Yoopya with Reuters
NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes that Sean “Diddy” Combs took in jail, pending a decision on whether they can be used in preparation for the rapper and producer’s sex trafficking trial.
During a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said prosecutors should not consult the notes while he considers the defense argument that they were subject to attorney-client privilege, a legal doctrine that safeguards confidential communications between lawyers and their clients.
“Get rid of them,” Subramanian instructed the prosecutors.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September on charges accusing him of using his business empire including record label Bad Boy Entertainment to transport women and male sex workers across state lines to take part in recorded performances called “Freak Offs.” He has pleaded not guilty.
The music mogul is scheduled to go on trial starting on May 5 on three felony counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prosecution. Combs’ lawyers have said the sexual activity described in the indictment was consensual.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan received photographs of the notes that an investigator took during a search of Combs’ cell during a broad, pre-planned sweep on Oct. 28 by various federal agencies at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The prosecutors said Combs wrote about paying off potential witnesses and digging up dirt on them. They said that could amount to obstruction of justice, meaning attorney-client privilege should not apply.
“The information at issue is not protected,” prosecutor Mary Slavik said at the hearing.
Slavik said prosecutors were still investigating the case and may bring more charges.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, said the notes concerned defense witnesses and strategies. Agnifilo called the seizure of the notes a violation of Combs’ right to a fair trial and the protection against self-incrimination and unreasonable searches and seizures under the U.S. Constitution.
“This has been a complete institutional failure,” Agnifilo said.
Subramanian said he would keep a copy of the notes until he determines whether prosecutors have a right to use them to build their case. The judge said a separate team within the U.S. Attorney’s office responsible for screening documents for attorney-client privilege could keep them.
Separately, Combs is seeking to be released on $50 million bail backed by his $48 million Florida mansion and co-signed by several family members. He has been denied bail three times, with multiple judges citing a risk that he might tamper with witnesses.
A hearing is scheduled on the bail application for Friday. Prosecutors on Tuesday agreed that Subramanian should not consider the contents of Combs’ notes in deciding whether to release him.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham
By Luc Cohen