Federal prosecutors urged a judge on Thursday to reject Sean Combs’s bid for release from jail ahead of sentencing, arguing that he poses a danger to others and that his “endless financial means” help make him a flight risk.
Last month, a jury convicted Mr. Combs, the music mogul known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, of prostitution-related charges at the conclusion of an eight-week trial in Manhattan. He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charges against him.
Mr. Combs’s lawyers renewed their efforts this week to convince a judge that their client should be released before his sentencing date, now scheduled for Oct. 3. The defense proposed a $50 million bond, as well as limitations on where Mr. Combs could travel, and indicated that he would be open to more severe restrictions, including home detention and electronic surveillance.
In a court filing on Thursday night, prosecutors argued that the defense had not presented any new issues that would warrant a reconsideration by Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversees the case, of keeping Mr. Combs jailed. In denying the defense’s bail motion last month, Judge Subramanian underscored the defense’s admissions at trial that Mr. Combs had been violent with two girlfriends.
“The defendant’s extensive history of violence — and his continued attempt to minimize his recent violent conduct — demonstrates his dangerousness and that he is not amenable to supervision,” prosecutors wrote in their latest filing.
The team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has been shaken up in recent weeks by the Trump administration’s abrupt firing of Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor on the case. Ms. Comey — the daughter of the former F.B.I. director James Comey — also worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which lie at the center of a recent crisis at the White House.
After the Combs verdict, Ms. Comey delivered an impassioned plea for Mr. Combs’s continued detention, calling the defendant an “extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper.”
Prosecutors had argued at trial that Mr. Combs coerced two women into participating in extended sex marathons with paid male escorts — known as “freak-offs” and “hotel nights” — and commanded a criminal enterprise that helped facilitate sex trafficking. The jury rejected much of the government’s depiction of Mr. Combs and his entourage, finding him guilty only of violating a federal law known as the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport individuals across state lines for the purposes of prostitution. Each of the two counts carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
To secure his release, Mr. Combs would have to prove that his case involves “exceptional” circumstances, and that he does not pose a danger to others or a risk of flight.
One of the women at the center of the government’s case, Casandra Ventura, testified that Mr. Combs repeatedly abused her during their decade-long relationship. The other woman, who was known throughout the trial by the pseudonym “Jane,” testified about an explosive physical fight in 2024, during which, she said, Mr. Combs kicked down doors to get to her, and punched and kicked her when she was lying on the ground. She was left with bruising and welts on her head from his punches, she testified.
The defense argued that Mr. Combs had been “provoked,” citing Jane’s testimony that she had instigated the brawl by pushing his head into a kitchen counter and throwing candles at him. The mogul’s lawyers said he had enrolled in a domestic violence program before he was arrested in September 2024.
Since the jury delivered its verdict, the defense has mounted efforts to unravel the Mann Act convictions, arguing that the Combs case was a highly unusual application of an anti-prostitution law that had primarily been used to prosecute cases involving the business of prostitution, not against “johns” who make use of a prostitute’s services.
The prosecution sought to rebut the idea that Mr. Combs could be viewed as an “ordinary ‘john,’” pointing to the copious drug use at freak-offs — which sometimes lasted days — as well as the “small army” of staffers who handled logistics.
If their client is granted release from jail, Mr. Combs’s lawyers have argued, there is no risk that he would try to flee ahead of sentencing. “This jury gave him his life back,” they wrote in a recent filing.
But prosecutors disagreed, citing his wealth and the possibility of significant prison time. Based on the government’s preliminary calculations, federal sentencing guidelines indicated a range of at least 51 to 63 months’ imprisonment, or four and a quarter to five and a quarter years. But after further examination, prosecutors now say that range could be “substantially higher.”
Using the same guidelines, Mr. Combs’s defense team had previously calculated a range of between 21 and 27 months in prison, topping out at just over two years.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
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