Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers secure important win: 'Prosecutors must destroy evidence'

A New York court has ordered prosecutors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking case to erase any copies of almost 20 pages of evidence obtained during a recent raid of the performer's jail cell.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

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In a win for the 'All About the Benjamins' star, Judge Arun Subramanian has also told the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District that the video, or even snippets from it, cannot be utilized in any way in Combs' scheduled bail hearing later this week.

In a roughly 90-minute hearing Tuesday, prosecutors and the defense argued over the nature of documents seized from Combs during the October raid at the Metropolitan Detention Center. The beleaguered and heavily accused rap entrepreneur has been imprisoned at the Brooklyn venue since his arrest on September 16 in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel.

Combs is facing a slew of civil actions in addition to racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to participate in prostitution for drug-fueled and recorded "freak offs." If convicted, the 55-year-old may face life in jail in a trial that begins on May 5, 2025.

Assistant US Attorney Mary Christine Slavik contended that the majority of the information collected during the raid on Combs' cell in the notoriously harsh prison last month was not protected, and the once-famous defendant was present for today's hearings. Unlike the previous hearing in this matter, he was not restrained Tuesday, due to Judge His mother, some of his children, and other family members were in the room in New York City's Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse on Tuesday.

With the defense unable to obtain a gag order on witnesses or have the case thrown out due to accusations of government leaks, the road to that trial appears to be increasingly pothole-filled. Certainly, the raid on Combs' cell in October, as well as the following evidence obtained by authorities, provided the Bad Boy Records founder with a wedge to claim that his rights to a fair trial and First Amendment safeguards were violated.

In a filing on November 15, current U.S. Attorney Damian Williams revealed that prosecutors had prison notes and recordings of the "I'll Be Missing You" singer's alleged "relentless efforts" to pay off potential witnesses, including making unauthorised outside calls and attempting to "blackmail" other potential witnesses.

"While attempting to evade law enforcement monitoring, the defendant has, among other things, orchestrated social media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool; made efforts to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case; and contacted witnesses through third parties," according to the memo from Williams opposing Combs' third and latest bid to be released on bail—which is scheduled to be the subject of a third bond hearing on N. 

A highly censored record of an October 4 call between the imprisoned Combs and "one of his adult sons" includes "the clear inference that the defendant's goal is to blackmail victims and witnesses either into silence or providing testimony helpful to his defense," prosecutors wrote. 

"The Government did not previously disclose these recordings due to its ongoing investigation, but is doing so now given the recent escalation in the defendant's efforts to influence the jury pool in this criminal case," a footnote read. The authorities also stated that the photographic material had been filtered by a "Filter Team" prior to being reviewed by prosecutors, and that items such as an envelope labeled "legal" remained undisturbed.

Still, doing their job, defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Tony Geragos contended that some of the files confiscated are private lawyer-client contacts, "including the defendant's own written notes," in a report to Judge Arun Subramanian on Monday. 

"This search and seizure are in violation of Mr. Combs' Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights," the attorneys wrote in their successful plea for today's hearing. In a filing earlier today, they wrote that prosecutors had provided them with nineteen pages of materials documenting the contents of Mr. Combs' storage locker at the MDC, and that the documents show the prosecution "has already started using these privileged materials to its advantage, including its opposition to bail."

Among the records turned over to the defense were photographs taken by an investigator of "intact pages from two different legal pads, (ii) pages of an address book, (iii) a ripped-out, folded-over page of a third legal pad, (iv) a ripped-out page of another legal pad, and (v) a ripped-out page of yet another legal pad," according to today's defense letter.

Additionally, they claimed that "the Government has committed an egregious, willful, and harmful breach of the attorney client privilege, and has become privy to defendant's and defense counsel's trial strategy, including areas of expert testimony, witness strategy, and other confidential matters."

In a previous filing, prosecutors claimed that the material was reviewed by an independent "Filter Team" to remove sensitive information. Also at contention is whether the sweep was conducted at federal prisons "nationwide," as prosecutors had claimed, or only at the Brooklyn institution housing Combs, as the government conceded in a November 18 affidavit.

At this afternoon's session, Judge Subramanian said he will keep the challenged documents and schedule hearings to determine if prosecutors may ever use them or if retaining them violates Combs' right to a fair trial. Slavik argued that the records contained no privileged information and were instead notes on family birthdays and personal expenditures. The AUSA also noted that the records contained details about Combs' efforts to bribe or obtain "dirt" on witnesses in the case, which went beyond the limits of attorney-client confidentiality. Additionally, Slavik informed the court that the files are part of an ongoing grand jury investigation into Combs, which includes what the government claims are his efforts to hinder the probe.

Defense attorney Agnifilo said in court that his client's writings were the result of long discussions with his attorneys and were hidden inside a legal pad with the word "legal" inscribed on it. He said that the full-jail sweep of the Brooklyn facility where Combs is being held was most likely a "pretext" to target his client rather than a search for all detainees' contraband, such as narcotics or smartphones. Agnifilo also said that if the court agrees with him, he may pursue remedies ranging from ordering the government to replace all of the prosecutors to dismissing the charge.

The Judge said today that the last time bomb is for another day.

Remember, Tuesday's hearing was largely a distraction.

Following an explosive and swiftly resolved rape and abuse suit from ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura last year, Combs is currently dealing with an increasing number of litigation lawsuits. Combs had previously failed twice in his bid for pre-trial release in this criminal matter, despite offering to post a $50 million bond, to remain in home confinement, and to communicate only with family and his attorneys.

It remains to be seen whether his next court appearance later this week will be as effective, with tighter limitations as promised by the defense.

In preparation for today's hearing, Agnifilo and Geragos wrote to Judge Subramanian late Monday night, requesting that Combs not be brought into court in shackles "because such shackling prejudices the potential jury pool, undermines his presumption of innocence, interferes with his ability to communicate with counsel, and offends the dignity and decorum of the proceedings."

As prosecutors tried to dispel charges that evidence was erroneously seized from Combs' cell during the BOP search, Judge Subramanian agreed with the defense motion to have their client unshackled early this morning.

The issue is complicated further by the fact that Williams intends to resign once President-elect Donald Trump named a new nominee to lead the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. It's unclear whether incoming SDNY US Attorney and ex-SEC head Jay Clayton intends to change anything regarding the office's investigation of Trump's erstwhile party mate.

On the other side of the country, Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee was taken to court in California on Monday by "a celebrity and public figure who resides in Los Angeles" who alleges the Lone Star attorney is attempting to intimidate him with threats of being involved in Diddy's drug and abuse-filled so-called "freak offs."

Michael T. Lifrak and Mari Henderson of the upscale Quinn Emanuel firm filed a lawsuit in LA Superior Court on behalf of their well-known client, alleging that Buzbee has "shamelessly attempted to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him." Buzbee, who has already filed over a dozen cases for what he claims to be over 120 clients claiming to be Combs' victims, turned to social media on November 18 to condemn what he described as a "last-ditch attempt to stop me from revealing names in public lawsuits".

"We won't allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors," Buzbee added. "On behalf of two clients who allege sexual assault, we sent a standard demand letter to a New York lawyer that we know represents an alleged perpetrator and potential defendant," the attorney went on to explain, making a "laughable" reference to the John Doe file. "The letters were sent seeking a confidential mediation in lieu of filing a lawsuit," Buzbee noted. "No money was included in the demand letters. No threats were issued. The demand letters sent are identical to those typically delivered by lawyers around the country in all sorts of disputes."