Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday pleaded with a judge to release him from jail, arguing the embattled music producer is not the danger to the community that prosecutors allege he is.
Following nearly two hours of arguments, Judge Arun Subramanian said he would issue a decision regarding the bail petition next week. He ordered both sides to submit letters by noon on Monday to lay out what type of communication Combs is permitted to engage in after prosecutors alleged that he had tried to influence the potential jury pool and tamper with witnesses.
Combs had been in federal custody since his arrest in September. His trial on sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution-related charges is set to begin next spring. He has pleaded not guilty.
It was Combs’ third attempt before a federal judge to seek bail after two other judges found there were no conditions that alleviated concerns Combs was engaging in alleged witness tampering and posed a danger to women.
The judge pressed prosecutors to explain why Combs’ $50 million bond proposal, including private security to monitor his phone calls and computer usage, was not enough for his release.
Prosecutor Christine Slavik alleged Combs has not followed rules at the federal jail, so there was no reason to believe he would follow rules outside of it.
She said Combs used at least eight other inmates’ identification numbers, engaged in three-way calling, and used unauthorized messaging from inside the jail.
“The defendant here has demonstrated either he cannot, or he will not follow rules. The defendant, simply put, cannot be trusted,” Slavik said in court.
Slavik claimed Combs violated the judge’s order limiting public statements and said Combs admitted it in one message. She quoted Combs as having said he wanted to “reach for this jury. I just need one [jurror].”
He also hasn’t followed his lawyers’ own instructions, she said.
In another exchange from jail related to a social media post from Combs’ family to honor his birthday, the prosecutor said that Combs is told by someone, “The lawyers say we shouldn’t do it.”
Combs replied, according to Slavik, “I don’t care. It’s my birthday.”
Attorneys for Combs proposed home detention with private security who would monitor him at all times. His lawyers said security would be more restrictive than federal custody in deciding who Combs could be in contact with.
The judge said Combs’ mansion with a private boat dock in Miami is “not going to work.” Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, countered that Combs has a three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan he could stay at.
Hotel surveillance video
Attorneys for Combs claim prosecutors altered a video they introduced to the court of the music mogul attacking his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at the Intercontinental hotel in Los Angeles in March 2016.
Earlier this year, CNN acquired and published surveillance footage depicting several different angles of the assault, which were edited together to help more clearly illustrate the incident. Combs apologized for his behavior in the footage in a social media post.
Slavik said prosecutors provided Combs’ team with cell phone video of the same assault that is captured on the hotel surveillance video. The cell phone footage was obtained from a grand jury witness, according to prosecutors.
“The cell phone footage shows the exact same thing as the CNN video. I don’t think there is a discrepancy in what both videos show,” Slavik said in court. “He throws her to the ground, he kicks her, he drags her. That was not edited.”
Slavik said the government does not have the original surveillance video.
Shapiro said her client was trying to get his clothes and phone back in the footage.
“The sequencing is actually very important,” Shapiro said.
The judge interrupted and said, “There was dragging and there was kicking. There was shoving.”
Combs’ lawyers characterized what is depicted in the video as the end of a “consensual, long-term, loving relationship.”
“This is a case about violence,” Slavik said. “The defendant has engaged in physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of his romantic partners for years.”
