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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Shutdown Extends As Senate Fails Again To Pass Funding Bills; Hamas Responds To President Trump's Peace Plan For Gaza; Sean "Diddy" Combs Sentenced To 50 Months In Prison. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 03, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: I don't think that he -- the judge -- wants to set himself up for an appeal by departing upwards from that recommendation, even though it may still be in the guidelines range. I don't think he wants to go down.
I think there truly is an issue of accepting responsibility and punishment here. It's not about rehabilitation. It will be about punishment. And I think somewhere in the six or seven-year range is where it's going to end up.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Thank you so much to our panel as we're waiting any moment now to hear from Sean Combs in his sentencing hearing.
"THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT" starts right now.
(MUSIC)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. Happy Friday to all who celebrate.
As we come on the air, two major stories we're following. There is the sentencing hearing for Sean "Diddy" Combs that's underway right now in New York. He's expected to start addressing the judge any moment now. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of more than 11 years. We'll dig into that coming up.
But back here in Washington, it's day three of the government shutdown. And this doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon.
This afternoon, the Senate once again failed to pass a funding bill. And that means the shutdown continues through at least Monday.
And we just learned that Speaker Mike Johnson is not going to call the House back to Washington next week. So that's going to put more pressure on the Senate as soon as today.
We expect the White House to announce thousands of permanent layoffs of federal workers. Sources telling CNN that the administration already has a list of where those cuts will be made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This administration is focusing on waste, fraud and abuse. And so, Democrats have given this administration an unenviable choice to have to take a look at the balance sheet and identify where these cuts and layoffs can be made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, they're calling this an unenviable choice. The once again, that doesn't seem to quite be how the president sees it at this moment. Last night, he posted a video, seemingly A.I.-generated, that featured this scene. The budget director, Russell Vought, depicted as the Grim Reaper.
As the White House memes and trolls their way through the shutdown on Capitol Hill. That deadlock remains the blame game still going strong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: It's not complicated. Americans want it. Republican voters want it. Democrats remain ready and willing to work with the other side we're ready to work on a path forward to lower health care costs for the American people. And fund the federal government.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: It's all about President Trump and the Democrats needing to pick a fight to satisfy their far left political base, far left activist organizations who are the tail wagging the dog right now? That's all this is about.
All right. Let's get off the sidelines, head into THE ARENA. We're going to talk with the Maryland Governor Wes Moore, in just a moment. His state, deeply affected by the shutdown.
Our panel is here.
And we're getting started with CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes and CNN correspondent Arlette Saenz. She's on Capitol Hill.
But, Kristen, let me start with you, because we've been hearing some rumblings of some Republican opposition to what the White House is doing in terms of cutting funding to blue states.
What are your -- what's your latest reporting on this?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, cutting funding to blue states, but also some pushback when it comes to these mass layoffs. Now, I do want to be very clear here. This is not some kind of wave that we're seeing in terms of Republicans. Largely, we're seeing them be united. But this is the first kind of cracks that we're seeing.
One of the things, again, being this halt in funding to blue cities, we've now seen the White House halt federal funding to both New York and Chicago for various projects. Obviously, this seems punitive. We heard from Senator Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski, all saying that this is a bad idea. It's not something they should do.
And Tillis going a little bit further, actually, saying that this could prolong this shutdown. Have Democrats double down and dig in because they're seeing this as retaliation. Now, on the other side, one of the more interesting things we've seen is from the Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. He has come out against this idea of these mass firings, and really the idea of belaboring this shutdown, saying at one point that it didn't seem as though the White House or Russ Vought in particular, was as politically savvy on this point or was as politically aware as he should be of where they're standing, actually was, indicating that the White House might be getting a little too ahead of their skis when it comes to these threats of mass layoffs.
Now, it's still very unclear where that stands. We heard from the White House today. We heard from Karoline Leavitt essentially saying that they were going to wait and see what was going to happen after this vote, and then they would still keep discussing whether or not these layoffs were going to happen imminently.
[16:05:00]
They had originally said they could start as early as today, unclear where that stands right now.
HUNT: All right. Fair enough.
And, Arlette, we just learned that the House is not going to come back to Washington this week. Help us understand what that means.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, this is a pretty stunning reversal from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had insisted that the House would return next week. But just moments ago, they announced that they're actually telling lawmakers to stay back in their home districts.
What Republican leadership in the House is hoping is that this will force Senate Democrats to get on board with the only plan that's out there, or one of the only plans that's out there right now, and that's that Republican backed, seven week stopgap funding bill.
But right now, they're still does not appear to be any movement from either side on this issue. The Senate again voted today on that GOP plan on a Democratic plan. And both of those votes fail, meaning that this shutdown is going to extend until Monday. Senators are now heading back home to their home states for the weekend, and it really does not appear that there is any type of negotiation or traction towards trying to reach a resolution on this matter.
