Embattled hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has appealed a judge’s decision to keep him locked up in jail as he fights federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, rebuffing the government’s witness tampering allegations as “exaggerated rhetoric.”
Combs is incarcerated at Brooklyn’s scandal-plagued Metropolitan Detention Center, where high-profile inmates, including R. Kelly, Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, awaited their trials.
“What is extreme and unusual about this case is that Mr. Combs was detained immediately after he was charged, even though he has been in the spotlight his entire life, with many of his purported antics and episodes being widely reported in the press and known to law enforcement authorities,” Combs’ lawyers wrote to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
“Indeed, hardly a risk of flight, he is a 54-year-old father of seven, a U.S. citizen, an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, and philanthropist, and one of the most recognizable people on earth.”
The rap mogul was arrested Sept. 16 on charges alleging he forced women to participate in wild and violent sexual performances he videotaped, called “freak offs.” He’s pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation for purposes of prostitution — charges carrying a potential decades-long sentence.
Prosecutors say the sessions involved violent sexual behavior and included copious amounts of drugs like Xanax and GHB and bottles upon bottles of lubricant and baby oil. The victims were allegedly held in hotel rooms in Manhattan, Los Angeles and foreign countries between 2008 and earlier this year.