Sean “Diddy” Combs and his attorneys say federal prosecutors are unfairly monitoring the music mogul’s every move in jail.
In a new legal filing obtained by People, the mogul’s legal team alleged the prosecution is using Diddy’s detention “to spy on him and invade his confidential communications with his counsel.”
The defense claims prosecutors have been working with Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees to violate Diddy’s constitutional rights, making it impossible for him to prepare for his upcoming sex trafficking trial.
Related: Diddy Demands End to ‘Untenable’ Rules in Jail
The defense argues prosecutors “knowingly, intentionally and secretly” had Combs’ handwritten notes seized from his cell during a jail-wide raid at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, then used those notes — which were at the center of a hearing last month — as evidence to deny him bail.
“Mr. Combs cannot possibly receive a fair trial if he is not permitted to confer privately and confidentially with his counsel and others working at their direction, and to take and keep notes of his trial preparation,” the filing says.
This latest filing comes after the mogul’s legal team sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday, Dec. 4 requesting Diddy get access to a laptop that was earlier promised to him, to “review discovery, take notes related to his case, and otherwise assist in his defense.”
Prosecutors have set guidelines on when and where the mogul can have access to a laptop, but the defense is balking.
As previously reported, Diddy was denied bail a third time on Wednesday, Nov. 27, and spent the Thanksgiving holiday behind bars.
In his decision, Judge Subramanian said he considered several factors, including — the “nature” of the charges; the “weight of the evidence” against the mogul; and the “seriousness of the danger” Combs allegedly poses to the community.
Subramanian — who is the third federal judge to deny Diddy bail since he was arrested on Sept. 16 — also cited evidence of alleged witness tampering.
The evidence included allegations by federal prosecutors that Diddy “paid other inmates” to use their Phone Access Code (PAC) numbers to call people not on his approved contact list, and the judge said there was evidence that the mogul had secretly used a computer program called “ContactMeASAP” after his arrest.
The mogul is charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He denies wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Diddy’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
