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Combs' Ex-Girlfriend Details Alleges Freak Off Encounters to Jury; Kim Kardashian Testifies in $10 Million Paris Armed Robbery Trial; Research Study Damaging Impact of Alcohol on Sleep. Aired 3:30- 4p ET
Aired May 13, 2025 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: There's that. Frank, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: I surrender.
KEILAR: Always a great conversation with you, Frank.
And still to come, the Sean Diddy Combs trial resuming with his ex- girlfriend on the stand as she describes the so-called freak-offs to the court and allegations of the abuse that she suffered from Combs.
We'll have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: So, we're continuing to follow the direct examination of Sean Diddy Combs' ex-girlfriend as she testifies against him at his criminal sex trafficking trial.
[15:35:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: For hours now, Cassie Ventura has been describing an explicit and disturbing detail about these freak-offs that she claims that Sean Combs orchestrated. Just moments ago, while testifying about one of those sexual encounters, Ventura said, quote, it was disgusting, it was too much, it was overwhelming.
Back with us now is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Bob Bianchi. Bob, thanks for sticking around with us.
There is an interesting bit of testimony that our reporters just pushed out, and Ventura is testifying that she would vet new escorts that Combs would allegedly hire for them if they hadn't been used before.
And Combs eagerly wanted to know whether the person that they were hiring was a cop. Obviously, she says that she learned that this whole situation wasn't legal. I wonder what that says to you about proving Combs' intent through his alleged actions here.
BOB BIANCHI, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER PROSECUTOR: OK, that's a great question. I mean, as a former prosecutor, I love this piece of information because it goes to what we call consciousness of guilt. In other words, you knew you were doing something that was wrong, and that is why you're asking if it's a police officer that's being involved in it.
Now, whether or not that's going to win the day for them, as I indicated to you earlier with regard to these very high-level federal charges of sex trafficking, we don't know. But certainly, that's how the prosecutor wants to use this information, whereas the defense wants to say, listen, this was a willing participant who's actually admitting to you on the stand in the government's case that she was a willing participant in assisting him in these quote-unquote freak- offs, and not that she was being forced, threatened, or coerced, which is essential for them on the sex crimes part of this case, but rather as a willing participant.
So this kind of evidence cuts both ways, but that's why the prosecution's admitting it. Consciousness of guilt.
KEILAR: These details are just -- they're kind of horrific as we're hearing about them, Bob, but we should note, and we haven't, you know, we haven't heard the defense questioning here. They need one juror. They need to convince one juror.
How will they try to do that, even knowing -- even if they think they may have lost some jurors in this case, how do they get that one they need?
BIANCHI: Yes, that's great, and you're right. They're going to play a one juror, only one juror. They like to get 12 to get an outright acquittal, but the bottom line is, they're going to be able to -- they're going to say there's no question about it. The deep state, big government coming after this guy. They couldn't get him any other way.
What he did with respect to the victim is horrific. It's a state crime, but they blew this completely out of proportion trying to make it a federal crime, and therefore you should find him not guilty. That may resonate with an individual, especially if I were the defense attorney saying, by the way, we have a conspiracy statute here. We have a racketeering.
We have something here that talks about all these other people that were involved in this organization. Well, where are they sitting at this council table? I don't see them, and I think that's going to be a problem for the government in terms of what you're saying, jury nullification.
All that has to happen is one juror sits there and says, you know what? It was over-prosecuted, and I'm not going to say guilty.
SANCHEZ: I do want to point out that Ventura just now on the stand said that some of the escorts that participated in these acts did so in multiple states. So to your analysis, openly wondering whether there may have been overreach in this sort of racketeering kind of conspiracy, these orchestrated acts on a level that went over states' borders, I wonder if that piece of evidence there is helpful for the prosecution, pointing out that this wasn't something that just happened in one isolated location.
BIANCHI: Yes, absolutely. In order for the court to have jurisdiction over this or prosecutors, U.S. attorneys, they have to be able to show that this was occurring -- that there was either enticing, harboring, transporting, or advertising, and it traveled in interstate commerce. Either the people traveled in interstate commerce, that's what enticement would be, or you're using interstate facilities.
