Kaylah Walton
Lawyers representing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have claimed that prosecutors exhibited “outrageous government conduct” by utilizing materials obtained from his jail cell to maintain his detention ahead of the upcoming trial in May.
They highlighted that information acquired during a search of Combs’ cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn was included in the government’s motion filed in Manhattan federal court, seeking to keep him imprisoned before his trial set for May 5.
The attorneys expressed serious concerns to Judge Arun Subramanian and requested a hearing to determine who approved the search of Combs’ cell, where various personal belongings and documents were taken.
In response, prosecutors informed the judge that the search of Combs’ cell was part of a broader safety inspection within the jail, unrelated to Combs or his trial.
They explained that the inspection was part of a planned sweep that happened before Combs was arrested and was carried out appropriately, with an investigator deciding not to look into a manila envelope marked “legal” found in the cell.
Moreover, they stated that any materials that might be privileged were first scrutinized by a “filter team” composed of government attorneys who are not involved in the case. This team was responsible for identifying confidential communications protected by attorney-client privilege to prevent trial prosecutors from accessing them.
Combs, aged 55, has been in custody since his arrest in September on allegations of coercing and abusing multiple women, allegedly with the assistance of a network of associates. He faces serious charges including blackmail, kidnapping, arson, and physical violence towards victims.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking release to house arrest with a proposed bail package of $50 million.
Prosecutors stated on Friday that Combs has been attempting to evade scrutiny regarding his jail communications while managing social media campaigns to influence the jury pool and trying to leak materials he believes may benefit his case. They also claimed he has been reaching out to witnesses through intermediaries.
In their correspondence on Monday, Combs’ lawyers reminded the judge that the prosecution had earlier admitted to holding “possibly privileged materials, such as notes retrieved from the defendant’s cell.”
His attorneys characterized this as “outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation,” further accusing the prosecution of examining their client’s “privileged notes to his lawyers regarding defense witnesses and strategies.”
