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Lawyers for the embattled hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs defended their client’s right to describe the federal sex trafficking case against him as “racist” in court filings Monday as they ask a court to grant him bail so he can go home from jail while awaiting trial.
“He has a right to a fair trial and a constitutional right to speak out on his own behalf,” Combs’ defense wrote in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian. “The government’s arguments that asking his children to post birthday wishes on Instagram and that he is not entitled to publicly express his opinion that this prosecution is racially motivated are, quite simply, an unconstitutional effort to silence him.”
The case against Combs has been overseen by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, a Biden-Harris administration appointee who is resigning on Dec. 13 ahead of his expected replacement under the incoming Trump administration.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 2, 2008 on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Prosecutors took issue with Combs’ use of a banned app from behind bars to communicate with the outside world. He allegedly used other inmates’ phones to contact friends and family in an alleged influence campaign and staged a happy birthday video on his own Instagram account, now controlled by his sons, in which he spoke to them over the phone from lockup.
They allege he has a long history of obstruction, of encouraging witnesses and subordinates to cover for him, and of abusing both sexual partners and personal staff, according to court documents.
“Former staff members have described the defendant threatening to kill them, throwing objects at them, and being struck, punched, and shoved by the defendant, and seeing him do the same to others,” prosecutors alleged. “This significant history of violence must be taken into account when viewing the defendant obstructive activity. Taken together, there can be no doubt that the Government has proven the defendant’s dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence.”
Read Diddy’s defense letter:
Combs and his supporters have played the race card before. When Homeland Security agents raided his mansions in Miami and Los Angeles in March, his ex Misa Hylton posted a since-deleted Instagram post that included home surveillance video showing armed agents apprehending her son, who is not charged with a crime.
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United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams speaks to the media outside of Manhattan federal court on July 16, 2024 in New York City. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
“The over zealous (sic) and overtly militarized force used against my sons Justin and Christian is deplorable,” Hylton wrote. “If these were the sons of a non-Black celebrity, they would not have been handled with the same aggression.”
In a messy breakup with the liquor giant Diageo, which owns the Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands that Combs promoted as part of a marketing agreement – Combs accused the company of racism and claimed that it marketed those brands to “urban” consumers because Combs is Black.
Read the prosecution’s opposition letter:
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Diageo dismissed his allegations as “false and reckless,” and he eventually dropped his lawsuit against the company in January. The sides also severed all business ties.
The race card came up earlier in his federal criminal case when his lawyers accused federal investigators of leaking sealed details of the investigation to reporters. Prosecutors countered that Combs’ lawyer, Mark Agnifilo, told TMZ in a televised interview that it was his opinion that Williams’ office was working on “the takedown of a successful Black man.”
Sean Combs holds a bottle of Ciroc vodka while attending “Sean Combs’ 50th Birthday Bash presented by Ciroc Vodka” on Dec. 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Sean Combs)
Combs’ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Williams, who was already slated to leave office in January, announced his resignation Monday, effective in mid-December.
President-elect Donald Trump has already nominated Williams’ successor, the former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton.
Combs’ trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges is expected to begin on May 5, 2025.
He currently has a third attempt at being granted bail pending before the court. Federal prosecutors are asking the judge to keep Combs behind bars, arguing he would be a threat to witnesses and victims if released in the interim.
They believe he’s already trying to influence witnesses from behind bars, allegedly contacting them through third-parties.
Both sides were in court Friday for Combs’ third bail hearing, but the judge did not render a decision. He asked lawyers for the government and for Combs to submit “short letters” in support of their positions by noon Monday. Combs’ lawyers later complained that the government’s 13-page letter was too long and rehashed old claims. Their letter was eight pages.
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The trafficking investigation into Combs launched in November 2023, after his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit alleging abuse and other wrongdoing.
They settled a day later, and he denied the accusations, but earlier this year a video emerged that appeared to back up a violent claim in her lawsuit – that he attacked her in a hotel hallway.
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“Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye,” her lawyers alleged.
Over the past year, new accusers have continued to come forward, and Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said in October he now represents more than 100 people looking to sue the rapper.
He has been accused of doling out date rape drugs and victimizing adults and children at parties, some of which allegedly involved unnamed “celebrity” accomplices.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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