Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail after mixed verdict clears him of top charges
The bond decision came after a jury convicted Combs of federal prostitution-related offences but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, 55, has been behind bars since his arrest in September.
The Grammy-winning impresario stands convicted of two counts of a crime — transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could have put him behind bars for life.
His lawyers argued that the acquittal on those counts changed the legal landscape enough that he should be freed on US$1 million bond.
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Prosecutors said he remained a flight risk. Judge Arun Subramanian said the applicable law didn't allow for Combs' release at this point.
Among other reasons, the judge noted Combs' violent history: "At trial, the defence conceded the defendant's violence in his personal relationships, saying it happened with Cassie and Jane."
As the judge spoke, Combs remained stoic with his hands at his lap.
Earlier today, he dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop's celebrated figures behind bars for life.
The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offences and still faces prison time, but is seeking to be freed from jail to await sentencing.
The mixed result capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs' affable "Puff Daddy" image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.
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As the jury foreman spoke and the "not guilty" verdicts piled up, Combs pumped his fist.
As each juror affirmed agreement with the verdict, Combs looked toward the jury and held his hands up in a prayer motion, and he hugged defence lawyer Teny Geragos.
Combs' relatives and supporters in the audience could barely contain their relief, despite the judge's admonition to avoid outbursts: When the first "not guilty" was read aloud, someone shouted, "Yeah!"
In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. (Source: Associated Press)
Combs, 55, later continued to pump his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges.
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.
Diddy: In Plain Sight is now screening on TVNZ+
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The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Combs' lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines he'd likely face 21 to 27 months. Prosecutors, citing Combs' violence and other factors, said he'd likely face 51 to 63 months. Jailed since his arrest last September, he's already served nine months behind bars.
But in a triumph for Combs, the jury of eight men and four women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fuelled sex marathons with the men.
Family members of Sean "Diddy" Combs, react as they leave Manhattan federal court. (Source: Associated Press)
Combs' defence team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, asked that his client be immediately released because the federal Mann Act crimes were of a "vastly different nature" than sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest.
Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey said he should remain incarcerated as a danger to the community and a threat to flee. She cited evidence of physical abuse and "prolific use and distribution of drugs" that emerged during the trial.
"I do believe we'll be seeking a substantial period of incarceration," Comey said.
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Both sides filed written submissions expanding on their arguments.
Combs appeared overwhelmed as the court adjourned for a few hours.
He wiped his face, turning and kneeling at his chair, his head bowed in prayer. In the audience, his relatives stood and applauded as he faced them.
"I'll be home soon," he said, and "I love you, baby."
"I love you, Mom," he added.
Family members of Sean "Diddy" Combs, react as they leave Manhattan federal court. (Source: Associated Press)
His relatives applauded him and his lawyers, some of whom had tears in their eyes, as he was led out of court.
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There's no date yet for sentencing, when the judge will decide on Combs' punishment for the prostitution conviction.
Verdict follows weeks of harrowing testimony
Federal officials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that sex crimes 'are all too present in many aspects of our society.'
'New Yorkers and all Americans want this scourge stopped and perpetrators brought to justice,' Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Ricky J. Patel, who heads federal Homeland Security Investigations' New York office, said in a statement.
Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point, the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps.
Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura.
Her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement after the verdict that 'by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.'
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Cassie testified for four days about her turbulent 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label.
Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved sex workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the sex events, called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights,' Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testified.
(Source: Associated Press)
When things didn't go Combs' way, he would beat her, she said.
"I'm not a rag doll. I'm somebody's child," Cassie told Combs after he dragged her down a hotel hallway in 2016.
Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane," told the jury she repeatedly told Combs she didn't want to have sex with the men hired for their trysts.
'I'm not an animal. I need a break,' she told him. Nevertheless, she said she felt "obligated" to comply with his demands, in part because he paid her rent.
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The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.
Defence calls case an invasion of privacy
The trial's most famous witness, rapper Kid Cudi, said Combs broke into his home in late 2011 after learning he and Cassie were dating. After his car was firebombed a few weeks later, Cudi — whose real name is Scott Mescudi — said he knew Combs "had something to do" with it. Combs denied it.
A supporter of Sean "Diddy" Combs, reacts outside Manhattan federal court. (Source: Associated Press)
Combs' defence team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were intruding in his personal life. In his closing remarks to the jury, Agnifilo said it wasn't illegal for Combs to make "homemade porn" with his girlfriends.
"They go into the man's bedroom. They go into the man's most private life. Where is the crime scene?" Agnifilo said.
Rapper, entrepreneur and criminal defendant
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Combs was at the centre of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s and became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades, diversifying his interests with the Sean John fashion label, Ciroc vodka, a cable TV channel and a film and TV studio.
In 2001, Combs was at the centre of one of the biggest hip-hop trials of its era, stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. Combs was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall.
His career recovered quickly that time.
Combs' reputation may have suffered irreparable damage, though, after Cassie sued him in November 2023, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. He settled the next day for US$20 million, but more lawsuits by other women and men followed.
Most are still pending.
Diddy: In Plain Sight is now screening on TVNZ+
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