Sean “Diddy” Combs Bail Denied Bail After Third Try
Sean “Diddy” Combs will stay in prison as he awaits trial, with a federal judge denying his bid for a $50 million bail package.
Combs was arrested in September on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
U.S District Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday handed down the decision after a bail hearing last week. His decision on the matter was delayed as he requested more information on Combs’ communications with others while he has been in prison.
Prosecutors had alleged that since being imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Combs had obtained other inmates’ phone lines in attempts to evade scrutiny and contact witnesses. They further allege that he has used a non-authorized messaging app to communicate with the outside world and has coerced his family to write public birthday messages to him which are intended to sway potential jurors.
In turn, Combs’ defense team, led by attorney Marc Agnifilo, claimed prosecutors had unjustly seized attorney-client privileged material from Combs’ jail cell during a raid. Subramanian ruled that prosecutors must delete images of Combs’ handwritten notes about legal strategies and potential witnesses. In documents filed Monday, they added that Combs had a constitutional right to help his lawyers in reaching out to witnesses and said the birthday messages for his children were “innocuous.”
“The government’s arguments that asking his children to post birthday wishes on Instagram and that he is not entitled to publicly express his opinion that this prosecution is racially motivated are, quite simply, an unconstitutional effort to silence him,” the filing reads.
Combs had previously been denied bail twice by two other judges after concerns that he may tamper with witnesses.
A video of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel has also repeatedly been brought up by prosecutors as evidence that the rapper could become violent if released.
Federal prosecutors allege Combs has been at the helm of a vast criminal enterprise through which he assaulted and trafficked women with the help of his various businesses from at least 2008. The indictment specifically refers to a series of events called “Freak Offs,” in which commercial sex workers were allegedly brought in by Combs, who then “used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts” that were recorded and could last for days.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. A trial date has been set for May 5, 2025.
