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MANHATTAN (CN) — A judge in New York federal court will decide next week whether entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs should remain jailed on sex-trafficking conspiracy charges.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday held a two-hour bail hearing in Manhattan federal court, but he didn’t immediately rule on the latest application by the Bad Boy Records founder to be released from the Brooklyn jail where he’s been detained since September.
Subramanian, the Joe Biden-appointed judge now presiding over the case, promised to publish a written opinion by next week.
Combs’ defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo told Subramanian on Friday that his legal team has secured a three-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He said Combs could be confined there under “a very, very rigorous set of conditions,” including strict 24/7 monitoring by a private security firm.
His attorneys argued the current conditions of confinement at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn infringe on his constitutional rights to participate in his own defense.
Pushing back, prosecutors said Combs’ latest motion for bail “amounts to the defendant paying his way out of custody.”
The renewed bail application, they argued in a court filing, ignores “significant evidence" that “the defendant is a violent, serial abuser who uses his vast wealth and position in the entertainment industry to conceal his illegal conduct and prevent victims of, and witnesses to, his abuse from coming forward.”
“In light of the well-documented danger posed by the defendant, the updated proposed conditions of release are woefully insufficient to assure the safety of the community and integrity of these proceedings,” they wrote in an opposition brief. “Indeed, the defendant’s continued obstructive conduct confirms the conclusion reached by two other courts: no set of conditions can meet that task.”
Combs, 54, has been detained since he was arrested in September on a three-count criminal indictment.
That indictment accused Combs of a sprawling sex-trafficking conspiracy involving physical abuse, drug-fueled sexual predation, and surreptitious video recording. He has pleaded not guilty on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Three judges have already separately rejected Combs’ successive applications for bail.
His first request — a proposed $50 million package — was rejected by a federal magistrate judge at his initial presentment in the Southern District of New York. That proposed deal was to be secured by Combs’ $48 million Miami mansion.
His second request for release on bail was denied again by Barack Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter.
His third request, before Second Circuit Court of Appeals, was also denied last month by U.S. Circuit Judge William J. Nardini, a Donald Trump appointee. His sealed and pending appeal for bail before a three-judge panel was thus put on ice while Combs returned to the lower court to ask for bail once again.
In his latest bid, Combs argued that former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was recently released on a $10 million bond amid what Combs called “considerably worse” sex-trafficking conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors responded that Jeffries’ case is distinct from Combs’ because of Jeffries’ advanced age (80) and the relative lack of alleged violence.
By contrast, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said the “significant level of violence” in Combs’ case makes it “much more comparable” to recent sex-trafficking conspiracy cases against R. Kelly, Keith Raniere, and Lawrence Ray. Those defendants were all detained before trial and ultimately convicted.
“This is a case about violence,” Slavik said. “He’s subjected individuals around him — employees, romantic partners, strangers — to physical violence.”
Slavik directed the judge’s attention to a 2016 episode at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was captured on surveillance video violently assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hallway. He later allegedly attempted to bribe hotel security to coverup the attack.
“This video is evidence that the defendant is a violent abuser," she said. “He’s a danger to the community.”
A representative for the federal pretrial service office said Friday that they found Combs’ proposed bail conditions insufficient to ensure his court appearances.
Combs is represented by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, who also handled the defense for NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere’s sex-trafficking trial in Brooklyn federal court.
He is currently scheduled to begin trial in Manhattan federal court on May 5, 2025.
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