Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Combs' Ex-Assistant and Alleged Victim "Mia" Resumes Testimony; Defense Secretary Hegseth Orders Review of Homeschool Support Efforts; Another Court Rules Trump Lacks Authority to Levy Tariffs with Emergency Powers. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Just moments ago, a central witness in Sean Diddy Combs' racketeering and sex trafficking trial retook the stand to resume testimony. She is Combs' former assistant. She's also one of his alleged victims, and earlier she testified that Combs was violent with her.

She accused him of sexually assaulting her more than once.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: That former assistant is using the pseudonym Mia to protect her identity, and beyond the abuse she says she endured, Mia is detailing Combs' relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Just last hour, describing a night she says that Combs slammed Ventura's head against the bed, saying, quote, his eyes turned like black and there was no getting through. It was like he was looking through me. Mia said she thought that Combs was going to kill Ventura.

With us now is former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Imran Ansari. Imran, thanks so much for being with us.

What's your reaction so far to Mia's testimony?

IMRAN ANSARI, FORMER PROSECUTOR AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it's key to the prosecution. I'll tell you why. It's corroboration, corroboration, corroboration.

We saw this from the prior witness Nash, and now we see it with Mia. Mia is corroborating the testimony that we've heard from Cassie Ventura, and that is key because it's taking the he said, she said out of the equation and supporting Cassie Ventura's testimony. It's giving this picture to the jury of a enterprise rather than just say an entertainment company that Diddy was running, where there is coercion, there's control, it's dysfunctional.

And the jury through the prosecution can connect the dots ultimately, that this was not necessarily a atmosphere that was healthy, but it was rather a totality of the circumstances where Diddy was in control, and it was toxic. And that's what we're getting from Mia. But what's important is corroborating the testimony that we heard from Cassie Ventura. KEILAR: She also told jurors that Combs was violent with her -- with Mia, and that he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Of course, Cassie Ventura detailed years of similar abuse. How does that fit into the charges?

ANSARI: So we have the charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy. And these are the building blocks, right? So it's not a case of domestic violence. It's not a case of sexual assault against any individual person. But these broad federal charges, the prosecution through Mia's testimony through Nash's testimony is giving the jury an idea, a picture that Diddy was complicit, conspiring in the racketeering charges. And these went beyond just individual acts but were a pattern of conduct.

And Mia's testimony, she's corroborating Cassie Ventura. She's talking about her own personal experiences. She's talking about the controlling nature of her employment with Diddy.

And it's giving the jury more of that evidence, more of that corroborative evidence that they could take to when they're deliberating. And I'm sure the prosecution is going to point to these many witnesses that tell a similar situation, a similar story about Diddy, working with him and the relationships with him.

SANCHEZ: Imran, can you walk us through the building blocks for a racketeering charge, like specifically what needs to be proven? What's the burden of proof for investigators to or rather for prosecutors to convince a jury that they should convict him on that charge?

[13:35:04]

ANSARI: Sure. So the prosecution for a racketeering conspiracy charge that Diddy is facing, they need to show predicate acts. They need to show multiple acts that go to prove that Diddy's entertainment company, his industry was not being operated, say, just as a company, but was rather acting as a criminal enterprise in furtherance of crime, such as arson, kidnapping or the sex trafficking charges that he's also facing.

So RICO charges, racketeering charges, they're complex. They're hard to prove. They've been traditionally used against the mafia and organized crime.

But we've seen prosecutors increasingly applying the to other sorts of circumstances. We saw Young Thug being prosecuted under RICO statutes. And now we see Diddy under the racketeering conspiracy charge.

But they have to show a pattern of conduct, multiple criminal events in order to build this case under racketeering conspiracy and make out that claim.

KEILAR: Really quick, you said it's difficult. What is usually the hang up that means they don't get a jury convinced of this on racketeering?

ANSARI: They're complicated, especially when you're dealing with someone like Diddy or a entity which is not a traditional criminal enterprise such as the mafia or the mob. They have to prove to this jury that these multiple acts of criminal conduct arose to a level that is akin to a criminal enterprise. It was in furtherance.

This entity was in furtherance of criminal acts. And they got to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. They got to build that case and convince this jury that this was not an entertainment company, but it was actually sort of a shell or an enterprise that was being used by Diddy in furtherance of criminal acts.

And that could be complicated. If the defense is able to show to this jury that it didn't rise to that level, then the prosecution may have a difficult time with the racketeering charge.

KEILAR: Imran, thank you so much for taking us through that. We really appreciate it.

