Sean “Diddy” Combs has attempted to contact prospective witnesses from jail in a bid to sway public opinion ahead of his upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors have claimed.
The accusations were made in a Manhattan federal court filing in which the prosecution opposes the 55-year-old rapper‘s latest $50m (£39m) bail proposal. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Combs pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with the aid of a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
He says his sexual relationships were consensual, and strenuously denies all wrongdoing.
In the latest step of the ongoing case, prosecutors say a review of recorded jail calls made by Combs shows he has asked family members to reach out to potential victims and witnesses and has urged them to create “narratives” to influence the jury pool.
They say he has also encouraged marketing strategies to influence public opinion.
The filing said: “The defendant has shown repeatedly – even while in custody – that he will flagrantly and repeatedly flout rules in order to improperly impact the outcome of his case.
“The defendant has shown, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to abide by rules or conditions.”
Prosecutors wrote that it could be inferred from his behaviour that Combs wants to blackmail victims and witnesses into silence or into providing testimony helpful to his defence.
Read more: What is Sean Combs charged with?
It is alleged that Combs began breaking rules almost as soon as he was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City, after his arrest in September.
Two judges have concluded he is a danger to the community and at risk of fleeing, rejecting two previous bail requests.
In Combs’s latest request, his lawyers cited changed circumstances, including new evidence, which they said made it sensible to release him ahead of his trial next year.
But prosecutors said defence lawyers created their latest bail proposal using some evidence prosecutors turned over to them, and the new material was already known to defence lawyers when they made previous bail applications.
In their submission to a judge, prosecutors said Combs’s behaviour in jail shows he must remain locked up.
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They cited examples including Combs enlisting family members to plan and carry out a social media campaign around his birthday earlier this month, “with the intention of influencing the potential jury in this criminal proceeding”.
They say he encouraged his seven children to post a video to their social media accounts showing them gathered to celebrate his birthday.
Afterwards, they say he allegedly monitored the analytics, including audience engagement, from inside the jail and “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case”.
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Prosecutors also alleged Combs made clear his intention to anonymously publish information that he thought would help his defence team.
“The defendant’s efforts to obstruct the integrity of this proceeding also includes relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of his abuse who could provide powerful testimony against him,” they wrote.
Sky News has contacted Combs’s lawyer for comment.
Combs is currently in custody in Manhattan. His criminal trial is scheduled for 5 May 2025.
