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Sean Combs hired a former FBI agent to give lie-detector tests to his staff after some of his money and possessions went missing, his former assistant testified in the mogul’s sex-trafficking trial on Tuesday.
In his second day of testimony, David James alleged that he took a polygraph test multiple times, administered by a man who claimed to have worked for the FBI, per media reports. “It was very intimidating,” he said. He said the results showed that he did not lie. He testified that a member of Combs’ security also told him that Combs’ former employee, Capricorn Clark, also took a lie detector test.
James worked for Combs from 2007 to 2009. On Monday, he became emotional when recalling his introduction to the working environment that Combs fostered during the interview process. A senior human resource official pointed to a photo of Combs on the wall; James testified and said, “This is Mr. Combs’ kingdom. We’re all here to serve in it.”
James also testified that after a Cartier bracelet went missing, Combs’ security conducted a search of his clothes and drawers, per reports. He said he decided to leave Combs’ employ for good following an incident in which Combs took three handguns to confront his rival Suge Knight, an incident detailed by Casandra “Cassie” Ventura during her testimony. “I was really shook by it,” James said. “This was the first time as his assistant that I realized my life was in danger.”
James said that Combs demanded he drive to the restaurant where Knight allegedly was, then circle the block after they failed to find Knight’s car in the parking lot. James said there was “a weird sense of calm” during the ride, per reports, though he also stated bluntly, “I remember thinking there’s three guns and three people in this car.”
During cross-examination, Combs’ defense attorney Marc Agnifilo questioned James’ recollection of the incident. He asked James if he objected to driving Combs while he had three guns on him, to which James replied, per reports, “Respectfully, sir, you have someone with three guns that close proximity, I didn’t think I had the option to say something.” (James did, however, agree with Agnifillo that this behavior was “a radical departure” from what he was used to while working with Combs.)
A few months into James’ employment, Combs began his relationship with a 21-year-old Ventura, whom Combs allegedly referred to as “young” and “moldable.” James said he had only had a few direct conversations with Ventura, but the ones he did stick out to him more than 15 years later.
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James said Ventura once remarked that Combs’ lifestyle was “crazy,” so he questioned why she didn’t leave. “She was, like, ‘I can’t get out,” James said. “‘Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life. He controls my music career, he pays for my apartment, he gives me an allowance,’ essentially a salary. I just didn’t think that she could easily leave.”
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Other government witnesses scheduled for this week include Ventura’s mother, Regina, Sharay Hayes, a male escort hired for freak-offs known as “The Punisher,” and a law enforcement official.
This story is developing