And now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour, the FBI, the DOJ and Arkansas authorities are offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of escaped inmate Grant Hardin.

The manhunt now includes roadblocks and checkpoints near the prison. Authorities say they're also patrolling the north central town where Hardin once lived and worked. The 56 year old has been on the run since Sunday after wearing what authorities call a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement. He'd been serving decades long sentences for murder and rape.

SANCHEZ: Also, the Trump administration just canceled a multimillion dollar contract with drug maker Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine. The move comes as the HHS secretary -- rather the HHS department reevaluates therapies that use mRNA technology used in the current COVID 19 vaccines administered to millions of people during the pandemic.

The $590 million deal was made under the Biden administration and HHS says that Moderna's bird flu project doesn't meet scientific or safety expectations for continued investment. Moderna says it will explore alternative paths forward for the program.

And United and Jet Blue Airlines are joining forces to create a frequent flyer miles exchange program. The deal called Blue Sky will allow United's Mileage Plus and JetBlue's TrueBlue members to earn and redeem miles on most flights operated by both airlines.

United and JetBlue would also share customer frequent flyer benefits and sell tickets on each other's websites. They do plan to remain separate companies and manage their own pricing though. The deal still has to be approved by regulators.

Still ahead, data shows that active duty military families homeschool their Children twice as much as civilians. The Pentagon could soon expand resources for those families. We'll discuss after a quick break.

[13:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: On the home front today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to review how it can better support military families who homeschool their children. According to the Johns Hopkins School of Education, active duty military families homeschool their kids at twice the rate that their civilian peers do. The move by the Pentagon in this review coincides with a broader approach by the Trump administration to reform and reshape education.

In his memo, Hegseth said, quote, homeschooling offers an individualized approach for students and highlights the significant role parents play in the educational process.

With us now is Natalie Mack. She's the founder of the Military Homeschoolers Association. She has homeschooled her five Children, which is quite an undertaking, Natalie. That's amazing. So constant moves, of course, are part of military family life.

It's not always a part of civilian life.

NATALIE MACK, FOUNDER, MILITARY HOMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION: Right.

KEILAR: Is that one of the reasons -- and one of the other reasons that military families are much more likely to homeschool?

MACK: Yes, so they're traditional reasons what I call traditional ones, and those are the constant relocation. And so imagine how many teachers, how many schools your student and multiply by however many students you have, and you're going to be in and out of variety of schools.

So families are looking for consistency. They're looking for the opportunity to spend more time together. They're looking for stability and a lifestyle that's very mobile, very uncertain, right? You get orders and you're gone potentially in two or three years.

And so this is a way to kind of provide the children a little bit more of that consistency and stability.

KEILAR: Religion is another one.

MACK: Yes, religion is another one.

KEILAR: Bullying.

MACK: Exactly.

[13:45:00]

KEILAR: Special needs. Talk a little bit about that.

MACK: So we recently -- it's our association, Military Homeschoolers Association recently conducted a survey and we had about 763 usable responses, 68 questions on the survey. And what we saw were the traditional reasons, but we saw new reasons. And I wasn't surprised because of the work I've been doing in the -- within this arena for quite a while. And so those would be families do that have children that are, you know, have neurodivergent concerns, right?

They don't feel as if maybe they're getting the amount of therapy that they need or that the children aren't thriving the way that they would like to see that happen. And then you have families who worried about the bullying, right?

They maybe haven't experienced it, but they are concerned by what they're hearing is happening. And then the school violence that each time there's an incident families, you know, particularly a lot of moms are impacted and they worry. Will my child be next?

And so, there's a variety of reasons that families are choosing it. And I think it parallels the military choices, parallel some of what we see in across the national arena.

KEILAR: Plus lifestyle. So what are you hoping comes out of this review by the Pentagon?

MACK: Well, you know, I'm going to wait and see. I know that speaking on behalf of our association, and I don't want to generalize for military families because there's a variety of thoughts about that. And I think that what we're looking at is based on what I've experienced in our life and what I most recently was able to bring to fruition at Fort Belvoir, which is Army Post in northern Virginia.

And so we were able to work with our school liaison officers, and they're very supportive. And I've been working and training them, and I really think that they've been a real advocate to homeschoolers but also connecting the military homeschoolers to the school liaison. So we're working that angle. In my work that I've done with the school liaisons across all the branches, so I do want to recognize their work in their effort to reach out.

