Prosecutors Highlight ‘Risk of Obstruction’ if Diddy Gets Bail Before Trial: ‘An Out-of-Control Individual’
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for MTV
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs ‘ lawyers tried for a third time Friday to persuade a judge to let the hip-hop mogul out of jail while he awaits his sex trafficking trial, but a decision won’t come until next week as prosecutors warned of his “concerted effort” from behind bars to disrupt the case.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said he’ll rule promptly on Combs’ bail request after the defense and prosecution file letters by noon Monday fleshing out some of the arguments they made during a two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Combs’ lawyers pitched having him await trial under around-the-clock surveillance either at his mansion on an island near Miami Beach or — after the judge scoffed at that location — at an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Their $50 million bail proposal, secured by his Florida home, essentially amounts to keeping Combs on house arrest instead of in custody at the troubled Brooklyn federal jail where he’s been held for 67 days since his September arrest.
Under their plan, Combs’ lawyers said he’ll be under near-total restrictions on his ability to see or contact anyone but them. But prosecutors argued that no bail conditions can mitigate Combs’ “risk of obstruction and dangerousness to others.”
Combs has routinely flouted jail rules while locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, prosecutors said, accusing him of attempting to interfere with witnesses and taint the jury pool.
“Really, this amounts to the defendant paying his way out of custody,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told Subramanian.
Defense lawyer Anthony Ricco countered that the prosecution’s portrayal of Combs as “a lawless person who doesn’t follow instructions” or “an out-of-control individual who has to be detained” is inaccurate.
Another Combs lawyer, Teny Geragos, added that given the strict release conditions they’ve proposed, “it would be impossible for him not to follow rules.”
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
His trial is slated to begin May 5.
Two other judges previously concluded that the Bad Boy Records founder would be a danger to the community if he is freed, and an appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.
Friday’s hearing was the second time Combs was in court this week. On Tuesday, a judge blocked prosecutors from using as evidence papers that were seized from his cell during a jail-wide sweep for contraband and weapons.
As he entered through a side door, Combs waved to relatives including his mother and several of his children in the courtroom gallery, tapping his hand to his heart and blowing kisses at them. He then hugged his lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, before sitting at the defense table.
Combs was not handcuffed or shackled and wore a beige jail uniform, occasionally pulling a pair of reading glasses from his pocket as he peered at papers in front of him.
Prosecutors contend that while incarcerated the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer has orchestrated social media campaigns aimed at influencing potential jurors. They allege that he has also attempted to leak materials he believes would help his case and is contacting potential witnesses via third parties.
“Simply put, the defendant cannot be trusted,” Slavik argued.
In renewing their push for Combs’ release, his lawyers sought to undercut the strength of a potential key piece of evidence: a March 2016 video showing him hitting and kicking his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
Prosecutors contend the assault happened during a “Freak Off,” an event in which they allege Combs used his “power and prestige” to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers.
Combs’ lawyers said in court papers that newly unearthed evidence refutes that, and that the video, which first aired on CNN in May, was “a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship” between Combs and Cassie.
Slavik, responding to defense claims that the recording was manipulated or taken out of context, said prosecutors don’t have the full version because Combs paid hotel staff $100,000 “to make the original video go away.”
“This is a case about violence,” Slavik told Subramanian in a final plea to keep Combs locked up. “The defendant has engaged in physical, sexual and emotional abuse of his romantic partners for years. … He’s hit. He’s kicked. He’s dragged.”
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