Now, there are informal talks happening behind the scenes between a bipartisan group of senators. They're talking about those Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year that are really central to Democrats demands, but everyone involved in those talks says that they're just informal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he's encouraged Democrats to have those conversations, but that nothing official has been put on the table. A bit earlier today, the Republican leader, Senate majority leader John Thune, said that they can't make any commitments when it relates to those Obamacare subsidies because they don't have a guarantee that they will have enough votes to have it passed. That's a reference not just to the Senate, but also to the House, which may not be willing to accept any changes that would head their way.
So there's still a lot of big questions about how exactly this government shutdown could get involved, as really, you have Republicans and Democrats digging in on their positions, really waiting for the other side to blink first.
HUNT: Yeah. Bottom line, political pain isn't high enough for either side yet in terms of getting to a point where somebody is going to cave.
Kristen, Arlette, thank you both very much for that.
All right. Joining us now is the Democratic Governor of Maryland, Wes Moore.
Governor, thanks so much for being in THE ARENA today. It's wonderful to see you.
I want to start of course --
GOV. WES MOORE (D), MARYLAND: Good to see you. Thank you.
HUNT: -- with the shutdown because there are so many people in your state who are directly affected by this. And I know that you have said that Maryland is going to put what resources it can to helping those people. My question to you is, how long do you think you can try to bridge the gap?
MOORE: Yeah. Well, we shouldn't be shut down right now. You know, there's no reason for us to have a federal government shutdown with the exception of the fact that Washington has just decided to break its pact with all 50 states, and there's no state that has a greater level of exposure to this than the state of Maryland, where, you know, I have over 260,000 federal employees in my state, over 160,000 federal jobs that are located within the state of Maryland.
So, this is having a disproportionate impact in addition to the disproportionate impact that the Trump administration has had on our state to include firing over 15,000 Marylanders already who are federal workers, which is the largest number in the entire country.
But the thing that we know and what I've told the people of our state, is that we are going to make sure that we have our states back, and so, the -- literally the minute that our federal government decided to shut down, that I then authorized for supports for the people of our state to include making sure that we're now working with our private sector to know that they are not going to do evictions, nor are we going to do utility shutoffs to federal workers during this time, that we are going to ensure that the state, for as long as we can, will help to backstop things like Medicaid and food assistance, because people should not lose their health care or be kicked off food assistance simply because the federal government is deciding to be -- deciding to be as cruel as humanly possible.
And so, we are -- we are hoping and I'm urging and I'm saying to President Trump -- end the shutdown. You are the reason that we have shut down. You are the one who can get us out of this, because it is the states that are taking on the brunt of this.
HUNT: But couldn't Senate Democrats decide to vote as soon as today to reopen the government?
MOORE: Well, what we know is that the president has both the House, has the Senate and has the presidency. But I am also convinced that the reason that we're in a shutdown is not just because the president couldn't close a deal, because he couldn't. I don't think the president wants to close the deal, that ever since the government has shut down, the president is now threatening to have mass firings of federal workers.
The president is looking at this like it's a game without understanding the very real human lives that are being impacted by this, to include the fact that we are going to watch premiums for health insurance continue to spike. I'm now in Montgomery County within our state, and I just came from an event --
HUNT: I was going to ask you --
MOORE: -- that highlighted that Maryland that -- yeah. No. So that our general assembly passed and I -- and I very proudly signed legislation that in Maryland, we are going to make sure that we are making health care more affordable, that even as people as early as next week are going to receive letters, that their premiums could jump as high as -- as high as 95 percent, that over 250,000 Marylanders could receive notice that their premiums could jump over 95 percent. That in the state of Maryland, we're showing that there is a better way, that we're showing that we can help to keep health care affordable.
And I signed legislation to ensure that we can have affordable health care, even in a time when the federal government is trying to jack up health care costs on everybody in our -- in our state.
HUNT: Do you think this is the right moment for Democrats in Congress to take a stand on those health care costs? The Republican argument would be, well, look, we've got till the end of the year. Why would you punish people now if we have that amount of time to have these negotiations?
MOORE: A prerequisite for having the federal government open should not be kicking people off of health care, a prerequisite for having the federal government open should not be asking people to have a 95 percent increase on their premiums for health care, and this is a very personal issue.
You know, one of the earliest memories I have in my life was watching my dad die in front of me when I was just three years old, because he didn't get the health care he needed. This is a deeply personal issue, and it's a deeply personal issue for the people of our state. And so I will -- I will always defend the people of Maryland. I will
always defend my people. And no one in our state understands why, when you control all the power, why you would let the federal government close and shut down simply because you do not want to honor your health care promises.
And so I know the people of my state right now, whether I'm talking to people and Republicans and Democrats, that they are angry, that they are frustrated and they are hurt, and I want them to know that in the state of Maryland, we will always have their back, even when the federal government is now looking at us and saying, you're on your own.
HUNT: Sir, the others -- one of the other big issues that has confronted you as governor of Maryland with the Trump administration has been this question of the use of federal law enforcement or federal troops in American cities. And this is a place where you have pushed back against President Trump. One thing that you did in Baltimore was surge police onto the streets.
