Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail again and will remain in jail until trial
Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in federal custody after his legal team argued for his release on a $50 million bond in court on Wednesday.
Judge Andrew L. Carter ruled that Combs would remain in jail due to the risk of witness tampering and obstruction in his case, according to CNN and The New York Times. Carter said the government proved "by clear and convincing evidence" that no amount of bail could guarantee Combs wouldn't tamper with witnesses, per The Associated Press.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told Carter that the hip-hop mogul has a "long history of intimidating both accusers and witnesses to his alleged abuse," according to AP, citing text messages from women who claimed Combs threatened to leak videos of them engaging in "Freak Offs" (sexual performances Combs allegedly orchestrated).
Outside of the New York court, Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said Judge Carter's ruling "did not go our way" but said Combs' legal team plans on appealing the bail denial.
"I obviously would much prefer to fight this case with him out of jail, and we're going to try to bring that about through additional legal process, but wherever he is, his resolve is the same," Agnifilo told reporters. "He believes he's innocent. I believe he's innocent, and we're going to fight this case with all of our might until we don’t have to fight any longer."
Combs is being held in solitude within the Special Housing Unit at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. The next hearing was scheduled for Oct. 9, per CNN and NBC News.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer hopes to 'get his case to trial as quickly as possible'
Outside the courthouse, Agnifilo said, "We are considering our next steps and appealing the court's ruling from today." The Associated Press reports he will submit a filing to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Wednesday's ruling.
"I told Mr. Combs I’m going to try and get his case to trial as quickly as possible," he added. "I'm going to try to minimize the amount of time he spends in very very difficult and I believe inhumane housing conditions in the Special Housing Unit of the Metropolitan Detention Facility."
Agnifilo said he hopes for his client to be transferred to a jail in Essex County, New Jersey, because "it's just an easier place to deal with. I think it’s better for the person being housed there, and it's easier to get access to him."
Anna Cominsky, associate professor of law and director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at New York Law School, told USA TODAY Wednesday that Combs' custody status poses a "huge hurdle" for the defense.
"Mr. Combs is going to be fighting this from inside a jail cell," Cominsky said. "And it is extremely difficult to assist a client when they are incarcerated. You just don't have the access to them. They don't have the access to you that you have when they are out."
According to CNN, Combs had an apparent lack of reaction to Wednesday's ruling, to which Agnifilio responded: "He's a stoic guy in his manner. He's been through a lot in his life."
Sean 'Diddy' Combs won't have to pay $100M judgement to Michigan inmate
Amid his sex trafficking indictment, Combs scored a legal victory when Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith's multimillion-dollar judgment against the rapper was dismissed in court Wednesday, according to a filing obtained by USA TODAY.
Cardello-Smith, a convict serving time for first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges, was granted $100 million in a default civil suit judgment on Sept. 10, stemming from his lawsuit for an alleged 1997 sexual assault. In response, Combs filed a pair of emergency motions on Sept. 12 to dismiss the judgment, as well as a restraining order granted in the case.
The judgment was reversed after Judge Anna Marie Anzalone ruled that the statute of limitations on Cardello-Smith's complaint had expired.
Attorneys for Sean 'Diddy' Combs propose $50M bail package ahead of trial
Combs was already denied bail Tuesday after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. Following Combs' arraignment hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky ruled he must remain in custody as he awaits trial.
In a letter filed to Judge Carter on Wednesday, Combs' lawyers proposed an amended bail package of $50 million. The bond would have been secured with the equity of Combs' Miami home, which he paid off the mortgage for in anticipation of his bail hearing, and his mother's Miami residence.
On Tuesday, Tarnofsky said she had "very significant concerns" about Combs' substance abuse and "what appears to be anger issues," The Associated Press reported. Per NBC, prosecutor Emily Johnson told the judge that when he was arrested Monday night, a pink powder suspected to be a narcotic was found in Combs' hotel room where he was staying.
The rapper's bail package, updated Wednesday to include more stipulations, proposed several security measures to monitor Combs' behavior ahead of trial, including restricted travel between New York and Florida, house arrest with GPS monitoring, limiting the number of female visitors to Combs' home and weekly drug testing.
"These proposed conditions will assuage any fears of danger to the community and will ensure his return to court," Combs' attorneys wrote.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Rap mogul denied bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking charges
Sean 'Diddy' Combs searched on plane during raids, children held at gunpoint, lawyers say
In Combs' motion for bond, his lawyers confirmed the rapper was searched on his plane during the raids and his children were held at gunpoint by Homeland Security agents.
The legal team claims the producer has had difficulty securing a "one-month rental" in New York City due to the case and landlords' "discomfort with having Mr. Combs as a tenant given the investigation." Combs has been staying at the Park Hyatt and Carlyle hotels, his lawyers say.
Through his lawyers, Combs requested to be released to home detention with GPS monitoring on a $50 million bond, which is secured by the equity in his $48 million Miami property and his mother Janice Combs' home nearby. Combs, along with his mother and daughters Chance, Jessie, D'Lia and Love Combs, have all surrendered their passports to his legal counsel, the document states.
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"Sean Combs has never evaded, avoided, eluded or run from a challenge in his life," his lawyers' motion reads. "He will not start now. As he has handled every hardship, he will meet this case head-on, he will work hard to defend himself, and he will prevail."
Diddy 'freak off' details: Baby oil, AR-15s seized in spring raids, shows 'pattern of manipulation,' authorities say
According to the 14-page indictment filed in federal court on Sept. 12 and unsealed Tuesday, Combs turned his "multi-faceted business empire" into a "criminal enterprise" in which he and his associates engaged in kidnapping, arson and physical violence, sex trafficking and forced labor, among other crimes.
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Multiple AR-15 guns, large-capacity magazines, "evidence" of the crimes in the indictment and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant allegedly used for "freak offs" were discovered during the raids, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference Tuesday.
"Today, we shatter any false notion of impunity as we uncover the defendant's alleged pattern of manipulation, exploitation and outright abuse," said Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker in a statement Tuesday. "Make no mistake: We are here today only because of the unwavering strength of victims and witnesses who have already endured unspeakable hardships."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Diddy get bail today? Judge denies request a second time
