Judge Delays Decision On Diddy’s Bail

 A federal judge has punted a decision to next week on whether music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs can be released on bail as he awaits trial on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, after several other judges denied multiple past requests citing fears he would attempt to interfere in the government’s case against him if released. (Here is a complete list of the allegations against Combs.)

November 22

Judge Arun Subramanian at a Friday hearing requested more information from attorneys on both sides but said a “prompt” decision will be made next week on whether Combs can be released on bail. His legal team asked that he be released with a $50 million bond and a laundry list of conditions including home detention, security lockdown and no internet access. Subramanian rejected the idea Combs be kept under house arrest at a home with a boat dock in Miami but seemed open to potentially releasing him to confinement with around-the-clock security at a three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

November 19

Subramanian told prosecutors to “get rid of” their copies of handwritten notes taken by Combs in jail, making the decision as he considers legal arguments from Combs’ lawyers that the notes were subject to attorney-client privilege and counter arguments from prosecutors who accused Combs of writing about a witness tampering plot.

November 15

In a filing opposing Combs’ request to be released on bail, prosecutors claim Combs has attempted to “corruptly influence witness testimony” by asking his family members to reach out to victims and potential witnesses and create “narratives” to affect their opinion, while also asking his children to post a video to social media in celebration of his birthday and ensuring the video had “his desired effect on potential jury members in this case.”

November 12

In "The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs,” Ray J claims high-profile celebrities are "reaching out to victims" and offering them money in exchange for avoiding any public exposure, and aspiring singer-songwriter Tanea Wallace described her experience at a 2018 party where she said she saw minors “dressed up like Harajuku Barbies, red lipstick, looking like real sexy.”

November 8

Combs’ attorneys again requested the mogul be released on bail with a $50 million bond with a laundry list of new conditions, including home detention in Miami or New York City, security lockdown and no internet access, which is scheduled to be heard at a hearing on Nov. 22.

November 4

In a video posted by his son, Combs spoke to his children on the phone on his 55th birthday Monday and said, “I can’t wait to see y’all. I just want to say that I’m proud of y’all, especially the girls. I mean, all y’all just for being strong.”

November 3

Comb's lawyers sent a letter to Subramanian asking he place all potential witnesses under a gag order until a federal trial scheduled for May, claiming a "deluge of improper pretrial publicity that is undermining Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial.” (The request comes after a friend of Comb's late girlfriend Kim Porter spoke outside a courthouse in Manhattan, saying he’d testified before a grand jury and has footage of Combs raping and sexually assaulting several people, including minors).

October 31

Ty Stiklorius, John Legend's manager, wrote in a New York Times piece that she herself experienced a "terrifying situation" in which she says she was locked in a bedroom while attending a party hosted by Combs in St. Barts in the late 1990s and "managed to talk her way out" of what she assumed was an abnormal experience, but later realized "what happened that night was no aberration—it was an indicator of a pervasive culture in the music industry.”

October 28

Federal authorities said they'd carried out an “interagency operation” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where Combs is awaiting trial, but did not provide specific details about what was done inside the facility, which has been the target of rampant criticism from the Combs team and the location of several crimes in recent months, including a murder-for-hire plot and the stabbing deaths of two inmates.

October 25

In a letter submitted to the court Friday, Combs' attorneys requested a gag order be implemented for all federal officials involved in his case, specifically citing a New York Post article that quotes a "federal law enforcement source who is involved in the investigation" as proof the Department of Homeland Security is purposefully interfering with Combs' right to a fair trial (in October, Combs' legal team claimed DHS leaked an incriminating video of Combs to CNN, which the agency denied). A judge later called the quotes in the article “plainly improper” but rejected the gag order request.

October 22

Two of Combs’ seven children—Quincy Brown, Combs' adopted 33-year-old son, and Chance Combs, his 18-year-old daughter with Sarah Chapman—made a joint post on Instagram calling the last month "devastating" for their family and defending their father from what they called "accusations, conspiracy theories and false narratives.”

October 15

Combs returned to Instagram for the first time since his arrest in September with a post marking the second birthday of his youngest daughter, named Love Sean Combs (he’d previously deleted every post on the social media account as allegations piled up against him, but has posted a total of three times since July, each time with photos of his children).

October 11

A U.S. Appeals court referred Combs' latest request for bail to a panel of three judges, but ruled he will remain behind bars until a decision is made.

October 10

Combs appeared in court for the first time since his arrest, where a trial date of May 5 was set for him to face federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

October 9

Combs’ team filed a memo alleging that the Department of Homeland Security leaked a surveillance video that showed him abusing his ex-girlfriend, Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, though prosecutors have denied the allegations and said they did not obtain that video until it was made public by CNN.

October 8

Lawyers for Combs filed paperwork asking he be allowed to await trial outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center where he resides, claiming the initial decision to deny him bail was unfairly “distorted” by the attention on the case (the initial judge, who has since been replaced, ruled Combs should stay in jail so he can’t use his money and influence to interfere in the government's case against him).