I'm interested to know if you think that that was successful in helping to drive down crime on the streets of Baltimore. And if you think other cities can learn from what you did.
MOORE: Yes. I mean, we think -- we know it was very successful because we have seen how the drops in violent crime that we have seen in Baltimore and really throughout the state of Maryland have really been unrivaled where we've seen amongst the fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America, in the state of Maryland, that in Baltimore City, the last time the homicide rate was this low. I wasn't born yet. And that this, this drop, this surge that we saw that the president talks about in Washington, D.C., with the National Guard, that Baltimore City saw about the same drop during that same period of time.
And the reason that we know that it worked and we didn't just do a surge in response to something that President Trump said. This is something that we've been doing for the past two and a half years, because we actually work in partnership. We work in partnership with the mayor, we work in partnership with local law enforcement. We work in partnership with community groups, and we've made some of the largest investments in local law enforcement in the history of the state of Maryland. And we also know what parts and what are the needs of individual communities, because we're actually in conversation.
So, if the president wanted to have a serious conversation and not a performative one about how do you make communities more safe, I would love to talk to him about things like increased support for license plate readers. I would love to talk to him about support for things like Glock switches. I would love to talk to him about support, like making sure we can make these ghost guns illegal. I would love to talk to him about supports for additional ATF supports, and additional FBI supports.
Those are real things that we could use to continue the historic drops in violent crime that we have seen all throughout the state of Maryland. But if you want to talk to me about activating my national guard so they can paint fences and take selfies, then no, I am not interested because I care too much about the members of our military, especially as one who's actually deployed overseas and I care too much about their families to be asked for them to be used as props and puppets for political agenda.
[16:15:05]
HUNT: Why do you think it is that voters say, pretty overwhelmingly in polling, that they trust Republicans over Democrats on crime? Why is that?
MOORE: Well, I think we have to make sure we're telling our story. I think if you ask -- if you ask Marylanders about do you trust your governor when it comes to helping to reduce violent crime, when our neighbors, neighborhoods and communities, I think people would say absolutely, because the results speak for themselves.
That the year before I became the governor, that Baltimore City in 2022 was averaging about a homicide a day. That for the eight years before I became the governor, that Maryland saw its homicide rate nearly double and saw its non-fatal shooting rate did double. And I came in and I said, I refuse to be a governor who just sits there and offers eulogies and thoughts and prayers, but does nothing to address the issue of violent crime.
So, we made historic investments in local law enforcement. We made historic investments in technologies and predictive analytics. We made historic investments in community groups and community violence intervention groups.
And we worked with our mayor. We work with our county executives. We worked with our states attorneys and made Maryland one of the only states that helps to fund our U.S. attorney out of balance sheet.
And we've had historic results because people see that we take this seriously, that this has been our top priority to make sure that our communities are safe. And while we are not done, we are committed to making sure that everyone can feel safe in their neighborhoods and their own communities.
That results matter. And I don't think there's a message or a slogan that Democrats need to have. We just need to continue having the kind of results like what we're having here in the state of Maryland.
HUNT: So speaking of messages and slogans at big picture here, obviously, president Trump's approval rating is lower than its often been, but frankly, Democrats are really struggling with voters. And my question to you, as someone who clearly is a potentially big face in the future of the party, what are Democrats missing? What do you need to bring to the table to convince people that you've got the right path?
MOORE: I think that what Democrats need to do is not worry about polls and to worry about people, that we are out in our communities every single day, and we're hearing from them. We're hearing from the struggles that they're having. We're hearing from the fact that so many of them feel left behind, but they also know that they have a governor and have an administration here who leaves no one behind.
That we were just recently out, whether it's out in Smith Island over in Maryland, and I'm the first governor since 1999 to go out to Smith Island, where we brought broadband access to that -- a place that was completely left behind when it came to broadband expansion, that now, Maryland has 99.5 percent broadband coverage and by 2020 -- by 2028, we will have our entire state wired and covered.
That we are making sure we're providing affordable health care to people and providing support for families who have children with special -- with special needs, and making sure were not having people kicked off their health care, despite the fact the federal government wants to do it.
The fact that I just signed an executive order focusing on creating more housing and creating more housing inventory, because if you want to bring down housing prices, the way you do that is create more inventory.
And so, I signed an executive order focusing on things like state land and for all available and state-owned land. I want to create affordable housing there, and I want to reduce the red tape and make it faster for people to be able to build so people can be able to buy and create wealth.
And so, the thing I think we are doing in the state of Maryland is we're show, don't tell. We show results. And that's why I think it's resonating with people.
HUNT: All right. Can you -- can you send that message to the Baltimore Ravens, show, don't tell?
(LAUGHTER)
HUNT: Because I think --
MOORE: Tell me about it. Tell me about it.
HUNT: All right.
