By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-27 23:21:22 | Updated at 2024-11-28 01:44:15
2 hours ago
Sean “Diddy” Combs was again denied bail in his sex trafficking case Wednesday — his third failed bid to get sprung from a Brooklyn lockup ahead of Thanksgiving.
Manhattan federal court Judge Arun Subramanian slapped down the disgraced music mogul’s latest request, saying in a ruling, “The Court finds that the government has shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community.”
Combs, who’s been cooling his heels behind bars since his September arrest, asked to be released on $50 million bond, including home confinement with 24/7 security.
Prosecutors successfully argued, however, that he couldn’t be trusted — saying he’s already tried to interfere with their ongoing probe by contacting potential witnesses from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Subramanian agreed, saying “there is evidence supporting a serious risk of witness tampering.”
He also referenced the disturbing 2016 video showing Combs beating up his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway, as “direct evidence of Combs’ violence.”
The fallen rapper was last in court on Friday and blew kisses to his relatives.
Combs is charged in a sweeping racketeering and sex trafficking indictment with abusing women and forcing them to engage in “Freak Off” performances to fulfill his sick “sexual desires.” He would watch and masturbate during the “elaborate and produced sex performances,” and allegedly filmed them to use as leverage against his victims, the indictment says.
Combs has also tried repeatedly to “obstruct justice,” the feds argued, including by allegedly trying to bribe a hotel security officer to cover up the assault on Ventura.
“It strains credulity to believe that Combs will stop engaging in criminal conduct and abide by conditions of release,” prosecutors said in a court filing earlier this month.
The feds also argued that releasing Combs would let the wealthy music mogul buy his way out of custody by “paying for a private jail” — amounting to “two-tiered” system of justice which is barred by federal bail rules.
Combs’ attorneys had argued that the setup at the mystery Upper East Side apartment — whose address they redacted in court filings — would be secure enough to ensure that Combs won’t tamper with witnesses.
Combs will not have access to a cell phone as part of the bond package, the attorneys claimed in court papers. A member of the security detail will hang on to his phone and keep a written log of all outgoing and incoming texts and calls, the lawyers wrote.
“There is no legitimate legal basis for continuing to force Mr. Combs to prepare for trial
from jail,” one of his lawyers, Alexandra Shapiro, wrote to the court, adding that the feds have not shown that “the extremely restrictive proposed conditions are insufficient to prevent any possible danger or obstruction.”
Prosecutors had countered that no security team would be capable of preventing Combs from breaking terms of his release.
“The defendant, simply put, cannot be trusted,” prosecutor Christine Slavik said during a Nov. 22 court hearing.
The decision by Subramanian comes after two other federal judges previously declined to grant Combs bail.
