By Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team has submitted a new bail proposal to secure his release from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where the music mogul awaits a May 5 trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The latest proposal, described by attorneys as “far more robust” than previous attempts, maintains the $50 million bail amount while adding strict 24-hour security monitoring and severe restrictions on contact outside his legal team. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Defense lawyers argue that current jail conditions violate their client’s constitutional rights to participate in his defense. They also cite new evidence they claim weakens the government’s case, including material they say refutes allegations about a March 2016 video showing Combs allegedly assaulting a former girlfriend.
The bail request follows Judge Arun Subramanian’s Friday rejection of a defense motion for a gag order on alleged victims and their attorneys. The judge ruled such “an extreme remedy” would threaten free speech rights, according to Billboard.
Meanwhile, investigators continue gathering evidence related to what prosecutors describe as “freak offs” — parties where Combs allegedly flew in sex workers who were then coerced into non-consensual acts. The New York Post reports male escorts are providing detailed accounts to the FBI about these events, with one source claiming participants were “encouraged” to take erectile dysfunction medication.
A grand jury witness, Courtney Burgess, testified last Thursday that he received flash drives containing sex tapes involving Combs and eight celebrities, including what he claimed were three minors. Burgess told NewsNation’s Banfield the drives came from Combs’ late ex-girlfriend Kim Porter.
Federal agents reportedly discovered significant evidence during raids of Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami Beach homes, including 1,000 bottles of lubricant and baby oil, narcotics, and three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers, according to the indictment.
Combs faces multiple lawsuits alleging sexual assaults over two decades, sparked by the May release of a 2016 video showing him allegedly assaulting former girlfriend Cassie Ventura. His attorneys have dismissed the allegations as “meritless” and part of a “reckless media circus.”
Previous bail requests were denied over concerns about witness tampering. The court has not yet ruled on the latest proposal.