MOORE: Amen on that. We need some wins.
HUNT: I know. Come on. The Birds -- and you know, I -- you know, I'm a huge O's fan as well. I -- it's been a rough year. All right?
Maryland Governor Wes Moore --
MOORE: It's been a rough year. We're going to have a good off season though. We'll have a good off season.
HUNT: Fingers crossed.
All right. Thank you very much for coming. I hope you'll come back soon. I really appreciate it. MOORE: I sure will. Thanks so much, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. My thanks to him.
Coming up next here in THE ARENA right now, Sean "Diddy" Combs is addressing a courtroom in New York as a judge prepares to decide his sentence.
Plus, major breaking news from the Middle East. Hamas responds to President Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:23:42]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
HUNT: All right. We have major breaking news out of the Middle East. Hamas has submitted its response to President Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
And for more on this, we're joined now by CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond and our senior White House correspondent, Kristen Holmes.
Jeremy, first to you, I understand that this would begin negotiations to release all of the remaining hostages. What do we know?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, Hamas's response is very interesting and obviously very important. It has now agreed to release all of the hostages, living and dead, 48 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the same number of prisoners that is outlined in President Trump's proposal. They say that they are ready to enter negotiations to agree to the details on how that hostage release and the rest of President Trump's plan would actually be implemented.
Hamas also says that they are ready to give up power in the Gaza Strip and hand over that power to a technocratic Palestinian government, which is also included in president Trump's proposal.
But then the rest of Hamas's statement is where we start to get into some questions about how much Hamas truly agrees with President Trump's 20-point plan. And that's because there is no explicit mention in this statement of Hamas disarming, which has been a key point of that 20-point plan, a key Israeli demand in order to end the war in Gaza.
[16:25:11]
Instead, Hamas refers to the, quote, inherent rights of the Palestinian people, which could potentially be interpreted as referring to the weapons of Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. But instead of agreeing to what is in President Trump's proposal, they say that those rights should be discussed through a. quote, comprehensive national Palestinian framework. That is obviously different from what's in President Trump's proposal.
And I'm thinking about what a source involved in the U.S. plan told me just a couple of days ago, which is the United States is willing to negotiate over how Hamas disarms, but they are not willing to negotiate over whether or not Hamas disarms.
And so, the key question now is Hamas responding positively. They say they are ready to enter into negotiations. But just in the last few hours, we saw President Trump issuing this ultimatum, saying that there needs to be not just a Hamas response, but agreement between the two parties by Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Or he was saying, all hell will break loose on Hamas.
So, now, the question is, will the president accept this as a way to get into those detailed negotiations to make this comprehensive plan a reality? Call it a win and move forward? Or will he say this is simply not enough? And then, of course, there is a mad dash over the next 50 hours and counting. At this point. Until that deadline, which just does not seem like enough time to actually iron out all of these details and for a ceasefire agreement and hostage release deal to actually move forward.
HUNT: Yeah. For sure.
And I mean, Kristen Holmes, that begs the question of you at the White House, what is the White House saying in response to this at this point? Is this going to be good enough?
HOLMES: Yeah. And we haven't heard from the White House yet. Of course, we have reached out to try and get a response. Whether or not this is good enough. I just want to go back to what Jeremy was just talking about with this 6:00 p.m. deadline. Clearly, Hamas is taking that somewhat seriously, giving enough time for more mediation on this plan.
But President Trump, one of the things that he had said, and I was told by White House officials that this was a red line, that he actually very much meant it, was that Netanyahu could essentially do whatever he wanted with the backing of the United States. If Hamas did not agree to this plan.
Now, whether or not that is agreed to parts of this plan, what exactly an agreement looked like in President Trump's mind, that's something that we're waiting to hear from the White House as they're going through this proposal back from Hamas. But again, saw President Trump saying that this was his red line, that this was going to essentially hell would break loose or rain on Gaza if, for example, they did not meet that deadline, this would give them time to not only meet the deadline, but come up with hours, as Jeremy said, to have some kind of mediation.
One thing to note, of course we know President Trump, that there has been a lot of communication between mediators and both Egypt and Qatar. President Trump has been on the phone with the emir of Qatar trying to get this done. And Jeremy alluded to this when he was just talking about what was written in that 20-point plan. I'm going to go through it.
It was, of course, that Hamas would release all living and deceased hostages within 72 hours. In exchange, Israel releases 250 life sentence prisoners, as well as 1,700 detained Gazans.
So that appears to be what they have agreed to. Again, big questions around the fact that there is no mention or no clear mention of them agreeing to this part about destroying their infrastructure, destroying their weapons. That was a sticking point for the United States as well as for Israel.
HUNT: All right. Kristen Holmes, Jeremy Diamond, thank you both very much for your reporting on this. Really appreciate it.
We come back -- when we come back here. Sean "Diddy" combs just finished addressing the courtroom as a judge weighs what his sentence is going to be. We are live outside the courthouse.
