Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in a Manhattan court on November 19 for a hearing in connection with his federal sex trafficking case. The arguments focused on Combs’ handwritten notes from his prison cell, which had recently been seized by the government.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian will review the notes in question in the coming weeks and determine whether anything written down was privileged, according to Law & Crime, which had a reporter in the courtroom. If the defense wins, the judge will not consider the notes when deciding whether Combs should be released on bail. In their opposition motion, prosecutors alleged that the notes show witness tampering. There is a bail hearing on Friday.
Combs’ defense team argued that prosecutors obtained “privileged attorney-client material” from his cell during a search of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Entertainment. However, the FBI believes they have found evidence that the Bad Boy Records founder tried to intimidate witnesses from behind bars. Prosecutors insisted in their filing that they had taken the appropriate steps to ensure they would not read privileged information.
The 55-year-old musician sat unshackled before a federal judge, something his lawyers requested so potential jurors would not be biased ahead of the May 2025 trial. Combs was arrested in September and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to participate in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty. The ‘Last Night’ rapper has been in prison for more than two months.
“This search and seizure violates Mr. Combs’ Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights,” his attorneys wrote in a motion filed Nov. 18. “The targeted seizure of the work product and privileged materials of a pretrial detention facility – created in preparation for trial – is outrageous government conduct that amounts to a substantive violation of due process.”
Prosecutors alleged that the government learned that Combs “has engaged in obstructive conduct since being taken into custody.” A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) investigator allegedly monitored Combs’ communications, which is common practice. The government alleges that Combs tried to avoid detection by using three-way phone calls, using other inmates’ phone access codes to make calls and “using a third-party text messaging provider” through a monitored email system.
“[Combs] has used these unauthorized communication methods to continue to obstruct, including by instructing third parties to contact witnesses and attempt to influence the jury in this criminal case,” the government wrote in a motion ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
After a search of the MDC on Oct. 28, a BOP investigator found the following on Combs’ bed: a manila folder marked “legal,” a notebook marked [redacted]an address book and personal belongings. The detective took photos of the notebook and address book.
“No physical materials were seized from the suspect,” prosecutors wrote.
The photos were sent to a “filter team,” which determined what was privileged before prosecutors could review them. The notebook was largely described as ‘notes to self’. The judge ruled that the filter team may keep the notes for the time being.
The government believes that the information contained in some of the photos further proves that Combs should not be released from jail while he awaits trial. In their motion, they accused Combs of “paying off a potential witness and” [redacted] about other potential victims and witnesses, which had been provided to the government after review by the government’s filtering team.
Combs has previously been denied bail, with multiple judges raising concerns about witness tampering. The entrepreneur’s lawyers have proposed a detailed $50 million package, including house arrest at his Miami mansion, where he has agreed to wear a GPS monitor. He would also be watched by private security and only an approved list of guests would be able to visit the building. The government is against this.
“The suspect’s goal is to blackmail victims and witnesses into silence or silence [to] provide testimony useful to his defense. An accusation that is more common in mafia trials or cases in the style of the Mexican mafia,” the government wrote in a motion on Friday.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Subramanian and federal prosecutors agreed that the handwritten notes will not be taken into consideration for the Nov. 22 bond hearing.
In related news, an anonymous male celebrity living in LA has filed a lawsuit against Tony Buzbee, the Texas-based attorney who has filed dozens of civil sexual abuse lawsuits against Combs, according to CNN. Using the pseudonym “John Doe,” the celebrity accused Buzbee of “blatantly attempting to extort exorbitant amounts of money from him or else publicly leveling false, heinous accusations against him.”
