Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody as a U.S. District Judge considers his latest bid for release on $50 million bail. The music mogul, charged with using his business empire to commit sexual abuse and sex trafficking, appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday as his defense team argued for home detention.
Judge Arun Subramanian did not immediately rule on the bail request, stating he would decide "promptly."
Combs’ legal team proposed a package including his $48-million Florida mansion as collateral, 24/7 monitoring by private security, and strict no-contact orders with alleged victims and witnesses.
“There’s a zero percent chance of him acting violently if released,” said defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, dismissing prosecutors' claims that Combs posed a danger.
Prosecutors argued that Combs’ alleged attempts to conceal evidence and influence witnesses demonstrated his inability to abide by court orders.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Slavik emphasized Combs’ history of alleged misconduct, including a 2016 incident captured on hotel surveillance video where he was seen assaulting former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Slavik said Combs attempted to bribe hotel staff to destroy the video, which prosecutors cited as evidence of his willingness to conceal crimes.
“Even from jail, the defendant has communicated with his lawyers through unauthorized channels and sought to manipulate public perception via social media campaigns,” Slavik said, calling Combs “a defendant who cannot or will not follow rules.”
Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro countered that Combs’ right to address media narratives about his case should not be conflated with jury tampering.
The government’s case includes accusations that Combs coerced women into performing in sexual acts with male sex workers, some of whom were allegedly transported across state lines.
Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, asserting that the sexual activities were consensual. Agnifilo characterized the allegations as misrepresentations of a “toxic but loving” 11-year relationship with Cassie.
Combs’ lawyers questioned why he remains jailed while Mike Jeffries, the 80-year-old former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO also accused of sex trafficking, was granted pre-trial release on a $10-million bond.
Prosecutors distinguished the cases, pointing to Combs’ prior arrests and the recovery of rifles with defaced serial numbers from his residences as factors justifying his detention.
In a related development, Judge Subramanian ordered prosecutors to destroy copies of handwritten notes Combs wrote in jail, pending a ruling on whether the notes are protected by attorney-client privilegeAttorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between a lawyer and a client when they are made for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice. The privilege generally allows the client to prevent those communications from being disclosed in court or during litigation.Read more →.
Combs, wearing a beige jail uniform, blew kisses to his family in the courtroom during Friday’s hearing. Whether he will spend the remainder of his pre-trial period under house arrest or in custody hinges on Judge Subramanian’s forthcoming decision.
If convicted on all charges, Combs faces the possibility of life in prison.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and NewsNation owner Nexstar Media are weighing settlement talks in his $100 million defamation lawsuit after a federal judge kept alive a claim over an on-air allegation involving drug-laced baby oil.A Sept. 10 court filing shows the parties are considering either mediation or a settlement conference before... Read More »
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers are asking to walk away from his $100 million defamation lawsuit against NewsNation owner Nexstar Media, telling a federal judge that he has gone more than six months without paying legal fees and that their relationship has suffered a “total breakdown in cooperation and communication.”Combs is... Read More »
Sean Combs was involved in a physical altercation with a fellow inmate at Fort Dix earlier this week, an incident that resulted in the disgraced music mogul being placed in solitary confinement, according to several news outlets.The confrontation reportedly began when another inmate at the low-security federal facility in New... Read More »
A federal judge in New York has dismissed Dawn Richard’s federal lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, finding that most of the former Danity Kane member’s claims were filed too late under New York law.In a ruling issued June 12, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed 17 of Richard’s 18... Read More »
Attorneys for Sean Combs appeared before a federal appeals court this week, pressing for a faster ruling on whether the music executive was improperly sentenced following his 2025 criminal conviction. The hearing marks a critical stage in Combs’ effort to reduce his prison time or potentially secure early release after... Read More »
