Live: Diddy’s defense team reacts after Combs denied bail

(NewsNation) —A federal judge has denied Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request to be released on bond, and the music producer will remain detained until his sentencing for lesser sex crime charges.

A jury convicted Combs on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which both carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

Judge Arun Subramanian came to the decision on bond release after receiving letters from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The judge said the applicable law didn’t allow for Combs’ release at this point, saying evidence at trial showed the music producer’s “yearlong pattern of violence.”

“At trial, the defense conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships, saying it happened with Cassie and Jane,” he said. “For present purposes, the defendant is unable to meet his burden” to show by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community,” Subramanian said.

Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year.

His sentencing hearing has been set for October 3.

A verdict was reached Wednesday morning after 13 hours of deliberation over three days by a jury consisting of eight men and four women.

Transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years for each count.

Diddy tells family to ‘be strong’ after bond denial

As Combs left the courtroom for a final time, he stood in front of his family, telling them: “I’ll see you when I get out” and “We’re going to get through this.” He also told them, “Be strong, I love you.”

He looked toward his mother and said, “Mama. I love you. Stay strong.”

Arguments on Diddy’s bond release

Defense lawyers had pushed the judge to reconsider the ruling denying Combs release, but Subramanian stood firm.

Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, argued: “He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back.”

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the only thing that’s exceptional about Combs is “his wealth, his violence and his brazenness” and “his continued criminality and his willingness to violate the law.”

“Listening to Ms. Comey makes me appreciate that we have juries,” Agnifilo said, taking a swipe at the prosecutor.

In a letter arguing their position, defense lawyers had given several conditions to his release, which includes a $1 million bond, restricted travel, the continued surrender of his passport and a surety signed by his mother, sister and mother of his oldest child.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said he should remain incarcerated as a danger to the community and a threat to flee. She cited evidence of physical abuse and “prolific use and distribution of drugs” that emerged during the trial.

“Even if detention was not mandatory here, which it is, the defendant cannot meet his burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that he is not likely to flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community,” the prosecution said in their letter to the judge.

Cassie’s attorney says Diddy a danger to her and other victims

The attorney for Casanda “Cassie” Ventura, one of Combs’ ex-girlfriends who testified during the trial, also requested that the judge deny bail for Combs.

“Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community,” attorney Douglas Wigdor wrote in a letter to the court.

Diddy and his supporters are overjoyed at verdict

After the jury read the verdict, Combs held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at the jurors, and hugged his defense lawyer, Teny Geragos. He also pumped his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges.

Several of Combs’ family members and friends were in the courtroom and expressed happiness after hearing the verdict. Some of Combs’ children were seen jumping up and down for joy in an elevator and planning Independence Day activities with their dad.

Diddy’s verdict came after jury deadlock

Tuesday’s deliberation had ended in a deadlock after the jury told the judge they reached a unanimous verdict on sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges, but not on racketeering.

The jury came back with a verdict one hour after meeting on Wednesday. 

Combs was charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The trial lasted for seven weeks and included testimony from 34 witnesses. 

What is the maximum sentence Diddy’s charges carry?

Racketeering and sex trafficking carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

The sex trafficking charge also carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. Transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

What happened during the Diddy trial?

The government’s case brought on several former employees of Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment companies, but its most noteworthy witnesses were two former partners, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane,” a social media influencer who testified under a pseudonym. 

Ventura, who was late term in her pregnancy at the time, testified over four days about the decade-long abuse she said she faced at Combs’ hands. She said she felt pressured to engage in hundreds of sexual events, dubbed “Freak Offs,” with sex workers. These encounters were often filmed, and Ventura said she was threatened by Combs, who used the videos as leverage over her. 

Jane testified for six days about sexual performances she called “hotel nights,” saying she felt coerced into engaging in them as recently as last August but did so because she loved — and still loves — Combs.

Ventura was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, while Jane was with him from 2021 until his arrest last year.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers played several minutes of recordings of the “freak offs” and “hotel nights.”

The jury also faced its share of drama when Judge Arun Subramanian excused one juror for not being truthful during the selection process about his place of residence. 

The juror had casually mentioned to a member of the court staff that he had moved in with his girlfriend in New Jersey, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York. 

What prosecutors argued in Diddy trial

In their closing statements, the government painted Combs’ criminal enterprise as his “kingdom.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik told the jury that Combs was someone “who doesn’t take no for an answer” and “counted on silence and shame” to enable his abusive behavior.

She pointed to his “small army” of assistants and bodyguards — some of whom were called to the witness stand earlier in the trial — to help him harm women and help cover it up.

“When someone commits a crime as part of a group, they’re more powerful and dangerous,” Slavik said. “The defendant was a powerful man, but he became more powerful and dangerous because of his inner circle, his businesses — the enterprise.”

What Diddy’s defense attorneys argued

While the prosecution presented a robust case, defense attorneys wrapped up theirs within hours, with no witnesses. 

Much of their argument rested on the theory that all of the accusers were consenting adults and that no one was forced to participate in Combs’ sexual events. 

They relied largely on text messages between Combs and his ex-partners to show that the women were willing and even arranged for the sexual encounters at times. 

Defense attorneys used their closing statements to call Combs’ prosecution overkill, saying that he was being put on trial for his sexual proclivities and lifestyle choices. 

Attorney Marc Agnifilo said prosecutors had “badly exaggerated” evidence of the swinger lifestyle and threesomes to combine it with recreational drug use and call it a racketeering conspiracy.

“He did not do the things he’s charged with. He didn’t do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking,” the lawyer said.

He also mocked the prosecution’s assertion that Combs and his underlings had engaged in hundreds of racketeering acts and their suggestion that many of his so-called “Freak Offs” and “hotel nights” were crimes.

He said Combs and Cassie had a “loving, beautiful relationship,” albeit a “complicated” one.

“If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship … they were deeply in love with each other,” Agnifilo said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.