October 6

Janice Small Combs, Sean Combs' mother, said in a statement through her family's attorney she is "devastated and profoundly saddened" by the allegations against her son, adding those accusing him of misconduct are "seeking a financial gain" and likened Combs to "many individuals" who have been "wrongfully convicted due to their past actions or mistakes"—though she also said Combs “may have been not entirely truthful” when denying assault allegations raised by his ex-girlfriend Ventura.

September 30

Lawyers for Combs filed a notice asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Southern District of New York to overturn the decision to hold him in prison while he awaits trial, a choice Judge Andrew Carter made citing concerns Combs had allegedly tampered with witnesses who had been contacted as part of the investigation against him (the request was not granted).

September 26

A documentary was released for streaming on Tubi and featured an interview with Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo—who addressed a leaked surveillance video of Combs shoving and kicking ex-girlfriend Ventura—in which he called the indictment a takedown of a “successful Black man" and said he doesn't expect Combs to accept a plea bargain.

September 24

Combs is sharing a unit with disgraced Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to The New York Times, as the former crypto mogul serves out a 25-year sentence in prison for counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering linked to a scheme that lost former FTX customers, lenders and investors several billion dollars.

September 18

Combs' lawyers cited "horrific" conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York in a request for bail—which included a $50 million bond offer, GPS monitoring and strict limitations on visitors—that was denied by U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter, who said the conditions weren’t enough to ensure the safety of the community.

September 17

A federal court in Manhattan unsealed charges against Combs for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, alleging he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

September 16

Combs was arrested in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury.

May 29

Sources told CNN federal investigators were getting close to filing charges against Combs, and that plaintiffs who had filed individual civil lawsuits against him had been interviewed as part of the case.

March 25

Federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Florida and California in relation to a federal sex trafficking investigation.

November 2023

A $30 million lawsuit filed by Ventura kicked off a series of criminal complaints against Combs that have included rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking and other claims (see all of the allegations here).

Combs has denied all of the allegations against him, with his attorneys characterizing some of the lawsuits and their accusations to Forbes as money grabs, “baseless” or “sickening.” In a statement in October, Combs’ attorneys said they have “full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”

If he’ll be released on bail. Combs has been in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest, and a third attempt by his attorneys to have him await his federal trial from home is currently awaiting review. The initial bail offer included a $50 million bond, house arrest, GPS monitoring and strict limitations on visitors, but a district judge denied the request. His attorneys asked for bail again several weeks later and were again denied by an appeals court judge.

Combs was arrested on federal charges in September and, the next day, an indictment against him was unsealed. The document alleges Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” and also accused him of using his business empire to engage in “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.” Prosecutors allege Combs manipulated women into engaging in “extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers” in what the mogul described as “Freak Offs,” and that he and his associates drugged women to keep them “obedient and compliant.” Prosecutors accuse Combs and his associates of using bribery, threats and violence to cover up his alleged abuse, and said he would leverage the financial support he provided to coerce women, making them feel they couldn't resist his demands "without risking their financial or job security” or subjecting themselves to abuse. Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo said at the time he was "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office."

Donald Trump Jr., son of president elect Donald Trump, took to his podcast the day before the election to spread a bizarre conspiracy theory linking celebrities who have endorsed Kamala Harris to the “freak off” parties hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, and suggested—without evidence—they received some kind of protection from the vice president in exchange for their public support. On an episode of "Triggered,” Trump Jr. baselessly claimed the rush of celebrity endorsements for Kamala Harris in the months leading up to the election were orchestrated by the vice president as part of a blackmail scheme linked to Diddy's arrest: “None of this is organic. It’s a paid influencer operation. Know that. The celebrities who aren’t getting paid are getting probably paid in another way because they’re either on an Epstein list or a Diddy party list or both,” he said. Trump supporter and billionaire Elon Musk also talked about the Diddy scandal in the days before the election. After singer and actress Jennifer Lopez endorsed Harris for president, Musk appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast to say listeners shouldn't trust her because she didn't "warn" people against her ex-boyfriend, Combs. "Now deciding she’s like warning people against Trump. How many people did she warn against Diddy, right? Oh zero, OK. Maybe we shouldn’t trust her opinion."

Sean Combs was once on the path to becoming a billionaire thanks to his extensive music career, business ventures that included the Sean John fashion and fragrance lines and founding the Revolt TV network and since unrealized plans to become a cannabis mogul. Forbes estimated Combs’ personal wealth at $740 million in 2019 (he and his team later claimed he was a billionaire, but offered no supporting evidence). Today, Forbes conservatively estimates he is worth $400 million. Combs founded his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993, which Rolling Stone has called “one of the most influential hip-hop labels of all time.” The label has signed major artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Janelle Monáe and Cassie, and has put out several of Combs' own albums, including "Press Play" and "Last Train To Paris.” Combs sold a 50% stake in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group in a reported $30 million deal in 2005. Combs has built a fortune through Bad Boy Records, several liquor brands, a fashion label and other ventures. He sold his share in the DeLeón tequila brand for $200 million earlier this year. He was ranked No. 14 on Forbes' list of the highest-paid entertainers in 2022, making an estimated $90 million that year. One of the rapper’s raided homes is located in Holmby Hills, an affluent neighborhood where Combs purchased a home for $40 million ten years ago.