Sean “Diddy” Combs and his defense team aren’t happy about his lack of screen time.
Diddy’s defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday, Dec. 4 requesting the mogul get access to a laptop that was earlier promised to him, according to court documents obtained by Deadline.
“We write on behalf of Mr. Combs to request that the Court direct the MDC [Metropolitan Detention Center] to provide Mr. Combs with the laptop prepared for him by the government, and allow him to use that laptop on his unit, consistent with the way other inmates on his unit are permitted to use their laptops,” reads the letter.
Agnifilo notes that the government provided the Metropolitan Detention Center with a laptop for the music mogul on Nov. 25, for him to be able to “review discovery, take notes related to his case, and otherwise assist in his defense.”
Related: Diddy ‘Paid’ $100,000 to Make Hotel Beating Video ‘Go Away,’ Prosecutors Said at Bail Hearing
Later in the letter, the mogul’s lawyers expressed frustration with the two options offered to the Bad Boy Records founder, after the government consulted with jail officials.
In the first option, Diddy would be provided with a laptop in the unit’s video-teleconference room during select times when “legal staff is available and when that room is not otherwise being used during other inmates’ legal calls.”
Or in the second option, Diddy would be provided with the “laptop in the legal visiting room between the hours of 8-3:30pm.”
Combs’ legal team called these requirements “untenable” and “not required of any other inmate.”
“They significantly limit the time available for Mr. Combs to use the laptop and force Mr. Combs to choose between using the laptop and meeting with his attorneys (who often meet with Mr. Combs over video-teleconference). There is also no justification for these restrictions,” the letter reads.
As previously reported, Diddy was denied bail a third time last Wednesday, Nov. 27.
In the 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” he 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 judge also called out the mogul for allegedly “instructing family members and defense counsel” to make three-way calls to hide who he was calling, which is against Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rules.
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.
