Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani on the charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and how he would defend the case if he were Combs' defense team.
Diddy remains in jail after bail appeal denied
by Lauryn Overhultz,Tracy Wright · Fox NewsA judge denied Diddy's bail for a second time as the disgraced music mogul fought for his release Wednesday.
Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared in front of U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter for a second chance at bail after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper entered a not guilty plea hours after an indictment detailing his alleged sex crimes was unsealed.
Carter cited the possibility that Diddy would tamper with witnesses in his reasoning for denying bail. The judge conceded the prosecution had proven "by clear and convincing evidence that there is no condition or set of conditions" to secure community safety.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson pointed to Diddy's long history of intimidating his accusers and the witnesses of his alleged abuse. Johnson claimed text messages showed Combs forced his victims into participating in sexual encounters he referred to as "freak offs." The rapper allegedly recorded the sex acts and then used the videos as leverage for their silence.
Diddy's defense team was "minimizing and horrifically understating" the rapper's tendency to engage in violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Johnson took issue with the way that Diddy's lawyer characterized the 2016 assault on his then-girlfriend Cassie as a fight between romantic partners.
Johnson revealed a text message from a woman who said Combs dragged her down a hallway by her hair. The woman allegedly told the rapper, "I’m not a rag doll, I’m someone’s child," Johnson claimed.
Diddy is a "danger to the community and poses a serious risk to the integrity" of his case, Johnson argued. Prior to Diddy's appearance in court Wednesday, his lawyer exclusively gave Fox News Digital an update on the music mogul's incarceration.
"He is in the special housing unit, which is a very difficult place to be," Marc Agnifilo said. "It's one of the things I'm going to take up with the judge today, that it's impossible to prepare for a trial from where he is."
The original decision to deny bail was "spot on," New Jersey-based defense attorney David Gelman told Fox News Digital. "So, it doesn’t matter if Diddy put up a billion dollars, they’re not gonna let him out."
The "I'll Be Missing You" singer proposed $50 million in a bail package that also included GPS monitoring at his home on Miami's Star Island. Diddy's team attempted to show the judge he was not a flight risk by his communications with the U.S. Attorney's Office during the ongoing investigation.
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Diddy's offer to post $50 million for his bail amount was "unheard of."
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"He knew this was all coming down. He prepared for it. He had an $18 million mortgage on his home in Miami. He paid that off in August, knowing that he had to have some assets in liquidity because he’d have to put up bail," Gelman explained. "I truly thought that he was gonna get bail — I really did — until I read the brief from the U.S. attorney’s office to the judge asking them to deny the bail. When you start to witness tamper, it doesn’t matter how much money you put up. It doesn’t matter if you give them your passport. You really handcuffed your attorney."
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Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky originally denied Diddy's bail appeal on Tuesday. The judge decided there were "no conditions" she could impose on Diddy. Tarnofsky pointed out sex trafficking is a crime that happens behind closed doors and the rapper would be hard to watch even with pre-trial monitoring services. The judge considered alternatives to detainment, but found they were not sufficient. Tarnofsky conceded the weight of the evidence against Diddy is significant.
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The U.S. Attorney's Office worried that Diddy would possibly obstruct justice or threaten witnesses. The assistant attorney claimed Diddy knew about the investigation in February and continued to contact witnesses.
The government also pointed to his alleged decades-long history of violence and his pattern of abuse. The attorney's office indicated no bail conditions could address these possible issues.
Diddy appeared for the first time in court on Tuesday after being charged. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Disturbing allegations were laid out against Diddy in the explosive indictment unsealed Tuesday, just one day after his arrest in a New York City hotel lobby.
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Authorities alleged Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global, among others. He used "firearms, threats of violence, coercion, and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse" to fulfill his sexual desires, according to the unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
Diddy and his employees would "intimidate, threaten, and lure female victims into Comb's orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs allegedly then used force, threats of force and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, 'Freak Offs.'" Diddy often provided IV fluids to his victims after "freak offs" to recover from physical exertion and drug use, per the indictment.
During raids on Diddy's homes in March, authorities seized "freak off supplies" along with three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, the court docs stated. The feds also took "cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Diddy's staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak offs, more than 1,000 bottles altogether," Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a press conference.
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If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.