Sean “Diddy” Combs Bail Decision Delayed as Rapper Seeks Home Confinement for Third Time
A decision in Friday’s third bail hearing for Sean “Diddy” Combs was delayed until Monday, with the judge weighing the case and asking for more information on proposed conditions for the beleaguered rapper’s potential home confinement as he awaits his racketeering and sex trafficking trial, which is set for May.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian suggested both parties submit proposals by Monday at noon regarding what type of communications Combs would be able to engage in were he to be granted home confinement, Inner City Press reported from the courtroom on Friday afternoon. Prosecutors said the hip hop impresario “cannot be trusted” to follow the rules of pretrial release while the defense said its proposals are “far more restrictive” than jail conditions, including limiting phone calls to lawyers, restricting visitors, keeping a visitor log and avoiding contact with witnesses.
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The now notorious video of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie, at a Los Angeles hotel was brought up as evidence that the rapper could become violent if released. That notion was shot down by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo.
“If what the government is afraid of is that Mr. Combs is going to be violent toward someone there’s just zero chance of that happening,” Agnifilo said.
Combs entered a not guilty plea on the federal charges in September and, in a statement after his arrest, Agnifilo said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is pursuing an “unjust prosecution.”
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community,” Agnifilo, a former federal and state prosecutor, said. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”
For the upcoming weekend and if the bail request is not granted, Combs, 55, will remain held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until he faces a New York jury over the sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. The near-billionaire potentially faces 15 years minimum in prison, if found guilty. Two judges have previously declined to release Combs from custody, citing potential witness tampering in the case as the key reason he must remain locked up before his trial.
Combs arrived in court on Friday in an MDC tan uniform on Friday, where his family watched from the galley as his attorney proposed a $50 million bail for his release from Metro and into home confinement; extensive conditions were proposed, including 24/7 security to ensure that the rapper, who is considered a flight risk, remains on the premises.
On Nov. 15, prosecutors shut down the idea of allowing Combs back onto the streets in a court filing, detailing the rapper’s bad jailhouse behavior, much of which closely reflects the actions and coercive moves that he is accused of in the federal case filed against him and the many civil suits raining down on him.
Combs made “relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him,” prosecutors said.
However, the hip-hop mogul’s legal team filed a rebuttal court document on Monday, calling foul on prosecutors for seizing what they say is attorney-client privileged material from his jail cell at Metro. His handwritten notes about defense witnesses and thoughts on legal strategies for his looming trial were among what was taken away. Earlier this week, a judge ruled that prosecutors must delete the images of handwritten notes; excerpts of the notes were forbidden from today’s bond hearing.
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