'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This week, the ongoing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial reportedly took a huge turn when Judge Arun Subramanian announced the dismissal of juror No. 6. According to The Guardian, he was dismissed on Monday, June 16, 2025, from the trial over uncertain statements about his residency.
After juror no. 6 was taken off the Diddy trial, former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense attorney Gene Rossi joined CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates and CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister on the network’s Trial by Jury podcast.
On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Gene Rossi spoke about the impact of juror 6's removal from the trial. The ex-federal prosecutor alleged:
“They dodged a bullet. And the reason I say that is the judge here, Laura, had very broad discretion to get rid of this juror for one thing. You can't live in New Jersey if you wanna be on a jury in a Southern district in New York. That is black and white, clear as the day. That's a no brainer.”
Trending
Notably, during the jury selection, the 41-year-old juror, who is a Black male, reportedly claimed that he lived in the Bronx. However, during an inquiry, he reportedly changed his statement and told the court staff that he lived in New Jersey.
When Laura Coates noted that the idea of a juror being dismissed almost at the end of the prosecution’s case is “not normal” and “not common,” Gene Rossi opined:
“It scares the living heck out of a prosecutor because you go all these weeks and days and hours, and then you're at the precipice where the whole case could go down the tube because of a mistrial. And if I were the AUSAs, the federal prosecutors here, I would just take a handkerchief and wipe my brow because it would be covered with sweat.”
Why did Judge Arun Subramanian dismiss juror No. 6 during the Diddy trial?
On Monday, June 16, 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian, according to The Guardian, said in court:
“Taking these all together, the record raised serious concerns as to the juror’s candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury.”
Meanwhile, the judge’s decision reportedly comes after the prosecutors, last week, alerted the court to juror No. 6’s inconsistent and contradictory statements about his residence and living arrangement. Judge Arun Subramanian, on Friday, according to the news outlet, stated that he found “several inconsistencies” in the jurors’ statements.
Although Diddy’s legal team opposed juror no. 6’s removal, the latter’s inconsistent statements reportedly made him ineligible to continue as a jury member in the Manhattan federal court.
The Guardian, in a June 17 article, said that Sean Combs’ lawyers said that the rapper would be “severely prejudiced” if the Black male juror were to be removed. Notably, juror No. 6 was one of two Black men on the jury.
Meanwhile, the alternate juror who replaced juror No. 6 in the ongoing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial is a white man from Westchester. The 57-year-old juror reportedly lives with his spouse and two children.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested in September 2024. He is facing multiple charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Although the 55-year-old artist has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, he could spend his life behind prison bars if convicted.
