Diddy wins third-chance hearing to argue for bail in sex-trafficking case
Sean "Diddy" Combs has won a third chance to argue for bail in his federal sex-trafficking case.
He's now offering to submit to home confinement and continual GPS monitoring.
Combs has been held without bail in Brooklyn since his September arrest.
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs on Tuesday won a third chance to argue that he should be released from jail pending his May 5 trial date on federal sex-trafficking charges.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian set 2 p.m. on November 22 for a bail hearing. Combs has remained in a federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 16 arrest. Before the judge set this new date, he wasn't due back in court until December 18.
Subramanian is set to be the third federal judge to weigh whether the rap mogul should be released pending trial on a three-count federal indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors say that since at least 2009, Combs engaged in a pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including at elaborately staged, dayslong sexual performances called "freak-offs." They further allege he used force, threats, and coercion to keep his victims compliant and protect his reputation.
Combs' lawyers have countered that these sexual performances were consensual and that video recordings and testimony by participants will bear that out. The defense has also said Combs' accusers have a financial stake in lying about him.
At separate bail hearings in September, Combs' initial arraignment judge and a second judge agreed with federal prosecutors, who argued that the chance of his obstructing justice and the risk to the community were too high for him to remain free.
Subramanian took over the case on October 3 after the second judge, US District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., couldn't accommodate the May trial date.
Combs is now arguing before Subramanian that he'd agree to home confinement and around-the-clock GPS monitoring if allowed out of jail.
Home confinement would be "at his residence in Miami, or at a suitable location in New York," he says. His offer to post a $50 million bond, collateralized by the Miami home, hasn't changed.
Prosecutors will have until Friday to file a response to this latest bail bid. Combs' side gets to reply to that response by Wednesday, November 20, two days before the hearing.
Lawyers for Combs and a spokesperson for prosecutors didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
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