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Sean “Diddy” Combs appeals prison sentence ahead of federal sex crimes trial

Sean “Diddy” Combs appeals prison sentence ahead of federal sex crimes trial

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Sean “Diddy” Combs is requesting release from prison ahead of his trial on federal sex crime charges.

The embattled media mogul’s lawyers filed documents Tuesday to appeal his prison stay, arguing that federal prosecutors’ previous justification for his detention was “based on speculation.”

“The extreme and unusual thing about this case is that Mr. Combs was arrested immediately after his indictment, even though he has been in the spotlight his entire life and many of his alleged escapades and episodes have been widely reported in the press and are well known.” to law enforcement,” his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, said in a motion for temporary release filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sean “Diddy” Combs in court: Trial date set for music mogul’s sex crime charges

Combs was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on September 16 and charged the following day with sex trafficking, extortion and solicitation of prostitution. Since then, he has been incarcerated in the special housing facility at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to all federal criminal charges despite mounting civil charges over the last year.

On September 30, Combs’ legal team filed a notice of appeal in the matter, the first step in an appeal process. In her statement of claim filed Tuesday, Shapiro alleged that the possibility of obstruction presented by federal prosecutors was based on “unverified allegations about communications with witnesses in civil cases and communications initiated by alleged witnesses and not by Mr. Combs.”

Shapiro added that Combs poses “no conceivable” flight risk, citing his behavior before the arrest. He told the court that “he immediately instructed his attorneys in March to contact federal prosecutors when he realized he was the target of a serious federal investigation.”

On Thursday, a judge set the trial to begin on May 5, 2025.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is appealing the judge’s denial his release from prison on $50 million bail

The prosecution responds to the claims made by Diddy’s lawyers

During a hearing Thursday, Combs’ third court appearance since his arrest, prosecutor Emily Johnson responded to defense allegations that the government leaked details of its investigation to the media.

At the hearing, Johnson called the defense motion an attempt to “exclude a damning piece of evidence.” She said prosecutors had no problem reaffirming their commitment to keeping confidential evidence to the press, but said the defense should also be bound by it.

Johnson also raised concerns about Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo’s statement in a September interview with TMZ in which he called the case a “defeat against a successful black man.” She said the comment amounted to an accusation that the government was “carrying out racist law enforcement.”

Justice Subramanian asked Agnifilo to propose an order that would regulate public statements from both sides.

Diddy offered $50 million bail and his family’s passports

According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY last week, the Bad Boy Records mogul sought an appeals court ruling that would overturn Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr.’s Sept. 18 decision denying his request to be released from prison . At the time, his lawyers said they had proposed a “robust bail package” that included a $50 million bond.

Other conditions of the bail package proposed by Combs’ attorneys included travel restrictions in the Southern District of Florida, where Combs’ Miami home is located, and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, as well as house arrest with GPS monitoring. The package also included the release of the passports of Combs and five other family members and further attempts to sell his private plane.

His attorney, Shapiro, called Combs “hardly a flight risk” and argued in the lawsuit that “he is a 54-year-old father of seven, a U.S. citizen, an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman and philanthropist, and one of…” the most well-known people on earth.

Shapiro added: “The sensationalism surrounding his arrest has distorted the bail analysis: Mr. Combs was not released pending trial despite offering to abide by restrictive conditions that would have prevented any conceivable risk of escape or danger.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs denied bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking charges

Combs had previously lost two attempts to be released on bail

Before this latest appeal, Combs lost two applications for bail. The first judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky, agreed with U.S. attorneys’ argument that Combs posed a risk if released on house arrest.

After Carter affirmed Tarnofsky’s Sept. 17 ruling against Combs, Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs’ attorneys, vowed to appeal the decision.

“I told Mr. Combs that I would try to get his case to trial as quickly as possible,” he said Sept. 18 outside the courthouse. “I will try to minimize the amount of time he spends there. “It is very, very difficult and, in my opinion, inhumane living conditions in the special housing facility at the Metropolitan Detention Facility.”

Contributor: Luc Cohen, Reuters