Sean “Diddy” Combs tried to contact potential witnesses and influence public opinion from prison in an effort to influence potential jurors in his upcoming sex-trafficking trial, prosecutors alleged in a court filing, urging a judge to reject his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed in a Manhattan federal court filing late Friday (Nov. 15) that opposes the music mogul's latest $50 million bail offer. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded jailhouse calls Combs made shows he asked family members to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create “narratives” to sway the jury pool. They say it has also encouraged marketing strategies to sway public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again — even while in custody — that he will blatantly and repeatedly break the rules in order to unfairly influence the outcome of his case. The defendant has shown, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to follow rules or conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a redacted filing.
Prosecutors wrote that it could be inferred from his behavior that Combs wants to blackmail victims and witnesses into silence or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Attorneys for Combs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the rules almost as soon as he was booked into the Metropolitan Detainment Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with the help of a network of associates and employees, while silencing the victims through extortion and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges concluded that he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a third request for bail after two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail proposal, were rejected.
In the request, they cited changes in circumstances, including new evidence, which they said made it reasonable to release Combs so he can better prepare for his May 5 trial.
But prosecutors said defense attorneys crafted their latest bail proposal using some evidence turned over to them by prosecutors, and the new material was already known to defense attorneys when they made previous bail applications.
In their submission to a judge, prosecutors said Combs' behavior in prison indicates he should remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs has enlisted family members to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing potential jurors in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts showing them together to celebrate his birthday, they said.
He then tracked the analytics, including audience engagement, from jail and “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure the video had the desired effect on potential jurors in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs during other phone calls made clear his intention to anonymously release information he believed would help his defense against the charges.
“Defendant's efforts to obstruct the integrity of this proceeding also include unrelenting efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
