in “hotel nights.”
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Prosecution and defense teams rest in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial
Marris believes the sex trafficking case for Ventura is stronger, she said, pointing to the video and Combs’ control over her professional career. Combs had also allegedly threatened to release sexually explicit videos of Ventura, and her mother testified she wired $20,000 to Bad Boy Entertainment out of fear for her daughter’s safety. The money was later returned, she said.
Still, the prosecution will face another challenge: Combs’ defense leveraged the women’s testimony and text messages with the defendant to undermine the suggestion of coercion, and they pointed out both women at times helped coordinate the sexual encounters, texting with escorts and buying supplies for the room. Both women said during their testimony they were asked by Combs to make these arrangements.
The jury also saw text messages between Combs and male escorts arranging their travel, and Combs and his employee booking flights, as well as American Express and bank statements tied to those expenses, indicating Combs paid the bills.
Jane expressed in some messages she did not want to participate in “hotel nights,” but she would acquiesce and testified she wanted to make Combs happy. And she admitted on the stand Combs continues to pay her for rent and her legal representation to this day, even as she testifies against Combs, who is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York.
Texts showed Ventura at times expressed a willingness to participate in the “Freak Offs,” and that her relationship with Combs was at times loving: “I’m always ready to Freak Off lolol,” she wrote in August 2009, toward the beginning of their relationship.
In March 2017 she said she enjoyed the encounters “when we both want it.” But, she testified, “I would say that loving ‘Freak Offs’ were just words at that point.”
Combs listens to the cross-examination of Casandra "Cassie" Ventura on May 15.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
“The text messages are really the star of the show in this case,” Marris said. “Text messages that Cassie exchanged with Combs at the time are really important for the defense and do undercut the prosecution narrative and their argument.”
Establishing Combs as a horrible and abusive romantic partner, she said, is not enough to prove sex trafficking: Indeed, the defense on Tuesday acknowledged Combs’ and Ventura’s relationship was “toxic for many reasons” but argued domestic violence is not sex trafficking.
Prosecutors tried to combat this idea through psychologist Dawn Hughes, who offered context to the behavior of victims of abuse. Hughes had not assessed the victims or witnesses in Combs’ case but testified it’s common for victims to remain in abusive relationships. Financial dependence, she said, also plays an important role – and sexual abuse can make it difficult to seek help and leave.
The case for transportation for the purposes of prostitution
Experts largely agreed the two charges of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, stemming from the Mann Act, are likely the easiest for the prosecution to prove, with clearer evidence and less ambiguity than the others.
“That has been proved by leaps and bounds by prosecutors,” said Marris, adding: “It’s truly very simple: Did individuals cross state lines with the intent to engage in prostitution?”
Jane testified she and Combs had “hotel nights” between May 2021 and October 2023 in a variety of locales, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Turks and Caicos. Similarly, Ventura said “Freak Offs” were held in some of those locations and other cities, like Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Ventura testified some escorts participated in “Freak Offs” in multiple states. They were paid between $1,500 and $6,000 afterwards in cash provided by Combs, she said. Her testimony was bolstered by various records presented in court, including flight records, American Express charges and hotel invoices.
The jury also watched sexually explicit video footage of Ventura and Jane engaging in sexual acts with male escorts. The videos line up with the dates of many flight records and hotel invoices.
“They’ve got the names of the people,” Jackson said. “They’ve got the hotel records. They know that they were commercial sex workers or escorts. That’s more clear cut.”
The defense has argued there’s not sufficient evidence that the escorts and entertainers were paid for prostitution as opposed to for their time.
"Jane" testifies on June 6 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Defense focuses on financial benefit
The defense rested its half-hour case Tuesday, calling no witnesses. But Combs’ attorneys have been laying out their case all along, through the cross-examination of the government’s witnesses. Combs did not testify.
“The defense does not have the burden (of proof), and they are 1,000% aware of it,” Coates said. “And they’re trying to capitalize on what they don’t have to prove.”
“Overall, their theme has been, this is a money grab, full stop. There are people who have free choice and free will and they exercised it,” she said, channeling the defense theory.
Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, alleging he assaulted, raped and sex trafficked her. Combs denied wrongdoing, but they settled the lawsuit a day later – for $20 million, Ventura testified.
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Christine Cornell
Inside Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ all-star defense team
“I’d give that money back if I never had to have ‘Freak Offs,’” she testified on redirect. Crying, she added, “If I never had to have ‘Freak Offs’ I would have had agency and autonomy.”
A friend of Ventura’s, Bryana Bongolan, had also testified about an encounter with Combs in which he allegedly physically assaulted and threatened her, claiming he dangled her over the balcony railing at Ventura’s apartment. Bongolan, too, has filed a lawsuit against Combs seeking $10 million.
The defense has tried to use these and other civil lawsuits against their client “as their star witness,” Coates said. “They have painted this case as jealous money grabs – and kinky, not criminal.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kara Scannell, Elizabeth Wagmeister, Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown, Laura Dolan and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
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