Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs are citing fellow celebrity inmates in court documents in efforts to ensure that the disgraced music mogul is treated fairly in jail.
Combs, 55, remains behind bars in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits the May trial in his sex trafficking case and after being denied bail last week for a third time.
The “Bad Boy for Life” rapper is reportedly in the same cell unit as convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, whom Combs’ lawyers have named in letters to the judge.
Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell
In a letter to the judge on December 5, Combs’ lawyers argued that other federal inmates—Fried and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell—are allowed to use their laptops behind bars.
“First, contrary to the government’s argument, Mr. Combs’ reasonable request for laptop access is consistent with the way other inmates in his unit access their laptops. Other inmates are permitted to use their laptops in the unit, notwithstanding the fact that their laptops also contain sealed material subject to protective orders. There is no reason to treat Mr. Combs differently,” they wrote, citing United States v. Bankman-Fried.
Getty Images
Combs’ team also took issue with the government’s request that the iconic rapper continue to handwrite his legal notes instead of using his laptop to do so, especially after a government investigator allegedly photographed a legal pad found in his cell.
“It is also inconsistent with how other inmates use their laptops – to create and share work product with their counsel,” his lawyers wrote, again citing Bankman-Fried’s case, noting that a “laptop will enable the defendant to review materials and share work product with counsel through the exchange of hard drives.”
“Anything short of these reasonable requests would unconstitutionally impinge on Mr. Combs’ Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights,” his team wrote.
Citing United States v. Maxwell, Combs’ lawyers argued that laptops are to be provided to defendants on weekends and holidays, in addition to 13 hours per day on weekdays.
“The government’s argument that Mr. Combs’ request would create ‘unjustified disparities’ is just wrong,” the mogul’s team wrote.
Maxwell also awaited trial at the detention center in Brooklyn before being transferred to serve her 20-year prison sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida.
AP Photo
Donald Trump
In a November 25 letter to the judge, Combs’ legal team laid out the types of communication Combs should be permitted to engage in after prosecutors accused him of contacting potential witnesses and influencing the jury pool from behind bars.
Combs’ lawyers argued that he should be evaluated based on the “most demanding scrutiny” that was seen in the case of President-elect Donald Trump.
In citing the United States v. Trump presidential immunity case, Combs’ lawyers noted that a court found “only a significant and imminent threat to the administration of criminal justice” supports restricting a defendant’s speech.
Since Combs is a criminal defendant who is presumed innocent, his lawyers argued, he has a “greater constitutional claim” than other trial participants to criticize and speak out against the prosecution, according to the ruling in Trump’s case.
“Accordingly, the Court should apply Trump’s heightened standard when considering Mr. Combs’ speech here,” his attorneys wrote.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
