The federal judge overseeing the extortion and sex trafficking case of Sean “Diddy” Combs has rejected his request for a gag order against his victims and their lawyers, calling the request “unprecedented” and “unwarranted.”
Lawyers for the embattled rapper claimed last month that “inflammatory out-of-court statements” from the victims and their lawyers hurt his chances of a fair trial, but the judge Arun Subramanian ruled on Friday (8 November) that such “extreme treatment” would threaten freedom of speech.
“The court has an affirmative constitutional duty to ensure that Combs receives a fair trial,” the judge wrote. “But that basic … requirement must be balanced against the protections the First Amendment affords to those who claim to be victims of Combs.”
“The unprecedented relief that Combs seeks in this motion is unwarranted,” the judge added.
Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But in September, he was indicted by federal prosecutors on extortion and sex-trafficking charges for an extensive criminal enterprise aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” If convicted of all charges, he faces a possible life sentence.
Last month, after the latest wave of civil abuse lawsuits against Combs, his lawyer asked Judge Subramanian to issue a sweeping order, arguing that the lawyers behind the civil cases had made “shockingly biased and false allegations” against him.
“Mr. Combs has a constitutional right to a fair trial, free from the influence of bias in the press,” his lawyer said. Marc Agnifilo he wrote in the October 20 motion. “These prospective witnesses and their attorneys have made numerous inflammatory statements out of court aimed at character assassination of Mr. Combs in the press.”
But in Friday's ruling, Judge Subramanian ruled that the order Combs was seeking was “incredibly broad” and would have “sweeping First Amendment implications.”
“Not all alleged victims will be participants in this case, and a blanket restriction on their speech will silence individuals who may never have anything to do with the proceedings here,” the judge wrote.
The judge said he had “already taken steps to limit what can be said publicly” about the case and was “open to other tailored proposals that will help ensure a fair trial.” He also said Combs could take specific action in the various civil lawsuits he was facing if the attorneys in those cases misbehave. But he said he couldn't do anything close to what Combs was looking for.
“A gag order … is an extreme remedy that should only be issued as a last resort,” the judge wrote. “What Combs is going for goes even further.”
Separately Friday, Combs' attorneys also renewed their request that he be released from jail on $50 million bond while he awaits trial. That request has been repeatedly denied since Combs was arrested, but the new filing cited the fact that the former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries — another high-profile sex-trafficking defendant in New York — was immediately released on $10 million bail after his arrest last month.
“The government recently successfully sought pretrial release for two similarly situated defendants, including a CEO accused of sex-trafficking dozens of young men, including through witness intimidation,” Agnifilo wrote in the new motion. “The terms of release requested in Jeffries pale in comparison to the terms Mr. Combs is proposing here.”
