Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Refuses Bail for Third Time as He Prepares for Sex Trafficking Trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs, the renowned hip-hop mogul, was denied bail on Wednesday as he prepares for a sex trafficking trial scheduled for May. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian cited concerns regarding Combs’ potential for witness tampering and his attempts to conceal prohibited communications during his time in jail.

The ruling followed a bail hearing held last week, where Combs’ defense lawyers proposed a substantial $50 million bail package. They claimed this amount would sufficiently ensure Combs would remain in custody and not pose a threat to any potential witnesses.

However, Judge Subramanian was not persuaded. In a five-page order, he agreed with previous judges and prosecutors who deemed Combs a danger to the community if released. “There is compelling evidence of Combs’s propensity for violence,” the judge noted in his decision.

Lawyers representing Combs have not provided an immediate response to the judge’s ruling. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the prosecution, also declined to comment on the matter.

At the age of 55, Combs has entered a not guilty plea to accusations of coercing and abusing women over several years, allegedly aided by his associates and staff. The indictment outlines serious claims against him, including using methods such as blackmail, violence, kidnapping, arson, and physical assaults to silence victims.

Last month, a federal appeals court denied Combs’ request for immediate release while a three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan reviews his bail application. This appeal remains on hold as Judge Subramanian considers the matter for the first time after taking over the case from an earlier judge.

In his assessment, Judge Subramanian conducted a thorough evaluation of the bail arguments and supporting evidence. He highlighted the prosecution’s insistence that no set of bail conditions could adequately protect public safety or prevent Combs from attempting to flee.

Prosecutors alleged that even from his incarceration at a federal facility in Brooklyn, Combs has managed to orchestrate social media campaigns aimed at swaying potential jurors and has attempted to publicly share information that he believes could benefit his case. They also revealed that he has contacted witnesses through intermediaries.

The defense contends that the allegations of sexual abuse mentioned in the indictment stem from consensual encounters between adults and argue that new evidence challenges claims of Combs exploiting his “power and prestige” to manipulate female victims into participating in drugged sexual performances with male sex workers, referred to as “Freak Offs.”

Judge Subramanian pointed to evidence suggesting that Combs poses a serious risk of witness tampering, particularly after he communicated with a grand jury witness over the summer and later deleted critical text messages with that individual.

The judge also cited incidents during Combs’ pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he allegedly violated Bureau of Prisons regulations by compensating other inmates to access their phone codes, enabling him to contact individuals not on his approved list.

Moreover, Subramanian indicated that Combs’ instructions to family and legal counsel to add people on three-way calls to obscure communications and attempts to influence the potential jury pool demonstrated a clear disregard for regulations.

Judge Subramanian described Combs’ willingness to bypass jailhouse rules as “strong evidence” that releasing him would not prevent similar actions in the future. Though Combs’ legal team argued he had ceased certain controversial communication methods criticized by prosecutors, Subramanian noted that evidence indicated Combs had reverted to those very practices shortly after the bail hearing.

Even the proposal for strict home confinement presented by the defense failed to convince the judge. He expressed skepticism about any conditions that would place trust in Combs and those surrounding him, such as a private security team, to adhere to bail conditions. “Given the nature of the allegations and information provided by the government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions based on trust,” Subramanian wrote.