Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs filed a new request for bail, arguing that changed circumstances, along with new evidence, meant the hip-hop star should be allowed to prepare for his trial from outside jail.
On Friday, Combs’ lawyers filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail were rejected by two judges since his September arrest.
Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in an indictment unsealed on Sept. 17. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a “far more robust” bail package that would subject the “Last Night” singer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers.
His lawyers proposed a new $50 million bail package in a continued effort to win his release from the Brooklyn jail, where he’s been held for the past eight weeks.
They also cite new evidence that they “make clear that the government’s case is thin.”
That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government’s claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced “freak off,” a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
“It confirms the defense’s initial description of the events depicted in the March 2016 video recording: The video is not evidence of a coerced ‘freak off,’ but rather a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship between Mr. Combs and Victim-1,” the request said.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional rights to participate in his defense.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and strongly denied the allegations. His trial is set to start on May 5, 2025.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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