Sean 'Diddy' Combs seeks bail, citing changed circumstances and new evidence
Trial date set for Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs will face a federal court trial in May 2025 on sex trafficking charges. Combs appeared in a New York City courtroom with his family, as attorneys discussed a gag order and allegations of government leaks. FOX 5's Lisa Evers has the story.
NEW YORK - Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs filed a new request for bail on Friday, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean the hip-hop mogul should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail.
RELATED: New charges may be coming in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking case
Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail have been rejected by two judges since his September arrest on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
'Diddy' Combs arrest and abuse allegations: TIMELINE
Sean "Diddy" Combs has been arrested by federal authorities in New York after a grand jury indictment, which prosecutors plan to ask a judge to unseal. Here is a look at the key events that have unfolded since late last year.
He has been awaiting a May 5 trial at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.
In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a "far more robust" bail package that would subject the entertainer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers. But the amount of money they attach to the package remains $50 million, as they proposed before.
They also cite new evidence that they say "makes clear that the government's case is thin." That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government's claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced "freak off," a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
Diddy charges explained, what the indictment alleges
In a damning 3-count indictment, Diddy is accused of operating an enterprise to fulfill his sexual desires and hosting "Freak Off parties," where he and his associates allegedly lured women and coerced them into sex acts.
They wrote that the encounter was instead "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship" between Combs and his then-girlfriend.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional rights to participate in his defense.
A spokesperson for prosecutors declined to comment.