Embattled hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has appealed a judge’s decision to keep him in prison as he fights federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, rejecting allegations of tampering government witnesses, calling them “exaggerated rhetoric.”
Combs is incarcerated at the scandal-plagued Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where high-profile inmates including R. Kelly, Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell were awaiting trial.
“What is extreme and unusual about this case is that Mr. Combs was arrested immediately after being charged, even though he has been in the spotlight his entire life, with many of his alleged antics and episodes having been widely reported in the press and known. to law enforcement authorities,” Combs’ attorneys wrote to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
“Indeed, he is unlikely to run away, he is a 54-year-old father of seven, an American citizen, an artist, an extraordinarily successful businessman and philanthropist, and one of
the most recognizable people on earth.
The rap mogul was arrested on September 16 for forcing women to participate in wild and violent sex shows he filmed, called “freak offs.” He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation for the purpose of prostitution. The charges carry a potential sentence of decades.
Prosecutors say the sessions involved violent sexual behavior, including large quantities of drugs like Xanax and GHB, as well as bottles of lube and baby oil, federal authorities said. The victims were allegedly held in hotel rooms in Manhattan, Los Angeles and abroad between 2008 and earlier this year, prosecutors said.
