International Courant
Sean “Diddy” Combs is paying different inmates to entry their telephone accounts and instructing his relations to put up “fastidiously curated” messages on social media in an effort to affect public opinion and impede justice forward of his upcoming trial on racketeering and intercourse trafficking prices , federal prosecutors declare.
In a brand new court docket submitting obtained by Rolling Stone, prosecutors within the Southern District of New York allege the music mogul, who’s now being housed in a federal detention heart in Brooklyn, knowingly violated jail laws when he used the phone accounts of no less than eight others inmates to make calls since his Sept. 16 arrests in Manhattan. Prosecutors say they’ve the recordings.
“Seemingly to keep away from regulation enforcement monitoring, the defendant makes use of different inmates’ PAC numbers to make telephone calls to each people on the defendant’s permitted contact record in addition to different people who will not be on the permitted contact record. To acquire or keep entry to different inmates’ PAC numbers, the defendant directs others to pay the inmates, together with via fee processing apps and BOP commissary account deposits,” the brand new submitting states.
The brand new 30-page submitting from prosecutors urges the decide overseeing the case to reject Combs’ newest bid to be launched on bond pending his Could 5 trial. Combs, 55, has already been denied bond twice, however he’s headed to a 3rd listening to on the matter this coming Friday, providing a brand new $50 million bail proposal.
“The defendant affords nothing new and materials justifying a 3rd bail listening to. In actual fact, the one actually ‘new’ related proof exhibits that the defendant has continued to interact in a relentless course of obstructive conduct designed to subvert the integrity of those proceedings,” prosecutors wrote of their opposition filed late Friday night time.
“Whereas making an attempt to evade regulation enforcement monitoring, the defendant has, amongst different issues, orchestrated social media campaigns which can be, in his personal phrases, geared toward tainting the jury pool; made efforts to publicly leak supplies he views as useful to his case; and contacted witnesses via third events.”
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Prosecutors allege {that a} latest video posted on Combs’ Instagram account the place his kids gathered and wished him a cheerful birthday whereas he was on a telephone name from jail was removed from spontaneous.
“The defendant enlisted relations to plan and execute a social media marketing campaign across the defendant’s birthday, with the intention of influencing the potential jury on this legal continuing,” prosecutors declare within the new submitting. They mentioned the video was “fastidiously curated” by Combs earlier than it was posted to his account with almost 20 million followers and the accounts of his kids. “The defendant, from inside the (Metropolitan Detention Heart), then monitored the analytics—ie, viewers engagement—and explicitly mentioned along with his household how to make sure that the video had its desired impact on potential jury members on this case,” prosecutors allege .
Combs has pleaded not responsible. His representatives didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the newest submitting from prosecutors, however they beforehand mentioned they’re assured he’ll prevail at trial. “Mr. Combs and his authorized crew have full confidence within the details and the integrity of the judicial course of. In court docket, the reality will prevail: that Mr. Combs by no means sexually assaulted or trafficked anybody — man or lady, grownup or minor,” his media crew mentioned in a previous assertion.
Combs and his crew argue that he must be launched so he can higher put together for trial. Prosecutors declare of their submitting punctuated with redactions that Combs’ conduct behind bars makes it clear he cannot be trusted. They allege that notes collected from Combs jail cell throughout a sweep of his cell urged he paid a witness in his case to make a public assertion. Additionally they allege recorded calls reveal Combs instructed others “to dial in third events,” together with folks not on his permitted contact record.
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“The defendant has proven repeatedly—even whereas in custody—that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly flout guidelines so as to improperly affect the result of his case,” the brand new submitting states. “The defendant has proven, in different phrases, that he can’t be trusted to abide by guidelines or situations.”
If convicted as charged in his legal case, Combs faces a minimal of 15 years in jail and a most of life behind bars.
Sean Combs Allegedly Paid Inmates To Use Cellphone Accounts In opposition to Guidelines
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