Topline
Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs again failed to secure bail for the rapper and music mogul Thursday when a New York judge ruled he will stay behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial, now set for May, on charges including sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs on Oct. 20, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Key Facts
At a pretrial hearing Thursday, Judge Arun Subramanian set a trial date of May 5, according to multiple reporters at the courthouse, in line with requests from Combs’ team for an April or May trial.
Subramanian also said Combs will “remain detained” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been in jail since Sept. 16 after he was arrested in New York following a federal indictment on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The pretrial hearing comes two days after Combs’ attorneys pushed for bail for a third time, claiming the initial judge’s decision to deny him bail was unfairly influenced based on the “sensationalism” of the case (the first judge on the case, who has since been replaced, denied a request for $50 million bond, home detention and limits on visitors).
Combs’ lawyers unsuccessfully sought bail for the rapper twice before this week—once immediately after his arrest when his attorneys claimed he was living in “horrific” conditions in the New York jail, and again on Sept. 30, when they asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Southern District of New York to overturn the ruling.
Thursday was Combs’ first court appearance since he was arrested, and his mother Janice Combs, who last week defended her son in a lengthy Instagram post shared via family attorneys, was seen at the courthouse with Combs’ children.
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Key Background
Federal agents searched Combs’ homes in Florida and California in March in connection with a sex trafficking investigation. Sources told CNN in May those who had accused Combs of abuse may be brought to testify before a grand jury. On Sept. 16, Combs was arrested in Manhattan after being indicted and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors alleged he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter denied Combs’ request for bail—in a bond offer that included $50 million bond, house arrest, GPS monitoring and strict limitations on visitors—and said Combs would need to await trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he reportedly shares a unit with disgraced former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. His attorneys asked for bail again several weeks later and were again denied by an appeals court judge. Late Wednesday, his legal team filed a memo alleging the U.S. government leaked the surveillance video that showed him abusing his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Prosecutors have said they did not obtain that video until it was published by CNN, and in court on Thursday called the defense’s allegation an attempt to “exclude a damning piece of evidence” in the case.
Tangent
In addition to the federal inquiry, Combs has been hit with an onslaught of civil lawsuits claiming sexual misconduct and abuse. In November of last year, Ventura filed a $30 million lawsuit alleging Combs raped her in 2018 and subjected her to a years-long emotionally and physically abusive relationship. The lawsuit was settled the next day without an admission of fault, and Combs’ attorney continued to deny the allegations. Between November and May, at least three other civil lawsuits were filed against Combs, including a bombshell suit from producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who alleges he was “subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction” and was forced to engage in relations with sex workers, as well as claiming Combs was famous in Hollywood for throwing “sex-trafficking parties” with underage women and illegal drugs. More civil suits have continued to pile up against the mogul, including from former model Crystal McKinney, April Lampros and Thalia Graves. On Oct. 1, Houston-based lawyer Tony Buzbee said he is representing 120 accusers who plan to file civil lawsuits across multiple states over the next month. Combs has continued to deny all allegations against him.
Further Reading
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