Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed an appeal of a judge’s decision to deny his release, promising to submit to weekly drug testing, barring any women apart from family members from visiting him, and having no contact with people who are considered witnesses in the embattled hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking and racketeering case.
The 54-year-old was led out of court on Tuesday afternoon after New York Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky agreed with prosecutors who argued Combs was a significant flight risk, a danger to the community and prone to witness tampering after his Monday night arrest. In a letter to the judge released on Tuesday, prosecutors claimed that in the months leading up to his arrest, Combs had contacted both victims and witnesses in the case, asking for their “friendship and support,” and sometimes “gaslighting” them into believing “false narratives.”
Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo had presented to the court a significant bail package proposal, including a $50 million bond that would be secured by his $48 million Miami mansion, the equity in his mother’s Florida condo, as well as Combs’ passport and those of his four daughters. Agnifilo asked the court to “trust” Combs, pointing out the steps the Bad Boy Entertainment founder had taken in the lead-up to his arrest to demonstrate that he wasn’t a flight risk.
But Judge Tarnofsky referred to the severity of the charges against Combs and his apparent “anger issues” in denying his release. “Your lawyer asked us to trust you – [I don’t think] you can trust yourself,” she said. “Your lawyer can’t control you.”
Agnifilo filed new paperwork on Wednesday seeking an appeal of the decision. Combs is now set to appear in front of Judge Andrew Carter on Wednesday afternoon. In addition to the original bail package proposal, Agnifilo presented fresh restrictions that would address some of the court’s concerns that Combs presents a danger to the community and would attempt to contact victims and witnesses.
Combs said he would agree to weekly drug testing after his alleged substance abuse was repeatedly mentioned by prosecutors, who claimed police found a pink powdery substance inside Combs’ five-star hotel room following his arrest. Results of the substance had not been confirmed, officials noted, but said it was similar in appearance to drugs they confiscated from his Miami mansion during the March raid that later tested positive for ecstasy and other illicit substances.
If Combs was granted release on house arrest, visitors to his Miami compound would be restricted, only allowing for “family, property caretakers, and friends who are not considered to be co-conspirators,” according to Agnifilo’s letter to the judge. Specifically, no women outside family members and the mothers of his children would be allowed to visit Combs. Additionally, Combs’ personal security would require “any person who enters the property to sign a visitor log,” which would then be provided to the court nightly.
Speaking to members of the press after Combs was remanded into custody, Agnifilo said he would fight the decision to hold his client without bail. “Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this until the end. He is innocent,” the lawyer said. “We’re going to fight this case with everything we have.”
