Diddy is still fighting to get out of jail!
As Perezcious readers know, since his arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in mid-September, the rapper has been trying to get released on bail. However, his requests have been denied twice amid accusations of alleged witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Now, with a new judge overseeing his case, his legal team is hoping that their appeal attempts will be more successful!
As we’ve covered, in Puff Daddy’s second bail request, he offered up $50 million. He also promised to have the security team at his Miami Beach home submit logs of all visitors every night while limiting visits to family, professional caretakers, and friends who are not co-conspirators in the indictment. Plus, he wouldn’t let any female guests on his property (aside from family) and even proposed weekly drug testing. He really tried everything he could think of — and it was still denied! So, what’s he appealing now?
Related: Diddy Used Baby Oil To Drug Victims, Says Lawyer!
According to TMZ, Sean Combs is appealing the most recent order denying him a bond. In a new filing submitted on Tuesday, his team argued that he poses no conceivable flight risk — despite what federal prosecutors believe. His lawyers argued that the $50 million bail offered enough restrictions to address possible concerns about witness tampering and flight risk. But how does anyone ensure they won’t be a flight risk — especially with all the assets he has on hand??
Well, the musician promised he’d continue trying to sell his private plane. He also agreed not to contact any known grand jury witnesses and submit to weekly drug tests, as previously offered.
Meanwhile, his lawyer Alexandra Shapiro, who filed the papers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued the push to keep Diddy behind bars before his trial is “based on speculation, resting mainly on untested allegations about communications with witnesses in civil cases and communications initiated by supposed witnesses and not Mr. Combs,” per the New York Post. The defense attorney continued:
“The sensationalism surrounding his arrest has distorted the bail analysis: Mr. Combs was not released pending trial, even though he offered to comply with restrictive conditions that would have prevented any conceivable risk of flight or danger.”
The attorney also pointed out that Diddy willingly traveled to NYC to be there for his arrest, showing “he took extraordinary steps to demonstrate that he intended to face and contest the charges, not flee.” Per People, the lawyer argued that the court “rejected a plainly sufficient bail package” and “violated its obligations under the Bail Reform Act.” Oof.
So far, there’s been no word back, but the Sean John founder has a glimmer of hope considering there’s a new judge presiding over his case. According to NewsNation on Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian is now leading. Court docs show he was assigned on Thursday, replacing Judge Andrew L. Carter. It’s unclear why a change was made.
So, who is this new judge?! And will he be more lenient?? It’s hard to know how he’ll handle this very high-profile case — but it comes amid an already busy workload! Judge Subramanian is also overseeing the government’s antitrust case against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. While that case might not go to trial until 2026, he’ll still be dealing with its long and complicated pretrial. So, adding in Diddy on top of that is a lot!
Per People, the A-lister’s next court date is Thursday. It’ll be inneresting to see what happens! Diddy’s clearly still dying to get out of his cell at the notorious prison MDC Brooklyn — but so far, the law hasn’t been on his side!
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