Federal prosecutors have accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of violating prison rules in an attempt to manipulate witness testimony and spoil the potential jury pool in his case, according to a court document filed Friday.
Combs, 55, is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The music mogul has entered a not guilty plea and has been denied bail in the case.
His legal team is fighting the decision to keep Combs in federal custody and has requested a new bail hearing. Prosecutors filed an opposition to the motion in the Southern District of New York, accusing Combs of engaging in obstruction even while behind bars.
Combs allegedly “continued to attempt to circumvent law enforcement oversight, corruptly influence witness testimony and further attack the integrity of these proceedings,” the filing said.
Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York City on September 17.
Prosecutors say Combs ordered payments to fellow inmates to use their phone accounts and, in violation of federal prison rules, used three-way calling to contact people not on his approved contact list.
A review of recorded conversations also revealed that Combs instructed his family to contact potential victims and witnesses in his case, and to promote stories on social media to influence a potential jury pool in his upcoming trial in May, the motion said.
“At Defendant’s carefully crafted instructions, Defendant’s children posted a video to their respective social media accounts showing Defendant’s children gathered to celebrate Defendant’s birthday,” the filing said.
NBC News previously reported, along with numerous other outlets, that Combs’ children posted a video of themselves singing happy birthday to their father on the phone.
Combs then monitored engagement analytics on the post “and explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure the video had the desired effect on potential jurors,” the filing said.
Some details from the prosecution’s files have been redacted, including excerpts of phone conversations apparently made by Diddy and his “adult son” that the prosecutor said “show the clear inference that the defendant’s goal is to harm victims and witnesses.” blackmail, either into silence or into providing useful testimony. for his defense.”
Prosecutors wrote that “no condition” can be imposed to ensure Combs does not pose a flight risk or threat to the safety of others.
“Defendant’s emphasis on 24/7 private security is also problematic,” the motion said. “The defendant has demonstrated an uncanny ability to influence others to do his bidding – employees, family members and MDC inmates alike.”
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the prosecutor’s request to deny their client a new bail hearing.
The investigation surrounding Combs began last year when his former romantic partner Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, filed a lawsuit alleging that Combs raped and beat her in fits of “uncontrollable rage” and exerted a “tight grip on her life.” .
The lawsuit also alleged that he forced her to perform sex acts he called “freak offs” on other men while he watched. The other men were often sex workers whom he paid to travel with them, the indictment said.
Ventura settled with Combs a day after the lawsuit became public, and Combs denied all allegations therein. And while Combs completely denied the allegations, surveillance video surfaced showing Combs punching Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016, similar to an incident Cassie detailed in her lawsuit.
Combs posted to Instagram a now-deleted video apologizing for the attack, saying he took “full responsibility” for his actions and describing it as one of the “darkest times” of his life.
But since Ventura went public with her allegations against Combs, the music producer and entrepreneur has been hit with a wave of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexually assaulting dozens of others. Combs has denied all allegations against him.
Combs was charged in September, months after his properties were searched by Homeland Security Investigations agents in California, New York and Florida. The indictment alleged that Combs and his associates often lured women into his orbit “under the pretense of a romantic relationship.”
Once the women were in his world, Combs then used violence, threats and coercion, including drugs, to keep them “obedient and docile” to encourage their participation in freak-offs, the indictment said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
