A federal judge ordered prosecutors Tuesday to get rid of copies of 19 pages of notes from Sean “Diddy” Combs’ jail cell after his lawyers argued the seizure violated attorney-client privilege.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that the court will keep the papers while prosecutors and Combs’ attorneys file briefs on the matter in the coming weeks.
Prosecutors have accused Combs of trying to influence witnesses while he is behind bars awaiting trial on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs was arrested this fall and charged with sex-related crimes that prosecutors say are linked to his music empire, which they allege he used to abuse and exploit women.
Combs has denied both the allegations and prosecutors’ allegations that he tampered with jailhouse witnesses. His defense has fired back at prosecutors, accusing the government of committing “a blatant, intentional and harmful violation of attorney-client privilege” by seizing papers from his jail cell that should be protected from authorities.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Combs, 55, who was wearing olive-colored prison garb, appeared to have lost weight since his last court appearance. He smiled as he entered the courtroom, but appeared to turn grim as the hearing progressed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said the papers — 11 pages and eight pages of a calendar book — contained Combs’ writings about paying witnesses and finding dirt on victims.
“A witness was rewarded and finding dirt on two different victims is not a privilege,” Slavik said.
She said Combs called a family member on Oct. 14 to work with someone who was not an attorney to find information about a accuser.
Homeland Security Investigations agents outside the home of Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles on March 25.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said he wants to know how prosecutors obtained the papers and wants to see surveillance video showing the incident in Combs’ cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He argued that the incident could lead to the dismissal of the charges or the dismissal of the entire prosecution team.
Slavik said the pages were obtained during a search that was part of a planned search for contraband and drugs. No member of the prosecution team was aware of or responsible for the search; the search was conducted by the Bureau of Prisons, the prosecutor told the judge.
A Bureau of Prisons investigator said during Tuesday’s hearing that the search was part of an ongoing undercover investigation and that the materials were received in a completely appropriate manner.
“The bottom line is that no multi-agency law enforcement initiative justifies the search of Mr. Combs’ personal handwritten notes about conversations with his attorneys, and prosecutors’ arguments to the contrary lack all credibility,” Agnifilo wrote in a response to the court. Tuesday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
