Sean “Diddy” Combs appeals judge’s refusal to release him from prison on $50 million bail

Sean “Diddy” Combs takes his request for release from prison to a higher court.

Combs’ legal team filed a notice of appeal Monday with the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, the Bad Boy Records mogul is seeking an appeals court ruling that would overturn Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr.’s September 18 decision to deny his request for release from prison to conditions such as $50 million bail.

USA TODAY has reached out to Combs’ representative for comment.

Combs, who was arrested on September 16 and arraigned the next day on sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges, was incarcerated in the Special Housing Unit at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center . He has maintained his innocence amid a flurry of civil lawsuits over the past year and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Why judges refused to let Diddy post bail

Before this latest appeal, Combs lost two bail bids. The first judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky, agreed with the U.S. attorneys’ argument that Combs posed a risk if he were to be released and placed under house arrest.

“I don’t believe the attorney has the ability to control you, given the very significant concerns I have, including substance abuse and what appear to be anger issues,” Tarnofsky told Combs and to his attorney, according to a court transcript reviewed by UNITED STATES TODAY.

“The danger, I think, is quite serious,” she added of Combs’ release, deciding that the bail offered by her team would not “guarantee his return to court or the safety of the community, nor the absence of witness tampering.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter on September 18, Combs’ attorneys requested that Combs be released on $50 million bail secured by the equity in his and his mother’s home in Florida, on the grounds that he had made himself available for government custody. The letter also stated that Combs, his daughters and his mother had given their passports to his attorney.

After Carter upheld Tarnofsky’s Sept. 17 ruling against Combs, Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs’ attorneys, vowed to appeal the ruling.

“I told Mr. Combs that I was going to try to get his case to trial as quickly as possible,” he added. “I will try to minimize the time he spends in very, very harsh and I believe inhumane housing conditions in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center.”

Legal experts intervene: Why Diddy is ‘fighting for his life’ despite sex trafficking accusations

Why was Diddy arrested?

The day after his arrest on September 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a 14-page federal grand jury indictment that revealed an extensive and ongoing federal investigation into the hip-hop icon. whoops. Investigators say the 54-year-old carefully plotted to use his finances and status in the entertainment industry to ‘gratify his sexual desires’, part of a ‘recurring and widely known’ pattern of abuse .

In a September 17 letter to the judge arguing that Combs be jailed until he faces justice, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said his office had “the testimony of dozens of witnesses and victims of his serial abuse, as well as evidence from dozens of his colleagues.” own electronic devices and those of his co-conspirators.

Investigators seized more than 90 cell phones, laptops, cloud storage accounts and at least 30 storage devices. They issued more than 300 grand jury subpoenas to obtain this evidence from communications providers, technology and social media companies, financial institutions and Combs’ companies.

Prosecutors reportedly have “dozens” of videos showing Combs’ so-called “freak offs” – sometimes days-long sexual performances between sex workers and people in which he was allegedly coerced into participating through drugs and drugs. intimidation – which would corroborate the testimonies.

Combs’ indictment says Homeland Security Investigations agents purchased drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant that were allegedly used during Combs’ “freak offs” during the raids. March 25 at Combs Homes. Several AR-15 rifles and high-capacity magazines were also reportedly discovered.

In a TMZ documentary titled “The Fall of Diddy: The Indictment,” Agnifilo said Combs plans to testify at his trial, adding, “I don’t know if I could stop him from testifying.”

He also questioned the number of bottles of baby oil allegedly seized by agents during their raids on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March and claimed that the “freak-offs” of Combs were simply “threesomes.”

As for the possibility of Combs accepting a plea deal — if U.S. attorneys offered him one — Agnifilo said, “I don’t see that happening.”

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAIN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy appeals judge’s decision to deny his release from prison