That's how the federal government has jurisdiction. But that's why a lot of defense lawyers are saying, well, wait a minute. You could take basically any average, in my opinion, state rape case where there's ongoing physical abuse with one or more individuals, and you can literally make it a federal court case if you wanted to.
The question is whether you should, and I think that's where the defense is going to go. The only reason this is being done is because of who he is and not because of what he did. And that's why the feds, the only way they could get that jurisdiction is with this interstate facility.
But again, I think that one juror could sit there and say, you know what, this is just a way of trying to snag the guy in something that should be in a different place, not in federal court.
SANCHEZ: Yes, it's interesting. As you're saying that she's testifying that travel for one of those escorts was sometimes coordinated by her or a travel agent for Combs Company or by the escort himself. One of many threads that is taking shape literally live in the courtroom right now.
[15:40:00]
Bob Bianchi, thank you so much for the analysis.
BIANCHI: My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Still to come, another major court case. This one overseas, Kim Kardashian taking the witness stand, reliving a night that she believed would be her last. We have a live report on why she's forgiving one of her accused robbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: The long awaited armed robbery trial for 10 people charged with tying up reality TV star Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel room is finally underway.
KEILAR: And Kardashian took the stand there today telling the jury how she thought she was going to be killed by the group of defendants who have been dubbed the grandpa robbers.
[15:45:00]
She had been in town for Paris Fashion Week in 2016 when she says her alleged attackers broke into her hotel room and stole cash and jewelry. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne is in Paris with more on the testimony. What
did Kardashian tell the jury today?
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER: Brianna, it was a really long and emotional day for Kim Kardashian. She broke down several times today as she recounted what happened nine years ago. And, you know, she testified for almost five hours, and most of that she did standing.
It was only really at the end when she was visibly drained that she asked to sit down. So she told us that she believed she was going to be raped that night, that she believed she was going to be killed.
She described how two men dressed as police officers barged into her room. One of them was holding a gun to the concierge's head. And then they duct-taped Kim Kardashian and placed her in the bath.
Now, inside that courtroom with her are, of course, the ten people who are on trial, nine men and one woman.
The alleged mastermind, Aomar Ait Khedache, he wrote a letter to Kim Kardashian asking for forgiveness. And it was read out by a judge inside the court and Kardashian responded to it. I'm just going to read to you what she said.
She said, I believe so much in second chances, and I meet people who have done horrible crimes, and I try to have empathy for them, but I do also fight for victims who have been through horrific crimes. And she went on to forgive him.
Now, Khedache has pleaded guilty to armed robbery and kidnapping. Another defendant has pleaded guilty to some of the charges, but the eight remaining defendants say that they had no part to play in the heist whatsoever -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, Saskya Vandoorne, thank you for the very latest on that trial.
And still to come, a vivid look at the impact that an alcoholic nightcap has on how you feel the next day.
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: A glass of wine, a cold beer, a nightcap to help you sleep, right? Maybe not right.
SANCHEZ: Emphasis on the maybe. Researchers in Michigan are studying the effects of going bottoms up before bed and the alleged damaging effects it can have on your entire body. CNN's Randi Kaye went to the lab to test this out for herself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I came to this bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan with one assignment.
KAYE: Can I get a Grey Goose Martini? Very dry, with a lemon twist.
KAYE (voice-over): To see how alcohol can impact sleep.
KAYE: Cheers!
KAYE (voice-over): My sleep.
KAYE: To science, to research.
KAYE (voice-over): After my martini, I'm destined to be a lab rat at the University of Michigan's Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory.
KAYE: .06 I told you! I am a lightweight!
KAYE (voice-over): It's run by Todd Arnedt.
J. TODD ARNEDT, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF BEHAVIORAL SLEEP MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HEALTH: Even a couple of drinks close to bedtime will have an adverse effect on your sleep.
KAYE (voice-over): In order to assess my sleep, the team wired me up. And then it was time for bed.
KAYE: So I give that to you.
KAYE (voice-over): Now for comparison, I'd done this exact same thing the night before. But that first night, I hadn't had any alcohol to drink.
KAYE: Good morning!
ARNEDT: How are you?
KAYE: I'm ready for my results.
