Sean 'Diddy' Combs is trying to obstruct justice from jail, prosecutors say

Sean "Diddy" Combs attempted to contact prospective witnesses and influence public opinion from jail in an attempt to influence possible jurors for his forthcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors alleged in a court document urging a judge to deny his most recent bail request.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The government's charges were revealed in a Manhattan federal court filing late Friday (Nov. 15) that opposes the music mogul's latest $50 million bail request. The bail hearing is planned for next week.

Prosecutors wrote that an examination of Combs' recorded jail calls reveals that he has instructed family members to contact possible victims and witnesses and urged them to build "narratives" to influence the jury pool. They claim he has also advocated for marketing methods to influence public opinion.

"The defendant has demonstrated repeatedly — including while in detention — that he will flagrantly and repeatedly violate regulations in order to unlawfully influence the result of his case. "The defendant has demonstrated, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to follow rules or conditions," prosecutors stated in a redacted filing.

Prosecutors argued that Combs' actions suggests he seeks to blackmail victims and witnesses into silence or supplying testimony that would help his defense.

Attorneys representing Combs did not immediately reply to calls for comment.

Prosecutors say Combs, 55, began breaching the rules virtually as soon as he was jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his September arrest.

He has pleaded not guilty to accusations that he forced and mistreated women for years via a network of colleagues and workers, silencing victims through extortion and violence such as kidnapping, arson, and physical assault.

Two judges have ruled that he is a threat to the community and a risk of fleeing.

His attorneys recently presented a third bail request, following the denial of two prior ones, including a $50 million bail proposal.

In their motion, they cited altered circumstances, including new evidence, as reasons to release Combs so he could better prepare for his May 5 trial.

However, prosecutors claim that defense lawyers based their most recent bail request on information provided by prosecutors, and that the new material was previously known to defense lawyers when they filed earlier bail petitions.

According to the prosecutors' statement to the judge, Combs' actions while incarcerated demonstrate that he needs to stay behind bars.

For example, they claimed that Combs encouraged family members to organize and execute a social media campaign around his birthday "with the intention of influencing the potential jury in this criminal proceeding."

He asked his children to share a video of themselves celebrating his birthday on social media, they added.

Following that, he watched the analytics, including audience engagement, from the jail and "explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case," according to the statement.

The government also alleged that during subsequent calls, Combs expressed his desire to anonymously disclose information that he believed would aid his defense against the allegations.

"The defendant's efforts to obstruct the integrity of this proceeding also includes relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him," the prosecutor wrote.