The legal team of disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed an appeal against the court’s original ruling to deny the billionaire bail while he awaits trial on federal charges of alleged racketeering, human trafficking and sexual assault. Combs was consigned to the Metropolitan Detention Center without bail after being determined by the judge to be both a flight risk and due to alleged concerns surrounding possible attempts at witness intimidation, should Combs be allowed to return to his private home while awaiting court proceedings. Allegedly his lawyers argue that the judge who initially ruled in favor of denying Combs bail had given into media sensationalism that led him to incorrectly believe Diddy to be a potential threat to witnesses. The appeal aims to overturn this decision, allowing Diddy to post bond and return to his private residence under house arrest until he is either sentenced to prison or set free depending on the court’s ruling.
Combs has garnered a reputation in the industry for his elaborate parties that include some of the biggest names in music, athletics and entertainment. However, prosecutors allege that Combs used these events as a smokescreen to engage in a multitude of alleged illegal activities as part of what were allegedly known colloquially as “freak offs”: large, secretive afterparties where participants would allegedly be provided illicit drugs and encouraged to engage in sexual activity with male prostitutes. Prosecutors allege that Combs went to great lengths to coerce, intimidate and silence anyone who threatened to expose him. These threats were eventually carried out, however and now Combs could be facing a lifetime in federal prison if convicted.
According to Billboard, prosecutors stated in their indictment of Diddy, “For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct […] To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.” His lawyers allegedly offered to post a $50 million bond and adhere to strict monitoring of their client in exchange for his remittance to his Miami home, both of which were denied by the previous judge. The current appeal is being reviewed by a new judge, which Combs’ lawyers hope will yield more favorable results.
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