Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in courtroom Wednesday for what’s more likely to be his final courtroom look for a number of months in his federal intercourse trafficking case that may see him spend the Christmas holidays in jail regardless of a number of makes an attempt by his attorneys to have him launched to accommodate arrest. (Here is an entire listing of the allegations in opposition to Combs.)
Combs appeared in courtroom for a quick listening to in his federal case at which federal prosecutors stated they plan to reveal all obtainable proof to his protection crew by the tip of the yr in preparation for a May trial date. One courtroom reporter described Combs as showing “thinner” and “grayer” than when he was final seen in public, and the music mogul wished spectators a “Happy Holidays” as he left.
Maurene Comey, former FBI director James Comey’s daughter who litigated the case wherein Maxwell was convicted for her function in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor ladies with Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday notified the federal courtroom within the Southern District of New York that she has joined the prosecution in opposition to Combs.
Federal choose Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ request to be launched on bail citing “compelling proof of Combs’s propensity for violence.” Subramanian’s ruling additionally acknowledged that there was proof supporting “a severe danger of witness tampering,” together with proof that he “violated Bureau of Prisons laws throughout his pretrial detention to obscure his communications with third events.” The choose additionally wrote the federal government prosecutors have proven “by clear and convincing proof that no situation or mixture of circumstances will moderately guarantee the security of the group.”
Attorneys for the federal authorities argued in opposition to Combs’ push to get launched on $50 million bail and a laundry listing of different circumstances, telling Judge Arun Subramanian in a letter the bundle “doesn’t come shut to making sure the safety of the group” or to making sure Combs will not intervene with the case or attempt to flee earlier than the trial—citing an alleged “sample of violence” towards girls and his personal workers. In their very own letter, protection attorneys argued Combs has been unconstitutionally held in jail and silenced since he was first arrested in September, that the federal government has launched a marketing campaign in opposition to him to maintain him from getting a good trial and that Combs “just isn’t required to sit down idly by and acquiesce to all of this.” Subramanian is predicted to decide on bail by Thanksgiving.
Subramanian heard arguments from attorneys on either side however punted a choice to the next week on whether or not Combs needs to be launched on bail. Subramanian rejected the concept Combs be stored beneath home arrest at a house with a ship dock in Miami however appeared open to doubtlessly releasing him to confinement with around-the-clock safety at a three-bedroom house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He requested legal professionals to submit additional arguments in writing by Monday, Nov. 25.
Subramanian instructed prosecutors to “eliminate” their copies of handwritten notes taken by Combs in jail, making the choice as he considers authorized arguments from Combs’ legal professionals that the notes have been topic to attorney-client privilege and counter arguments from prosecutors who accused Combs of writing a few witness tampering plot.
In a submitting opposing Combs’ request to be launched on bail, prosecutors declare Combs has tried to “corruptly affect witness testimony” by asking his members of the family to achieve out to victims and potential witnesses and create “narratives” to have an effect on their opinion, whereas additionally asking his youngsters to publish a video to social media in celebration of his birthday and guaranteeing the video had “his desired impact on potential jury members on this case.”
In “The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs,” Ray J claims high-profile celebrities are “reaching out to victims” and providing them cash in change for avoiding any public publicity, and aspiring singer-songwriter Tanea Wallace described her expertise at a 2018 celebration the place she stated she noticed minors “dressed up like Harajuku Barbies, pink lipstick, wanting like actual horny.”
Combs’ attorneys once more requested the mogul be launched on bail with a $50 million bond with a laundry listing of latest circumstances, together with dwelling detention in Miami or New York City, safety lockdown and no web entry, which is scheduled to be heard at a listening to on Nov. 22.
In a video posted by his son, Combs spoke to his youngsters on the cellphone on his fifty fifth birthday Monday and stated, “I can’t wait to see y’all. I simply need to say that I’m happy with y’all, particularly the ladies. I imply, all y’all only for being robust.”
Comb’s legal professionals despatched a letter to Subramanian asking he place all potential witnesses beneath a gag order till a federal trial scheduled for May, claiming a “deluge of improper pretrial publicity that’s undermining Mr. Combs’s proper to a good trial.” (The request comes after a pal of Comb’s late girlfriend Kim Porter spoke outdoors a courthouse in Manhattan, saying he’d testified earlier than a grand jury and has footage of Combs raping and sexually assaulting a number of individuals, together with minors).
