In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs, center, is flanked by his defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, and Teny Garagos, in Manhattan Federal Court, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
NEW YORK — A tentative May 2025 trial date was set Thursday in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial in New York with more possible charges on the horizon, according to government prosecutors.
Combs faces a possible life sentence if convicted of charges stemming from allegations that he used his power and influence to force women into participating in drug-fueled orgies known as “freak-offs” that he recorded for blackmail purposes. Combs has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in a federal detention center in Brooklyn after two judges denied his request for bond.
The embattled hop-hop mogul returned to Manhattan federal court Thursday with three new members of his defense team for his first status hearing before a new judge in the case, U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian. Wearing a beige two-piece jail uniform, Combs smiled broadly and waved at his family as he entered the courtroom and saw six of his children, his mother and their supporters filling two benches in the gallery.
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The hearing focused on the status of discovery, trial and hearing dates, and a new defense motion accusing the government of leaking information “to raise public hostility” against Combs ahead of trial. The most “egregious” example, according to the defense motion, is the explosive hotel video of Combs assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that CNN published in 2023. The motion accuses the Department of Homeland Security of leaking not only the video but grand jury testimony and tipping off news crews to searches of Combs’ homes. In an email to the defense that was filed with the court, prosecutors said DHS “did not have possession” of the hotel video before CNN released it.
In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs, seated right, looks at his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, left, as he delivers his bail argument as Combs’ family in the gallery, background, raise their hands indicating to Judge Tarnofsky that they are in attendance, to bolster the defense attorney’s bail argument, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Manhattan Federal Court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
“The government believes the motion is baseless and is simply a means to exclude a damning piece of evidence disguised in press statements,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Johnson told the judge in Thursday’s hearing, referring to the hotel video.
The motion requests a hearing to determine the source of alleged leaks and an order prohibiting the government from releasing more information. The government is working on a response to the motion, Johnson said. In the meantime, the parties agreed to a gag order barring both sides from discussing in the media “non-public” information, or information that doesn’t come up in the courtroom or through court filings.
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Separately, the government raised concerns about defense lawyer’s Marc Agnifilo’s interview in a TMZ documentary in which he called the case a “racist prosecution” trying to take down a successful Black man. Prosecutor Johnson argued such statements about the merits of a prosecution could threaten the integrity of the proceedings and Combs’ fair trial rights in violation of local administrative rules. Agnifilo did not directly address the critique, but said he was willing to “affirm his obligations” under the local rule, especially now that a gag order is in place.
Most of the hearing consisted of prosecutor Johnson sharing the government’s progress in turning over evidence to the defense. Johnson said the government was working “diligently” to extract data from 96 electronic devices that were seized in searches on March 25, 2024, of Combs’ properties in Miami and Los Angeles and of Combs himself at a private airport in Florida, including:
- Airport: 9 devices seized; data from 7 extracted so far.
- Miami property: 36 devices seized; data from 8 devices extracted (totaling 90 terabytes – so big they are trying to figure out a way to share it)
- LA property: 51 devices seized; data from 27 extracted so far.
The prosecutor said a handful of variables were hindering the government’s efforts:
- Current technology doesn’t let the government extract data from newer devices, which are more sophisticated than the government’s decryption tools.
- The government’s current forensic tools don’t support old technology.
- Some devices are damaged, which prohibits extraction. They are trying to repair those devices.
Disclosure will continue on a rolling basis, Johnson said, with the goal of sharing everything with the defense by the judge’s proposed deadline of December 31, 2024.
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Also on Thursday, the parties agreed to a tentative trial date of May 5, 2025, to meet Combs’ demand for a speedy trial. But the government’s investigation continues, Johnson told the court, and it may bring a superseding indictment with more or amended charges that could push back the proposed date.