But what we saw at Fort Belvoir was because of that connection I had as a leader there in the homeschool community, I was able to work with the school liaison to work with our CYS, which is Children and Youth Services and be able to get a school age childcare facility allocated to our homeschool group, Fort Belvoir Home Educators. And so what does that look like? This school age childcare facility basically was for before and after school, right?

And so when the kids go, yes, right.

KEILAR: Quote unquote regular school.

MACK: Exactly. So these before school children get picked up, they go to school in the building is basically unused, right, throughout the day from 9:30 to 2:30. So we were able to work with CYS and be able to utilize this building. The garrison chaplains have allowed us to use the religious ed center for our Monday coops. We've had our swim lessons. We've had the library work with us and overall the command at Fort Belvoir has been very receptive. But I don't see that across DOD.

KEILAR: That's really interesting. You're looking for some of those social outlets that you might need.

MACK: Exactly, building community for those families that want it. Some families may not want that or they may choose to go off post.

KEILAR: But for those who do real quickly before I let you go. Most most military children are actually in, they're in schools in their civilian communities. Just to be clear, there are though about 67,000 students who are in DOD run schools, 161 of them around the world actually. And the Trump administration has placed some new DEI restrictions on them that have affected affected clubs, curriculum, reading material, etcetera. There are some students and parents who are upset by this.

They feel that it's affecting their kids education. Is that making some parents more likely to homeschool? Have you heard anything about that?

MACK: I haven't heard anything yet, but I have heard some families that have been a little concerned about that, but I haven't heard anything yet. I think it's a little bit too early to know if that is a reason for families pulling out. But I can go on the survey and those reasons are showing those concerns.

And so I think everyone's in a wait and see mode to see what happens next. I'm excited about the possibilities for the families who want it. I'm always careful when I'm speaking on behalf of military families because you can't you can't generalize to that degree.

But for those who want it, I think it's great and we have an amazing board of all military homeschool families who are on the board of Military Homeschoolers Association. Amazing. So it's you know, I wanted when I was looking at who would be great for the board, I wanted those who were in the community like I was.

Those who would be passionate, have the same vision, come alongside and want to serve. And so the goal of our association is to serve, support, advocate and elevate that voice of the military homeschooling because we're growing at double the national average.

KEILAR: And I know it is. It is a diverse group.

MACK: It is.

KEILAR: Natalie, thank you so much, Natalie Mack, we really appreciate it.

MACK: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: We do have some breaking news now. Another legal blow to the president's economic agenda. [13:50:00]

A second court has just ruled President Trump did not have the authority to levy tariffs with emergency powers. U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras said two American toy companies would be irreparably harmed by the president's tariffs and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump cited contains no provision for tariffs.

We're following the latest on this. We'll get you more on this right after a quick break. Stay tuned.

[13:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A palate cleanser now from CNN Sports. Defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz pulls off a spectacular second round victory at Roland Garros. CNN's Patrick Snell joins us now.

Patrick walk us through the highlights.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Hi there Boris. Yes, Carlos Alcaraz is a man of many talents. And once again, we would see an example of just how good he is.

He's really focused. I'll tell you, really dialed in on defending his Roland Garros crown on route to what he hopes will be a fifth Grand Slam singles crown. And get this, at the age of just 22 Alcaraz putting on a show in the French capital on Wednesday was facing the Hungarian player Fabian Marozsan in the second round and turning on the style here just when he had to, absolutely exquisite skills.

Many admirers NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. right there and rightly impressed. Alcaraz having won the first set, dropping the second only to then up his game when he needed to most. Closing out the match in sublime style, wins it in four sets. The reigning champ losing just three games in the last two sets. He'll face Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the third round on Friday.

Earlier today meantime, at Roland Garros, top ranked Jannik Sinner advancing in straight sets. The Italian who recently returned to the sport from a three month doping ban. Just too good in the end for his French opponent, the veteran Richard Gasquet.

And with that defeat, Gasquet, who turns 39 next month now headed into retirement. Sinner safely through to round three.

And former U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff may not yet be hitting top form, but she's also through to third round. Gauff the number two seeded player here ending the challenge of Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic, winning it two and four. The 18 year old from Prague who's ranked 172 in the world giving it her best shot, but just no match for Gauff's class and experience. Coco will next face another player from the Czech Republic, Marie Bouzkova.

You can catch much more of the action on TNT Sports and Max. Much to look forward to. Boris right back to you.

SANCHEZ: Patrick Snell thank you so much for the update there.

Coming up more on our breaking news another court ruling against President Trump's tariffs. We'll break down the implications in just moments. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END