Plus, government shutdown expected to last until at least Monday as the White House suggests, thousands of federal jobs could be cut as soon as today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: Democrats have given the administration this opportunity, and we don't like laying people off. Nobody takes joy in that around here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:33:47]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
HUNT: All right. Right now, inside this New York City courthouse you see on your screen, Sean "Diddy" Combs just wrapped up asking a judge for leniency as the judge considers just how long the hip hop mogul will have to spend in prison on his two-felony, prostitution-related convictions.
Combs told the -- told the judge in part, quote, "I can't change the past, but I can change the future. I ask, Your Honor, for mercy. I beg, Your Honor, for mercy."
CNN chief legal analyst and anchor Laura Coates is outside the courthouse in New York, and we're also joined by CNN entertainment reporter Lisa France.
And, Laura, I do want to start with you, because you actually were in the courtroom and heard Combs address the judge. I will also note, and you'll probably get this before perhaps even we do, but we may have to interrupt because we may learn what the sentence is as we are talking here.
But why don't you start by taking us inside the courtroom? LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST AND ANCHOR: Let me take you
inside what had happened just now? Sean "Diddy" combs very emotional, actually, turning to his children, apologizing to all seven of them. The youngest one not present, turning to his mother, apologizing for failing her as a son, holding his head while he tried to reclaim his emotions in the moment.
[16:35:03]
In fact, he began his statement thanking the judge for finally having an opportunity to speak in his own defense. He had that chance, of course, at trial. It was his right not to exercise it. He had a three- page letter that he sent to the judge asking for leniency.
He also apologized directly to Cassie Ventura and also to Jane, the pseudonym witness, who was his also his lover, that he talked about his domestic violence, how he would carry it as a burden, how he apologized to the world for having watched that video, believing that it was very triggering for domestic violence victims all across the world.
He made no apologies for it, except to talk about his addiction, his drugs, being lost in his journey, being lost in the excess, lost in the fame, lost in the bigger and larger than life personality. But yet he was just a human being.
The judge took a break for a moment, Kasie. And let me tell you, when he came back, you're not going to believe some of the things the judge has said. In short words, he talked about rejecting the defense's attempts to characterize the freak-offs or the hotel night that we heard so much about as consensual behavior. He talked about the subjugation of the women who testified in this matter.
He said, a history of good works, acknowledging that Sean "Diddy" Combs was at times a role model, was at times somebody who, of course, contributed to the greater community and entertainment space and beyond. And recognizing the work he has done since being incarcerated, he still went on to talk about the history of good works, did not erase and cannot erase the power and control you had over the women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically, and you used that to get your way, saying that he was sitting right there during the testimony.
He talked about -- and this is key -- we read about it in text messages and emails, looking at the gashes and bruises and the broken doors. Clearly, the violence that was alleged throughout the duration of this trial of paramount consequence to this judge. And remember, this was a very important point because it contributed to the great disparity between what the defense wants, 14 months, out at the end of this year, given time served, and 11 years that the prosecution is asking for. Why? Because of the extraordinary amount of violence.
Now, of course, the defense is saying he was not convicted of those violent acts. But the prosecution said its the manner in which he engaged in the transportation to engage in prostitution, where you must factor in all of it. The judge is doing that. He talked about the severity of these offenses just in the courtroom,
and that Sean "Diddy" combs irreparably harmed two women who still feel the effects of all of that today. And I note, why did it happen that long? The judge questioned, because you had the power and the resources to keep it going, and because you weren't caught.
Now, this is all important to talk about. The idea of two factors here remorse that a defendant is asked to express an emote to the court to demonstrate that they should get a second chance at freedom. And the balancing act of anyone convicted of a crime with an appellate future ahead of them, where they want to still preserve their ability to say they didn't do it. They're innocent of the crime. A lot of that leverage as a appellant goes away if -- if you admit to the crime.
Now, he has been steadfast in talking about this very moment. He also talked about the credibility of the witnesses that were testifying. Very important because the judge, just like the lawyers in this case, prosecution and defense, they are continuing to build a record.
This convicted defendant will appeal the charges, and every single thing the judge says for the minutia of his rulings to the grand statements about credibility will be scrutinized by an appellate court. They are well aware of it, and so is the judge.
Now, he has just said pooh-poohing and quashing what the government wants, that your request of an 11-year sentence government is, quote, not reasonable. Now, we had some expectation of this very point, Kasie. Why? Because earlier today, hours ago, I might add, the judge managed expectations, suggesting that there was no reason to depart from above the guidelines or below.
And remember, the pre-sentence report said five to seven years. But the judge is saying that a substantial sentence must be given, but that the 11-year request is not reasonable.
We are waiting, waiting with bated breath right now to find out what the judge will ultimately decide to do. And you can believe that Sean "Diddy" Combs is feeling the pressure right now.
[16:40:01]
Have the hours worth of statements from his counsel, from the letters, hundreds of pages of character witnesses trying to give an offer, their sense of the man they believe Sean "Diddy" combs to be in contrast to who the prosecution says he is. Will it be enough to give him the sentence he would like?
