US rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to face trial on May 5, 2025, for trafficking and extortion charges, nearly eight months after his arrest on September 16, 2024.
Combs, 54, currently held in a Brooklyn jail, appeared in court on Thursday, October 10, accompanied by his family, including his mother and children.
The judge scheduled another court appearance for December, though noted lawyers might deem it unnecessary.
The rapper pleaded not guilty to charges filed last month, which include conspiracy to commit racketeering and sex trafficking based on allegations dating back to 2008.
During Thursday’s hearing, US Assistant Attorney Emily Johnson reported that 96 electronic devices were seized in March raids on Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles homes and a private Florida airport.
Four additional devices were confiscated upon his arrest last month. Johnson cited technical challenges in extracting information from the Miami devices, which contain over 90 terabytes of data.
The indictment alleges Combs coerced and abused women for years, aided by a network of associates and employees, silencing victims through blackmail and violent acts including kidnapping, arson, and physical abuse.
On Wednesday, Combs’ lawyers filed court documents accusing the Department of Homeland Security of leaking a 2016 video to media showing the rapper punching and kicking his former partner, R&B singer Cassie, in a hotel corridor.
The lawyers argued that this and other alleged government leaks have led to “prejudicial pre-trial publicity” that could taint jurors and deny Combs a fair trial.
Federal prosecutors responded to the defence claims, stating in a letter to the judge that the government did not possess the video before its CNN broadcast.
Two judges have concluded that Combs would pose a danger to society if released. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a $50 million bail package, including house arrest and electronic monitoring, deeming Combs a threat to witnesses and the ongoing investigation.
In an appeal against the bail decisions filed Tuesday with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, Combs’ lawyers urged a panel of judges to overturn the bail findings, arguing the proposed package “would plainly stop him from being a danger to anyone or communicating with any witness”.
(information from in.gr)
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