Decision on Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Bail Expected Next Week

No decision was made today on the request for bail from Sean “Diddy” Combs, though the judge said at a hearing on Friday, Nov. 21, that he expects to make a decision by next week.

Combs, 55, entered the Manhattan federal courtroom through a side door, dressed in a khaki jail-issued outfit. He smiled and waved toward his family in the second row, including his twin 17-year-old daughters.

Following a heated two-hour hearing, Judge Arun Subramanian instructed both the U.S. Attorney’s office and the defense team to provide more clarification on how Combs has been communicating from behind bars in the two months since his arrest on sex trafficking charges. 

The judge also requested details from both sides on the specific forms of communication Combs is permitted to use by the Bureau of Prisons. The parties have until 12 p.m. ET on Nov. 25 to submit the requested information.

Combs has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September indictment on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation. He has pleaded not guilty.

Previously two different judges had denied Combs bail, citing concerns of potential witness tampering. Since then, prosecutors have accused Combs of attempting to do just that even from behind bars.

In a prosecution filing, Combs is accused of using other inmates’ phone access cards in prison to call different people including his sons.

Prosecutors allege that Combs has made “relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him.”

The prosecution’s filing came in response to a bail request from the defense, which called the government’s case “thin” and proposed strict release conditions and $50 million bail for the Bad Boy Records founder.

The Friday hearing was the second time Combs has appeared in court this week. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Judge Subramanian ruled that evidence obtained by the prosecution during a sweep of Combs’ jail cell would not be considered in the bail hearing, a win for Combs.

Combs’ attorneys called the Bureau of Prisons sweep “outrageous government conduct” and a “due process violation.” 

Prosecutors countered by saying that the sweep was planned prior to Combs’ arrest, was unrelated to the case and did not target any specific inmates.

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Obtained in the sweep were 19 pages of notes that Combs’ attorneys claimed were legal materials and thus privileged. The prosecution was required to destroy its copies of the notes, though they argued most of the evidence obtained in the sweep was not privileged.

The charges against Combs center around alleged highly orchestrated sex performances called “freak offs” and forced or coerced women to participate with male sex workers.

During his first court appearances, Combs was shackled. But on Tuesday and again on Friday, the mogul appeared without chains after the defense filed a motion arguing that appearing in shackles could potentially create “juror bias.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.