I will also say that the prosecution had a chance. One last bite at the New York City apple to make sure that they could have a chance to say why they thought he is not the man professing to have remorse. He is not a changed person. Well, Sean "Diddy" Combs got up and he essentially said, I am sorry. I'm sorry for all I've done in spite of what they say. You know, sitting there, you actually had a wave of emotion from people who were spectators watching all of this unfold, talking about all these issues. There were tears. People were essentially praising what he had to say,
acknowledging what he was saying. And then in that moment. But the judge -- the judge is now saying the government sentencing recommendation, he is what they're saying is coming in really fast and hot, Kasie. So, I'm going to give it to you as soon as I get it, because it's that important to the global interest of this case.
The government's recommendation does not take into account, the judge says, the mitigating factors. Aha! Another legal term for everyone to chew over here. There are two concepts aggravating and mitigating. Aggravating means I'm going to go up in the penalty. Mitigating means I'm going lower because I don't think you've taken account of the entire person.
The judge says that they have not taken into account the mitigating factors that make it go down. What they're saying now is the judge says also the defense proposal. Don't get excited defense. Your 14- month request also not what he is going to do, saying that is insufficient to satisfy the goals of sentencing and does not consider you heard it, the aggravating factors that weigh in it.
There's all of it coming right now. He has now imposed a sentence. Here it is. After all the many months of trial and the years of waiting to see what would happen, Sean "Diddy" Combs will be sentenced to 50, five-zero, 50 months in prison. That is 50 months in prison, far less than the 11 years requested, far more than the 14 months.
He will not walk out of the door behind me in the courtroom today. He will not be a free man for 50 months. The judge says, which is four -- little shy of four and a quarter years. This is a serious sentence that reflects the gravity of your crimes and conduct.
He also says this is a hard time away from your family, but also notes that Combs will have a life after prison, after 50, five-zero, months. This is demonstrating to the court the gravity of the crimes and the conduct. Kasie, here you have it, 50 months for the two charges, transportation for the purpose of prostitution, the Mann Act violations.
They tried very hard as the defense today, Kasie, to suggest that that would be a high sentence given the fact that they say the defense says he did not financially benefit and profit from the so-called prostitution acts. The judge, rejecting that, rejecting it almost out of hand, sentencing the music mogul convicted in July by a jury of his peers to 50 months in prison.
HUNT: All right. And, Lisa France, I'd like to talk to you for a second about kind of the big picture of what this means, because as we've been covering this, we saw the judge touch on and we saw the defense talk about what Sean "Diddy" Combs contributions, positive contributions have been to society.
Obviously, during the trial we talked quite a bit about the negative contributions that he is now being held to account for. But what is this going to mean for the millions of people who have been following this trial? What more does it say about where we are? LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie,
because the positive contributions. It's the reason why so many people feel so very strongly about this. Having seen the video, having heard the testimony, it is a huge disappointment to a lot of his fans because this is a man who has had a career that has spanned music and fashion and restaurants and spirits.
I mean, he was someone that, as they like to say, got it out of the dirt, you know, came from the hood and really elevated himself as a young man who, you know, went to Howard University and would jump on the train and go back to New York City and work as an intern, and worked his way up from an intern to founding his own record label and Bad Boy Records. I mean, it was the soundtrack for so many people's youth.
So, when you saw what was alleged against Sean Combs and then when you followed this trial, it was a complete and utter devastating disappointment to a lot of his fans, who expected much more of him. Now, I've said this before on air, for those of us who have covered him for years, this was not a surprise, these allegations, we had heard rumors. We have heard people saying that they were afraid of him, that, you know, he had a lifestyle that not everybody would approve of.
And so, I think now hearing the verdict, there are going to be some people who absolutely continue to support him. There are still people even having seen the video who say that, you know, Cassie Ventura was someone who, you know participated. And but also there are people who say that it's absolutely disgusting.
And I thought it was interesting that Sean Combs used that word when he was referencing the videotape. He said that it was disgusting, you know, and he appeared in his remarks to try to take ownership, to also try to sound contrite, but at the same time, you know, to Laura's point, he was very careful about not saying anything that might cause a problem when he tries to, you know, get back into court and get this revisited, you know, by appealing this.
So, you know, I think that we're always going to have a split. That's always the case when you have things like this. Today is the 30th anniversary of the acquittal of OJ Simpson, and while these are two very different cases, we're still having conversations about what it means when you have a successful famous Black defendant in these cases, can they really get a fair trial? You know, are people going to view them differently? Will he able to have the type of life that he could have, you know, after he gets out?
And so, you know, these conversations continue. It's very historic. And, you know, I had plenty of people hitting me up earlier today saying, you know what? What's your over under? What do you think? Do you think he's going to be able to, you know, maybe just get out in a couple of months? Do you think he's going to get years?
