Prosecutors Accuse Diddy of Tainting Jury Pool, Witness Testimony From Jail
11/16/2024 04:40 PM
Sean "Diddy" Combs has been accused of attempting to "corruptly influence" the outcome of his trial.
Prosecutors trying Diddy's upcoming case filed a new legal motion on Friday, November 15, arguing that the disgraced rapper's fourth bail attempt should be denied for allegedly trying to obstruct an investigation.
In court documents obtained by CNN, the attorneys cited a review of recorded calls from Diddy, 55, and said they were allegedly made under telephone accounts belonging to other inmates. The prosecutors claim that Diddy paid the other Metropolitan Detention Center inmates via intermediaries. He reportedly made "hundreds" of calls and texts in violation of jail rules.
"Since the defendant has been detained at MDC, he has continued to try to evade law enforcement monitoring, corruptly influence witness testimony, and further attack the integrity of these proceedings," the court documents read. "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."
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Diddy and his attorneys have not publicly addressed the latest accusations. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
The music mogul was indicted by a grand jury in September, weeks before he was arrested and charged on counts of sex trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. A 14-page indictment claimed that Diddy allegedly "abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him" for decades.
Diddy pleaded not guilty to the charges before a judge denied him bail on three separate attempts. He was remanded to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center until his trial, which is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
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"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office," Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo told Us in a statement. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal."
The statement continued, "He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Diddy and his legal team filed a new appeal for $50 million bail earlier this month, arguing that, due to changed circumstances and new evidence, he should be able to prepare for trial outside of the detention center. A ruling has not yet been made.
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