Sean “Diddy” Combs won’t be released on bail before Thanksgiving, a federal judge ruled Wednesday while accusing the hip-hop mogul of violating and looking for ways to skirt prison rules since he was arrested.
In a five-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled Combs should not be released on the $50-million bail proposed by his legal team, stating that Combs posed a “serious risk of witness tampering” and had been found to be breaking prison rules, such as paying other inmates for their phone access codes to call people outside of his own approved contact list.
“His willingness to skirt [Board of Prison] rules in a way that would make it more difficult for his communications to be monitored is strong evidence that the Court cannot be reasonably assure[d] as to the sufficiency of any condition of release,” Subramanian ruled.
The ruling shut down the third attempt by Combs’ attorneys to have him released during his criminal trial.
In the latest motion, his attorneys asked that instead of prison he be confined to his three-bedroom apartment in New York City’s Upper West Side with 24-hour surveillance.
In their motion, Combs’ legal team argued that the apartment would be “far more restrictive” than what Combs faces in jail, and that the arrangement would include limiting phone calls to attorneys only, allowing only specific family members and lawyers to visit him there, and being monitored by an independent firm.
But Subramanian shot down the request.
“Given the nature of the allegations in this case, and the information provided by the government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ—like a private security detail—to follow conditions,” he wrote.
Combs faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. In court records, federal prosecutors allege the 55-year-old founder of Bad Boy Entertainment used his network of employees and influence to lure female victims and used force, threats, coercion and drugs to get them to engage in sex acts with male prostitutes.
The sometimes days-long sexual binges were referred to by Combs as “freak-offs,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors have opposed Combs’ attempts to be released on bail, alleging that Combs has continued to try to tamper with witnesses and has broken prison rules.
In his decision, the judge found that federal prosecutors had “shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community” and that Combs still posed “serious risk of witness tampering.”
Subramanian also pointed to the infamous security video of Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, stating that the video showed “compelling evidence of Combs’ propensity for violence.”
The judge in his decision also pointed to what he called “misrepresentations” by Combs’ attorneys during an emergency hearing Nov. 19.
During the hearing, Combs’ legal team argued that notes on legal pads that were seized from Combs’ cell during a sweep in Metropolitan Detention Center should be considered privileged because the pads were labeled, “legal.”
Photos from the sweep, however, showed that the notebooks had no such labels on them.
“The circumstances of this incident, and the misrepresentations made at the November 19, 2024 hearing where Combs was present, bear on whether the Court can be reasonably assured that any conditions it imposes will be followed,” he wrote.