ARNEDT: You ready?
KAYE: Yes.
KEILAR: How are you?
KAYE (voice-over): As Todd explained, the screen on the left showed my results from the night I did not drink. On the right was the night I did drink.
KAYE: I definitely fell asleep faster on the alcohol night.
ARNEDT: You did. You fell asleep a little bit faster. We've got more deep sleep here toward the beginning of the night with alcohol compared to deep sleep here on your first night in the lab without alcohol.
KAYE (voice-over): Deep sleep sounded good to me, but I was in for a rude awakening. Todd pointed out when what he called my sleep architecture began to crumble all because of the alcohol I drank.
KAYE: But this shows that the sedative effect of alcohol ends about 2 a.m. for me. And then I have much lighter sleep.
ARNEDT: You have a lot more yellow, which is that really light stage of sleep, not restorative.
So the rule of thumb I use is one drink takes about three hours to be fully metabolized. And by halfway through the night, alcohol has left your body. You've fully metabolized it, and so the second part of the night, you're really in a state of withdrawal from the alcohol leaving your body.
KAYE (voice-over): Todd says if you have a hankering for an alcoholic beverage, finish it three hours before bed or more. Happy hour seems a better idea these days. Todd also said there was a reduction in airflow to my brain and my heart rate was 10 points higher. That's more stress on my heart.
ARNEDT: Your rapid eye movement sleep on the alcohol night was significantly delayed compared to the first night. And that's common with, again, with the acute effects of alcohol that it suppresses dream sleep early in the night.
REM sleep, that's thought to be associated with memory consolidation, emotion regulation.
KAYE: And so someone who hasn't slept well from alcohol, how do they feel in the morning?
ARNEDT: They might feel like they're fatigued. They just feel sometimes unwell. I mean, sometimes people can feel sick to their stomach.
KAYE: How pervasive or urgent of a problem is this in your opinion?
ARNEDT: It's a major problem, I think. And using alcohol for sleep difficulties can be a pathway to alcohol use disorders or more significant alcohol misuse problems.
KAYE (voice-over): The message is clear. Don't count on alcohol to get you counting sheep.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: To research, Randi Kaye, we appreciate you.
KEILAR: There is a moral to the story.
SANCHEZ: What did you think?
KEILAR: The moral to the story is day drinking, no, I'm just kidding. I mean, obviously you shouldn't do it before bed.
[15:55:00]
And I suppose waking up at 2 a.m. and having another drink is probably a bad idea. That would go to that dependency issue.
SANCHEZ: A bad idea.
KEILAR: Well, he is talking about the dependency issue.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: So that does seem like a really bad -- yes, Boris, that sounds like a really bad idea, doesn't it?
SANCHEZ: You know what I say. Do your own research. Come to your own conclusions. There's a lot of stuff online. I don't know. Anyway, Randi, thank you so much.
We still have more to come. The Social Security Administration is apparently doing something really important. But it just disappears from the teleprompter.
KEILAR: We don't even know what it is. Stay tuned.
SANCHEZ: Stay with us. Don't go anywhere. I swear, this is just tea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: So we've been tracking the Social Security Administration pretty closely, and we just found out what they did. If you were tuning in before the break, there was some confusion about that.
Fortunately, this is not that serious. They just released the top baby names of the past year. It turns out that while Americans may change their preferences in pop stars or presidents or pizza, the top baby names have pretty much remained unchanged.
KEILAR: And this year's top choices have been number one since 2019. The top five boy names, number five, James, number four, Theodore, Oliver, third, second, Noah, and the top baby boy name of 2024 is Liam. Love it.
[16:00:03]
SANCHEZ: For girls, number five is Mia, four is Charlotte, Amelia is number three, and Emma is the second favorite. The top baby girl name of last year, Olivia. The SSA database lets you see how popular your name is.
Brianna was 181st last year. I can't imagine my name makes that list.
KEILAR: Yes, so what about Boris? Well, the SSA puts it this way. Boris is not in the top 1,000 most selected boy names, which is why he's so special.
SANCHEZ: We can change this. We can change this. Consider Boris as your name and your baby.
KEILAR: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now. Little Boris Marie. END
