Diddy Loses Trial Delay Bid In Sex Trafficking Case; Warner Bros Discovery Comes Up Short In Keeping Docuseries Outtakes Out Of Case
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Sean 'Diddy' Combs' criminal trial for sex trafficking and more will start next month. Also, footage from a Warner Bros Discovery Fall Of Diddy docuseries about the much accused 'I'll Be Missing You' performer will be allowed as evidence, despite the efforts of the David Zaslav run media giant.
With the former mini-mogul in attendance, a federal judge this morning rejected a motion by Combs' defense to push back the trial by 60 days. Almost right from the top of the hearing, Judge Arun Subramanian denied the sealed move by the Marc Agnifilo- and Teny Geragos-led legal team based on the defense's assertions the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York was slow in handing over evidence and even lacked possession of certain evidence from Victim-4 in the case.
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Once again calling the defense's claims nothing new in a case that has been bogged down in procedural battles the past few months since Combs' September arrest in a Big Apple hotel, Judge Subramanian chided the defense for looking to shift the May 5 trial start by two months, not two weeks. Noting the bulk of latest indictment was much the same as past filings, the judge told the defense it was'unclear why there isn't sufficient time to prepare.'
With jury selection set to begin the first week of May, the actual opening statements in the incarcerated and heavily lawyered up Combs' trial are penciled in for May 12. If found guilty on the charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and more, the 55-year-old Bad Boy Records founder will likely be behind bars for the rest of his life.
Moving briskly through pre-trial motions Friday, Judge Subramanian also denied an attempt by Warner Bros Discovery to stop outtakes from its January debuting Fall of Diddy docuseries.
Specifically, the footage the defense want to see involves a former employee of Combs and an ex-girlfriend. WBD flew the flag of reporter's privilege to keep the outtakes out of the case. However, today, Judge Subramanian rejected that notion because both of the individuals in the footage are pretty certain to be giving testimony in the trial and therefore the outtake are relevant and admissible.
Combs has failed three times since his arrest last fall to be released on a $50 million bail package, and is currently housed in one of the nicer units of Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center as inmate 37452-054. More charges have been added by the politically besieged SDNY over the since the New Year, including a superseding indictment that Combs entered yet another not guilty plea to in a hastily convened April 14 hearing.
Building off the quickly settled ($30 million) assault and abuse suit and more from Victim-1, a.k.a former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura (who has said she will testify in open court in the trial), prosecutors allege that Combs and his aides coerced women and men into marathon sordid sexual encounters called 'freak-offs.' The sessions included male and female prostitutes, drug use, threats of violence and imprisonment in the hotel rooms where the acts were staged and videotaped.
In a filing late April 17 the government summed its case up by saying: 'Over the course of more than a decade, the defendant subjected multiple victims to sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. With respect to Victim-1, Victim-2, and Victim-3, the defendant used those forms of abuse, along with threats, fraud, and coercion, to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts.'
In stark terms, the feds added: 'Freak Offs were multi-day sex performances that the defendant arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded. The defendant exercised control over the victims through, among other things, physical violence, promises of career and financialopportunities, granting and threatening to withhold financial support, and by other coercive means,including tracking their whereabouts, dictating the victims' appearance, monitoring their medicalrecords, controlling their housing, and supplying them with controlled substances. TheGovernment expects the evidence to show the following with respect to Victim-1, Victim-2, andVictim-3, as well as other victims.'
Proclaiming that he has done no wrong and all the relationships were consensual, the defense has exclaimed the feds are using 'racist' laws against Combs and seeking to 'police non-conforming sexual activity.' In that vein, on February 24, the defense took a judicial poke at 'unconstitutionally broad' search warrants that had been used on Combs as part of spring 2024 raids of his Los Angeles and Miami homes, devices, digital storage and more.
As well as the criminal case, Combs is charged in dozens and dozens of civil actions (mainly from Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee) claiming assault and abuse similar to the sex trafficking claims. He has entered not guilty pleas to all of them, with several since dismissed or died on the legal vine.
Along with the various pre-trial motions being addressed, this week has also seen some more muscle added to Combs' defense team.
Coming off an ultimately successful stint representing rapper Young Thug in his gang and racketeering trial, Atlanta attorney Brian Steel has joined the defense. Earlier this year, Anthony Ricco left the defense, citing in a declaration before the court: 'Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.'
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