Former federal prosecutor calls latest Diddy court claims 'weak'
Sex trafficking suspect Sean 'Diddy' Combs' protest about having his jail cell searched is a stretch, according to Neama Rahmani, a trial lawyer and former assistant US attorney.
Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges during an arraignment in his federal sex trafficking case.
Diddy, 55, appeared in a Manhattan court looking stone-faced with mostly gray hair and a beard, but smiled upon seeing his two attorneys, Teny Geragos and Marc Agnifilo.
His lawyers asked for an adjournment to the trial, which is slated to begin next month, and argued that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has been withholding upwards of 200,000 documents related to the case.
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Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared stone-faced in court on Monday. (Getty Images/Jane Rosenberg)
Agnifilo told Judge Arun Subramanian that while the government has turned over discovery materials, the latest indictment has substantial counts and may require a short-term, two-week adjournment.
Diddy was hit with two new charges in an April 3 superseding indictment as federal prosecutors claimed the rapper engaged in sex-trafficking a female victim as recently as 2024. He was accused of transferring the woman, referred to as "Victim 2," along with sex workers across state lines to engage in prostitution between 2021 and 2024.
Geragos acknowledged that her "ask is unusual" in requesting the government to turn over information from the witness, but that there were emails and texts not being provided in full to the defense.
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Prosecutor Christine Slavik objected to an adjournment and accused Diddy's team of "gamesmanship" for requesting 200,000 documents from the government regarding witness communications.
Diddy wore a tan shirt and slacks for court Monday. (Jane Rosenberg)
Authorities alleged Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Bad Boy Entertainment. (Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs)
Slavik claimed the witness' attorney provided documents to Diddy's team pertaining to a keyword search, to which the judge suggested prosecutors turn over full docs via thumb drive or face a possible adjournment or subpoena.
"In terms of any request for adjournment, we are a freight train heading toward trial," Judge Subramanian said, and asked lawyers to submit a request within the next 48 hours. Lawyers are due back in court on Friday, April 18.
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The "Last Night" rapper last appeared in court on March 14 where he pleaded not guilty to the government's first version of a superseding indictment. That version lengthened the timeline of his alleged sex-trafficking and racketeering behavior and added two more victims.
Sean "Diddy" Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in the indictment unsealed in September. (Munawar Hosain)
The prosecution also accused the music mogul of forcing employees to work long hours by threatening them with physical or reputational harm and forcing an employee to engage in a sexual encounter with the musician.
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During a previous hearing, Judge Subramanian scheduled Combs' trial to begin on May 5. The prosecution expects the government's case to take six weeks to lay out, while Diddy's legal team now estimates needing two weeks to argue the rapper's defense.
The "I'll Be Missing You" singer is spending his time at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits his federal trial for alleged racketeering and sex trafficking. Diddy has been behind bars since September.
The disgraced music mogul has fought to be released from jail pending trial three times, with his most recent attempt denied on Nov. 27. Combs had offered up to $50 million to wait for his trial from his home on Star Island, but prosecutors insisted the musician was a threat to witnesses and victims.
Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty in September, and a judge set his trial date for May 5. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
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Combs has been under investigation for human trafficking since March 2024.
Diddy was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in a federal indictment unsealed on Sept. 17. While Diddy has maintained his innocence, if found guilty he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Authorities alleged Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global, among others. He used "firearms, threats of violence, coercion and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse" to fulfill his sexual desires, according to the unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
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Fox News' Kirill Clark contributed to this report.
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