Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs filed their opening salvo in an appeal of a judge’s ruling denying him bail, arguing the “sensationalism” of the case led a judge to rule based on “purely speculative” concerns about witness intimation.
In an opening brief filed late Tuesday, the rapper’s lawyers urge the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit to grant him bail – their third attempt to secure his release from a Brooklyn jail while he awaits trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Combs’ attorneys argue that a lower judge had relied on “exaggerated rhetoric” and “speculation” when it ruled that Combs posed a flight risk and might threaten witnesses.
“The sensationalism surrounding his arrest has distorted the bail analysis,” writes Alexandra A.E. Shapiro and Jason A. Driscoll. “Mr. Combs is presumed innocent … and presented a bail package that would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses.”
Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But last month, he was indicted by federal prosecutors over accusations of sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors allege that Combs ran a sprawling criminal operation aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” The charges detailed “freak offs” in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with male sex workers, as well as alleged acts of violence and intimidation to keep victims silent.
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
A day after the indictment was unsealed, Judge Andrew L. Carter denied the rapper bail. Combs’ legal team offered to pay a $50 million bond and submit to strict monitoring to allow him to reside under house arrest at his Miami mansion.
But Carter (who has since been replaced by another judge) ruled instead that until trial Combs must remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center — a federal correctional facility long criticized for dysfunction and dangerous conditions. He was swayed by arguments from prosecutors that, if released, Combs would likely use his considerable wealth and power to obstruct the government’s case by pressuring witnesses.
In Tuesday’s brief, Combs’ attorneys argue that there was little hard evidence to support that conclusion. They say the government’s warnings had been based on “untested allegations” of contact with witnesses involved in the civil lawsuits against him, as well as his public denial of some of those claims.
“If denying accusations by civil plaintiffs could justify pre-trial detention, the liberty protections of the Bail Reform Act and the Constitution—not to mention the First Amendment—would be meaningless,” his lawyers write.
Read the entire brief here:
