A federal judge on Tuesday ordered prosecutors not to use papers taken from Sean “Diddy” Combs' prison cell until he rules on defense claims that they are trial preparation materials protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Judge Arun Subramanian made his decision at a Manhattan federal court hearing after lawyers strongly disputed the circumstances and significance of the seizure of 19 pages photographed by an investigator inside the music mogul's cell.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is accused of coercing and abusing women for years with the help of a network of associates and employees.
The seizure was made during what the government described as a multi-day sweep of all cells at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to remove weapons or contraband as an anti-violence measure.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said he can ask a judge to throw out the indictment or force prosecutors to withdraw if the judge determines the materials were improperly obtained and used.
Combs, who hugged his lawyers when he first entered the courtroom, carried a stack of papers as he was led to the end of the hearing.
Agnifilo said he did not know the papers in Combs' cell had been photographed by an investigator with the Bureau of Prisons and turned over to prosecutors until he saw them referenced in written arguments opposing the $50 million bail proposal. A bail hearing is set for Friday.
He said two references were made to the documents as prosecutors argued that Combs had continued to commit crimes since his September arrest.
Prosecutors said Combs orchestrated social media campaigns aimed at tainting the jury pool, tried to publicly leak material he believed would be helpful to his case and contacted potential witnesses through third parties.
Assistant US Attorney Mary Slavik said the seized materials were reviewed by independent government lawyers, who are disqualified from prosecution, to determine whether they were protected by the attorney-client privilege.
They were not discussed with defense attorneys because some of them were believed to be related to an undercover and ongoing investigation of Combs, he said.
Slavik also said prosecutors had no contact with prison officials in advance and did not give instructions about any search of Cobbs' cell.
Some of the photographed pages contained a to-do list and inspirational quotes along with birthday comments, according to Slavik, while two passages related to paying Combs and finding damaging material for potential witnesses.
Agnifilo said, however, that even things that seem unrelated to the case are protected by the attorney-client privilege. For example, he said, attorneys have discussed with Combs potential witnesses they might call.
“Every single thing” in the seized documents is subject to attorney-client privilege because Combs discussed them with attorneys, Agnifilo said.
“The government is now aware of potential defense witnesses for a May 5 trial,” he added. “This was a complete government failure.”
The judge asked each side to submit written arguments in the coming weeks.
This story was originally published by the Associated Press.
