Sean “Diddy” Combs has spent his three weeks in jail speaking with his defence attorneys, preparing for his case and receiving visits from his family, a source close to the music producer told CNN.
“His family is visiting. He speaks to his lawyers. Those are the only visitors he has,” the individual said. “He needs to focus on his case. That’s all he is doing all day.”
The musician is currently in federal custody as he awaits trial on counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
The source added that Combs’ children have visited him at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. (Combs has four adult children and two teenage twin girls who have all visited him in jail. He also has a 1-year-old daughter.)
“He’s doing fine, but it’s hard for him. He’s a family person and he loves being a father,” the source said.
Combs will be present at Thursday’s status hearing, according to the source, who said he is not expected to speak in court.
His lawyers have said they want to go to trial quickly since he was twice denied bail.
In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, Combs’ attorneys said on Wednesday that they intend to request a trial date in April or May 2025.
Prosecutors said they would be ready on the date the judge sets, but note that a trial date doesn’t have to be scheduled at this time, according to the letter, which was submitted by both sides.
Allegations of media leaks
Attorneys for Combs filled a motion late Wednesday accusing the government of leaking a video of the hip-hop mogul beating his former girlfriend and other evidence to the media, asking a judge to potentially bar the footage from a trial.
The motion filed in the Southern District of New York references the 2016 hotel surveillance video published exclusively by CNN that shows Combs dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
Combs initially denied allegations of abusing Ventura, which were included in a November 2023 lawsuit she filed before the video was made public.
Following the release of the video, Combs apologized.
Combs’ lawyers accused the government of leaking the video to CNN. They did not provide evidence for their claims.
In a letter to the judge Wednesday night Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York wrote that “the Government did not have the video before its publication by CNN” and that there is no “factual basis” for Combs’ assertion that authorities leaked the video to CNN or in violation of grand jury secrecy rules.
CNN declined to comment.
The motion filed by Combs’ attorneys also alleges that authorities alerted the media about the searches in March of his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
The motion claims the leaks “taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.”
Combs’ attorneys asked the judge to impose a gag order prohibiting the government from providing information about evidence in the case to the media.
They contend the leaks came from agents of the Department of Homeland Security, whose Homeland Security Investigations division conducted the search, and not from prosecutors on the case.
A spokesperson for HSI New York declined to comment.
What comes next
Combs’ court appearance on Thursday will be his third since his arrest and his first in front of Subramanian, a Biden-nominated jurist who has been on the bench since last year. He was assigned the case last week after Judge Andrew Carter recused himself.
Carter transferred the case because of a long-standing personal and professional relationship he has with one of the new attorneys, according to a spokesman for the court.
Carter, who was nominated by Obama, was initially assigned the case. He denied Combs bail saying he had concerns about witness tampering and physical violence after prosecutors alleged Combs was in contact with witnesses who received grand jury subpoenas. Since then, Combs beefed up his legal team by adding new attorneys and appealed the ruling.
Prosecutors have started turning over evidence to Combs’s legal team, including Combs’ cell phone that was seized in March during a search, and started copying 40 devices and five iCloud reports to provide to the defence.
Combs’ attorneys said they want the judge to order the government to immediately produce the materials seized over six months ago.
“The timely production of these materials is critical to Mr Combs’ ability to prepare for his defence,” they wrote to the judge.
Story by Obaapa Janee
Source: CNN