Ty Stiklorius, John Legend’s supervisor, wrote in a New York Times piece that she herself skilled a “terrifying state of affairs” wherein she says she was locked in a bed room whereas attending a celebration hosted by Combs in St. Barts within the late Nineteen Nineties and “managed to speak her means out” of what she assumed was an irregular expertise, however later realized “what occurred that evening was no aberration—it was an indicator of a pervasive tradition within the music trade.”
Federal authorities stated they’d carried out an “interagency operation” on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn the place Combs is awaiting trial, however didn’t present particular particulars about what was carried out inside the ability, which has been the goal of rampant criticism from the Combs crew and the situation of a number of crimes in current months, together with a murder-for-hire plot and the stabbing deaths of two inmates.
In a letter submitted to the courtroom Friday, Combs’ attorneys requested a gag order be carried out for all federal officers concerned in his case, particularly citing a New York Post article that quotes a “federal regulation enforcement supply who’s concerned within the investigation” as proof the Department of Homeland Security is purposefully interfering with Combs’ proper to a good trial (in October, Combs’ authorized crew claimed DHS leaked an incriminating video of Combs to CNN, which the company denied). A choose later referred to as the quotes within the article “plainly improper” however rejected the gag order request.
Two of Combs’ seven youngsters—Quincy Brown, Combs’ adopted 33-year-old son, and Chance Combs, his 18-year-old daughter with Sarah Chapman—made a joint publish on Instagram calling the final month “devastating” for his or her household and defending their father from what they referred to as “accusations, conspiracy theories and false narratives.”
Combs returned to Instagram for the primary time since his arrest in September with a publish marking the second birthday of his youngest daughter, named Love Sean Combs (he’d beforehand deleted each publish on the social media account as allegations piled up in opposition to him, however has posted a complete of thrice since July, every time with photographs of his youngsters).
A U.S. Appeals courtroom referred Combs’ newest request for bail to a panel of three judges, however dominated he’ll stay behind bars till a choice is made.
Combs appeared in courtroom for the primary time since his arrest, the place a trial date of May 5 was set for him to face federal expenses of racketeering, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution.
Combs’ crew filed a memo alleging that the Department of Homeland Security leaked a surveillance video that confirmed him abusing his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, although prosecutors have denied the allegations and stated they didn’t receive that video till it was made public by CNN.
Lawyers for Combs filed paperwork asking he be allowed to await trial outdoors of the Metropolitan Detention Center the place he resides, claiming the preliminary determination to disclaim him bail was unfairly “distorted” by the eye on the case (the preliminary choose, who has since been changed, dominated Combs ought to keep in jail so he can’t use his cash and affect to intervene within the authorities’s case in opposition to him).
Janice Small Combs, Sean Combs’ mom, stated in an announcement by means of her household’s legal professional she is “devastated and profoundly saddened” by the allegations in opposition to her son, including these accusing him of misconduct are “searching for a monetary achieve” and likened Combs to “many people” who’ve been “wrongfully convicted because of their previous actions or errors”—although she additionally stated Combs “could have been not totally truthful” when denying assault allegations raised by his ex-girlfriend Ventura.
Lawyers for Combs filed a discover asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals within the Southern District of New York to overturn the choice to carry him in jail whereas he awaits trial, a selection Judge Andrew Carter made citing considerations Combs had allegedly tampered with witnesses who had been contacted as a part of the investigation in opposition to him (the request was not granted).
A documentary was launched for streaming on Tubi and featured an interview with Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo—who addressed a leaked surveillance video of Combs shoving and kicking ex-girlfriend Ventura—wherein he referred to as the indictment a takedown of a “profitable Black man” and stated he would not anticipate Combs to simply accept a plea discount.
Combs’ legal professionals cited “horrific” circumstances on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York in a request for bail—which included a $50 million bond provide, GPS monitoring and strict limitations on guests—that was denied by U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter, who stated the circumstances weren’t sufficient to make sure the security of the group.
A federal courtroom in Manhattan unsealed expenses in opposition to Combs for racketeering, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution, alleging he “abused, threatened, and coerced girls and others round him to meet sexual needs, defend his popularity, and conceal his conduct.”
Combs was arrested in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury.
Sources instructed CNN federal investigators have been getting near submitting expenses in opposition to Combs, and that plaintiffs who had filed particular person civil lawsuits in opposition to him had been interviewed as a part of the case.
Federal brokers raided Combs’ properties in Florida and California in relation to a federal intercourse trafficking investigation.
A $30 million lawsuit filed by Ventura kicked off a sequence of legal complaints in opposition to Combs which have included rape, sexual assault, intercourse trafficking and different claims (see the entire allegations right here).
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Combs has denied the entire allegations in opposition to him, together with his attorneys characterizing a few of the lawsuits and their accusations to Forbes as cash grabs, “baseless” or “sickening.” In an announcement in October, Combs’ attorneys stated they’ve “full confidence within the info, their authorized defenses and the integrity of the judicial course of. In courtroom, the reality will prevail: that Mr. Combs has by no means sexually assaulted anybody — grownup or minor, man or girl.”
Combs was arrested on federal expenses in September and, the following day, an indictment in opposition to him was unsealed. The doc alleges Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced girls and others round him to meet sexual needs, defend his popularity, and conceal his conduct,” and likewise accused him of utilizing his enterprise empire to have interaction in “intercourse trafficking, compelled labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.” Prosecutors allege Combs manipulated girls into participating in “prolonged intercourse acts with male industrial intercourse staff” in what the mogul described as “Freak Offs,” and that he and his associates drugged girls to maintain them “obedient and compliant.” Prosecutors accuse Combs and his associates of utilizing bribery, threats and violence to cowl up his alleged abuse, and stated he would leverage the monetary help he offered to coerce girls, making them really feel they could not resist his calls for “with out risking their monetary or job safety” or subjecting themselves to abuse. Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo stated on the time he was “upset with the choice to pursue what we imagine is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.”
Donald Trump Jr., son of president elect Donald Trump, took to his podcast the day earlier than the election to unfold a weird conspiracy concept linking celebrities who’ve endorsed Kamala Harris to the “freak off” events hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, and urged—with out proof—they obtained some form of safety from the vice chairman in change for his or her public help. On an episode of “Triggered,” Trump Jr. baselessly claimed the push of movie star endorsements for Kamala Harris within the months main as much as the election have been orchestrated by the vice chairman as a part of a blackmail scheme linked to Diddy’s arrest: “None of that is natural. It’s a paid influencer operation. Know that. The celebrities who aren’t getting paid are getting most likely paid in one other means as a result of they’re both on an Epstein listing or a Diddy celebration listing or each,” he stated. Trump supporter and billionaire Elon Musk additionally talked concerning the Diddy scandal within the days earlier than the election. After singer and actress Jennifer Lopez endorsed Harris for president, Musk appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast to say listeners should not belief her as a result of she did not “warn” individuals in opposition to her ex-boyfriend, Combs. “Now deciding she’s like warning individuals in opposition to Trump. How many individuals did she warn in opposition to Diddy, proper? Oh zero, OK. Maybe we shouldn’t belief her opinion.”
Sean Combs was as soon as on the trail to turning into a billionaire because of his intensive music profession, enterprise ventures that included the Sean John trend and perfume strains and founding the Revolt TV community and since unrealized plans to change into a hashish mogul. Forbes estimated Combs’ private wealth at $740 million in 2019 (he and his crew later claimed he was a billionaire, however provided no supporting proof). Today, Forbes conservatively estimates he’s value $400 million. Combs based his personal file label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993, which Rolling Stone has referred to as “one of the influential hip-hop labels of all time.” The label has signed main artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Janelle Monáe and Cassie, and has put out a number of of Combs’ personal albums, together with “Press Play” and “Last Train To Paris.” Combs offered a 50% stake in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group in a reported $30 million deal in 2005. Combs has constructed a fortune by means of Bad Boy Records, a number of liquor manufacturers, a trend label and different ventures. He offered his share within the DeLeón tequila model for $200 million earlier this yr. He was ranked No. 14 on Forbes’ listing of the highest-paid entertainers in 2022, making an estimated $90 million that yr. One of the rapper’s raided properties is situated in Holmby Hills, an prosperous neighborhood the place Combs bought a house for $40 million ten years in the past.
