A judge denied Diddy’s bail for a second time as the disgraced music mogul fought for his release Wednesday.
Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in front of US District Court Judge Andrew Carter for a second chance at bail after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper entered a not guilty plea hours after an indictment detailing his alleged sex crimes was unsealed.
Carter cited the possibility Combs would tamper with witnesses in his reasoning for denying bail.
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Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson pointed to Diddy’s long history of intimidating his accusers and the witnesses of his alleged abuse. Johnson claimed text messages showed Combs forced his victims into participating in sexual encounters he referred to as “freak offs.” The rapper allegedly recorded the sex acts and then used the videos as leverage for their silence.
Combs’ defense team was “minimizing and horrifically understating” the rapper’s tendency to engage in violence, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Johnson took issue with the way Diddy’s lawyer characterized the 2016 assault on his then-girlfriend Cassie as a fight between romantic partners.
Combs is a “danger to the community and poses a serious risk to the integrity” of his case, Johnson argued.
The original decision to deny bail was “spot on,” New Jersey-based defense attorney David Gelman told Fox News Digital. “So, it doesn’t matter if Diddy put up a billion dollars, they’re not gonna let him out.”
The “I’ll Be Missing You” singer proposed $50 million in a bail package that also included GPS monitoring at his home on Miami’s Star Island. Combs’ team attempted to show the judge he was not a flight risk by his communications with the US Attorney’s Office during the ongoing investigation.
Diddy’s offer to post $50 million for his bail amount was “unheard of.”
“He knew this was all coming down. He prepared for it. He had an $18 million mortgage on his home in Miami. He paid that off in August, knowing that he had to have some assets in liquidity because he’d have to put up bail,” Gelman explained. “I truly thought that he was gonna get bail – I really did – until I read the brief from the US attorney’s office to the judge asking them to deny the bail. When you start to witness tamper, it doesn’t matter how much money you put up. It doesn’t matter if you give them your passport. You really handcuffed your attorney.”
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Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky originally denied Diddy’s bail appeal Tuesday. The judge decided there were “no conditions” she could impose on Diddy. Tarnofsky pointed out sex trafficking is a crime that happens behind closed doors and the rapper would be hard to watch even with pre-trial monitoring services. The judge considered alternatives to detainment, but found they were not sufficient. Tarnofsky conceded the weight of the evidence against Diddy is significant.
The US Attorney’s Office worried that Diddy would possibly obstruct justice or threaten witnesses. The assistant attorney claimed Diddy knew about the investigation in February and continued to contact witnesses.
The government also pointed to his alleged decades-long history of violence and his pattern of abuse. The attorney’s office indicated no bail conditions could address these possible issues.
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Diddy appeared for the first time in court Tuesday after being charged. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Disturbing allegations were laid out against Diddy in the explosive indictment unsealed Tuesday, just one day after his arrest in a New York City hotel lobby.
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.
Diddy and his employees would “intimidate, threaten, and lure female victims into Comb’s orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs allegedly then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, ‘Freak Offs.'” Diddy often provided IV fluids to his victims after “freak offs” to recover from physical exertion and drug use, per the indictment.
During raids on Diddy’s homes in March, authorities seized “freak off supplies” along with three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, the court docs stated. The feds also took “cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Diddy’s staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak offs, more than 1,000 bottles altogether,” Williams said at a press conference.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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