Popular American rapper and music mogul, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been denied bail once again after a New York judge ruled he will stay behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial.
Combs’ federal trial has been set on May 5, 2025 where he will face charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
At a pretrial hearing Thursday, Judge Arun Subramanian set a trial date of May 5, in line with request from Combs’ team for an April or May trial.
The Judge also said Combs will “remain detained” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been in jail since Sept. 16 after he was arrested in New York following a federal indictment on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The pretrial hearing comes two days after Combs’ attorneys pushed for bail for a third time, claiming the initial judge’s decision to deny him bail was unfairly influenced based on the “sensationalism” of the case (the first judge on the case, who has since been replaced, denied a request for $50 million bond, home detention and limits on visitors).
Combs’ lawyers unsuccessfully sought bail for the rapper twice before this week—once immediately after his arrest when his attorneys claimed he was living in “horrific” conditions in the New York jail, and again on September 30 when they asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Southern District of New York to overturn the ruling.
Thursday, October 10 was Combs’ first court appearance since he was arrested. Per multiple reports, his mother, Janice Combs was seen at the courthouse on Thursday with Combs’ children.
CNN CCTV Footage
During hearing on Thursday, Combs’ legal team accused government of leaking a surveillance video to CNN. The footage which surfaced online in May shows Combs physically assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
Diddy’s legal team has filed a motion for the footage to be excluded as evidence from prosecution, claiming it could unfairly prejudice the jury.
However, prosecutors called the motion a tactic to exclude critical evidence from the case. Prosecutor Emily Johnson denied government’s involvement in the leaked footage arguing that government did not have the footage before it was published by CNN.
Diddy is scheduled to appear in court on December 18.