I think at the end of the day, people just, you know, some people wanted to see justice and some people thought, much like I think Mr. Combs thought that after he was acquitted of the more serious charges that he was going to be walking out of that courtroom and heading back home to Miami and going back to, you know, the lifestyle in some ways that he enjoyed before. Not the dark parts that we heard about, but absolutely the fame, the fortune and the being a celebrity.
HUNT: Yeah. Well, and we're also just learning here that the judge imposed the maximum half million fine against Combs here.
And, Laura Coates, can you help us understand from a legal point of view, obviously there will be a process that continues on here. I assume there will be an appeal. I mean, how much of more time do we expect, based on the sentence that he'll spend in prison?
COATES: He has been serving some time in the jail, not a federal prison. It's a holding over location in anticipation of trial and, of course, of sentencing. Which means that the time he has served under the auspices, of course, of the Bureau of Prisons will be applied to the sentence he has.
He also can have the benefit of some sorts of federal programing for somebody who is having their first official sentence and good time served, et cetera, good behavior, participation, participation, excuse me, and a number of programs geared at going against recidivism, a fancy legal way of saying you're not to do crimes again, that will all be factored into this overall sentence.
But they talked about the resources that are going to be available to him. That's why he has that penalty of half a million. We're talking about a man with an empire that was worth more -- half a billion or more.
That's a very important point, because had they convicted him on RICO, the governments hands come out. They want the money that could be associated with anything to do with a crime related to an enterprise that went away.
But he still now has this fine and he still has civil suits to contend with. Those do not go away. They are not paused while he is in a federal prison. And they also have a lower standard than the criminal court.
Remember, the criminal court, beyond a reasonable doubt, a civil suit, the preponderance of evidence meaning more likely than not referencing the O.J. trial that my colleague Lisa mentioned. Remember, that was a case, there was an acquittal at the criminal level. He still had, what, 33, I think million dollar fine in the civil suit from the family of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, as well.
That is possible for all of the, I think, more than 100 if my counts are accurate right now that have been filed. I'm not sure how many are still in existence here, but I will say the judge also referencing not only Cassie Ventura, but also the pseudonym victim Jane, who testified.
Remember, those two women were the subject of the people listed in those prostitution related charges, the judge said, Ms. Ventura, and Jane speaking to them. They were not in the courtroom. [16:50:04]
You've been through abuse and trauma that most of us cannot imagine and thanked them for coming forward. To Ms. Ventura, Jane and the other victims here who came forward. I can only say your families are proud of you and your children when they're old enough, will be proud of you. And I am proud of you for telling the world what really happened.
You spoke. You were speaking to the millions of women out there who have been victims but feel invisible I mean, going on to talk about and the powerlessness as well. This is really important here, because earlier today, we knew that the prosecution was berating the defense team for what they believe was bullying behavior that forced, they say, one of the women who testified in this case to not speak as a victim impact statement provider in this courtroom. That's an important point here.
But ultimately, again, here is the rub in our criminal justice system, Kasie, and you and I have talked about the policies and beyond. But listen, even though he's convicted with an appeal ahead of him, he never has to admit to the charges against him. He can always maintain his innocence throughout the course of the appeal. And frankly, for the rest of his life.
But in this instance, the judge said, I don't believe that your profession of innocence outweighs what the jury found. That's why 50 months in prison will be appropriate, they say, for this person.
HUNT: Yeah. Well, Lisa France, let's talk for a moment about the victims here. I mean, and the judge as Laura reported, and as were seeing on the screen, thanked them for coming forward and, and said that we heard you and that, of course you know, for a lot of these women, probably meaningful.
Of course, also worth noting that some of the most serious charges that Sean "Diddy" Combs faced, he was found not guilty. These charges that were left that he's being sentenced for today, not some of the most serious ones that he did face.
But can you talk a little bit about these women and what this may mean for them?
FRANCE: Yeah, forever. They are going to be marked because, you know, while Jane was not named, you know, social media of course, has their thoughts about who they believe it to be. And, you know, Ms. Ventura, she has been open ever since she filed the lawsuit. And so, these are women who, for the rest of their lives are always going to be associated with this. They are always going to have people who are going to second guess their motivations for coming forward.
They are always going to have people who believe that they were in this for money, that they were in this for fame. And again, this is something that I've said before. I don't know any woman who wants to be famous for being beaten on any woman who wants to be famous for saying, you know, that they were sexually assaulted or anything like that.
And so, these women have been heralded, you know, Ms. Ventura especially because she has been, you know, she stood up strong. You know, she's not allowed the victim shaming that is very prevalent in this culture to keep her down. I mean, she came and she testified when she was extremely pregnant.
I mean, think about how stressful something like that is just for someone who is not pregnant. She was heavily pregnant and she had to, you know, she relive some of the worst times of her life. She was a very young woman when she connected with Mr. Combs.
And Jane also, she had to come forward and share things that were utterly humiliating for both of these women. And so, I think that they have been -- both of them have been hailed as heroes when it comes to this story. And even though the more serious charges he was acquitted of, I think that what I at least have seen and gotten feedback from my sources is that both of them should be very proud of the fact that they were able to stand up and come forward and speak their truth.
HUNT: And Laura Coates I mean, what do you expect we may hear from some of these victims in response to this? Anything? Or is there an eagerness to put it behind them?
COATES: I think there's probably a combination of both. The judge certainly wanted the victims to hear his words of encouragement, saying that all the letters that that he saw showed that a lot of people in the universe want to lift up to address these issues, not only praising the people who were supportive of Sean "Diddy" Combs, but also the idea of women behind closed doors grappling with some of the horrors that Lisa has articulated, and of course, that Sean "Diddy" Combs also mentioned in part during his own statements and appearance to talk.
[16:55:01]
But this is far from over in terms of a legal matter. Yes, the criminal case is now behind Sean "Diddy" Combs. Remember, just last week, the judge denied his request, even for a new trial. Now, the civil process will begin, and it will continue even while he is incarcerated. Now the question is, where will he be incarcerated?
That will be the next jockeying for position of counsel here. The bureau of prisons will be in control now. But he does have some options. Given the length of the sentence and the application of time served from waiting for the trial and waiting for the sentencing, it might fall with under a threshold where he could go to what some people have pejoratively described as a Camp Fed.
Now, this is one of the moments we're waiting for. Where will he go next? It's not out this front door, but which prison?
HUNT: All right. Laura Coates, thank you so much for spending so much time reporting with us. And I know you're going to be back throughout our coverage, including the top of the next hour. Lisa France, one aspect of this case as well was the widespread
discussions of other celebrities that it might have touched. And obviously, we've seen with the sort of more intense charges ultimately not sticking some of that fade into the background. But this is something that has really crossed the entertainment universe that you cover day in and day out.
FRANCE: Absolutely. And part of the issue is that people who had been affiliated with combs in the past definitely did not want to be connected to this. I mean, he launched so many careers in the music industry, and the silence was deafening from many of them. They said absolutely nothing. No one came to his defense.
And to a lot of people that spoke volumes, because if you had this man who helped to make you a star, if you believed him to be innocent, why wouldn't you speak up? And I think especially once that video came out and came to light, people really walked away from him.
And then you had people like Kid Cudi who had to testify and again, Kid Cudi is a very, very private man. He is not someone who you would envision would enjoy having to come up and talk about, you know, some of the allegations, like, you know, what he says happened with his car and his relationship with Ms. Ventura and things like that.
So, it's been very fascinating to watch how in this industry, people have, you know, if they have feelings about it, they kept it to themselves. It was almost like they didn't want to be painted with a brush of guilt by association. And so, it's been quite interesting, Kasie, to see the way that people actually have not rallied behind Combs giving given what a huge star maker he was and what a huge star he was himself.
HUNT: And, Lisa, we're just obviously continuing to see the judges still talking here as he has handed down this sentence of four years and two months to Sean "Diddy" Combs. But he's now reassuring the artist that while he's facing dark times, he and his family will get through it.
And he also says these letters, all those letters I saw show you of a universe of people who love you and you've really spoken to that. The base of his fans, Lisa.
FRANCE: Yes. I mean, and also people like Yung Miami, who's a rapper who was involved with him. She sent a letter of support.
So, he absolutely does have support. You know, I don't want to paint it as that he is someone that everyone has turned against. It's just that those who we associated him with, especially in the industry, those were some of the people that have been quiet. But he's had a broad level of support from the beginning. It's just not been as vocal.
But as we got to the point where he was about to be sentenced, you know, there was, I'm sure, solicitation of letters from people who knew him best. There was also, let's not forget about victim number three, who, you know, sent in a letter who said that she was not a victim and that she felt like the prosecutors were trying to push her to be a victim.
So, this case has been, you know interesting, layered and very upsetting on a lot of levels. And even I feel like even now, as Laura pointed out, this isn't over legally. And I think this is still going to continue to resonate in the industry.
HUNT: Lisa, the judge is concluding here. He says, I'm counting on you to make the most of your second chance. We're obviously approaching the top of the hour.
But what do you think that second chance looks like for Sean "Diddy" Combs?
FRANCE: I think it looks like whatever he makes it look like as he's in jail, if he doesn't get out on appeal, I think it is. Whatever he decides he's going to be when he gets out. Of course, this is always going to be a stain on his career and his legacy. And I think -- but also at the same time, America loves a comeback story.
And so, I think that we are -- you know, there might be some leverage there, some opportunity for him, maybe not to be as famous and have, you know, the career that he had before he went in. I don't think that's at all possible, but I don't think that he's going to be completely shut out. But, you know, we never know. We don't know what's going to happen after the next couple of years.
HUNT: All right. Lisa France, thank you very much.
And thanks to all of you for joining us here in THE ARENA.
"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
