SEAN ‘Diddy’ Combs was seemingly given special treatment in court today as a date was set for his sex trafficking trial.
The rapper, who is also facing racketeering charges, appeared before Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.
Judge Subramanian ruled his trial will now begin May 5, while setting deadlines for lawyers on each side to submit their arguments in the case.
He also set another date for Combs to appear in court in December, although lawyers may not deem this necessary.
The hearing was attended by Diddy’s mom, Janice Smalls Combs, and his daughters, Chance, D’Lila, and Jessie Combs.
His sons, Justin Dior and King Combs, were also there to show the disgraced dad their support.
After entering the courtroom, the 54-year-old music mogul hugged his lawyers and spoke to them with a smile as he waved to his family in the gallery.
He was also allowed to stay a few more minutes after the hearing while his relatives remained seated and court officials ejected the press.
Asked by reporters whether Combs was able to talk to his family, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo said “a little bit” – a privilege not usually given to criminal defendants who typically have just seconds to leave the courtroom.
According to New York Daily News’ Molly Crane-Newman, when asked how Combs was holding up in jail, Agnifilo went on to add, “I think the food’s probably the roughest part of it.”
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges lodged against him last month.
These include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking based on allegations that go back to 2008.
The rapper, who is currently being held in Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, has been denied bail twice, with his lawyers filing another appeal for his release this week.
The number of allegations against him began to spiral when a video showing the rapper beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016 was made public.
On Wednesday, Combs’ lawyers submitted court papers blaming the government’s Department of Homeland Security for leaking the video to the media.
I think the food’s probably the roughest part of it.
Marc Agnifilo
After the damning footage was made public, the disgraced star groveled on social media that he was “was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.”
A number of accusers, including one woman who alleges she was violently raped by Combs in his recording studio in 2001, have come forward since, with horrific details among the allegations being made public.
Combs’ mom, Janice Smalls Combs, has slammed her son’s “public lynching,” speaking “as a mother that is devastated and profoundly saddened by the allegations made against my son.”
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” she told The Daily Mail.
“To bear witness what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words.”
While she admitted her son is “not perfect” she said that “not being entirely straightforward” does not mean Diddy is guilty of the “repulsive allegations.”
An indictment released last month, however, alleges Combs coerced and abused women for years with the help of a network of associates who helped him silence the victims though violence including kidnapping and physical beating.
It alleges the rapper held sordid drug-fueled ‘Freak Offs’ that went on for days and left guests needing IV drips.
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Diddy’s downfall
By The U.S. Sun’s Senior Reporter Forrest McFarland, who has been reporting on Diddy’s legal battles for years
BEFORE Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest on Monday night, it had been highly speculated that the rap star would find himself in custody after he was repeatedly hit with disturbing accusations – and had two of his mansions raided by the feds.
His mounting legal troubles finally came to a head on September 17, when he was charged with three federal counts, including sex trafficking, for allegedly forcing victims to take part in drug-fueled sex parties he called “Freak Offs.”
Hours before his arrest, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed the feds investigating Combs were secretly liaising with Tupac Shakur murder prosecutors on gangland activities.
The development also came after Combs was named 77 times in documents submitted by prosecutors in the Tupac murder case.
Aside from the Tupac probe, Combs was already facing a slew of lawsuits, including one he settled with his ex, Cassie Ventura, after she accused him of rape and abuse.
Disturbing hotel surveillance video from 2016 showed Combs chasing Cassie down and then punching, kicking, and beating her in a hallway.
Two months earlier, in March 2024, two of Combs’ mansions were raided by federal investigators, who seized three AR-15s, drugs, and 1,000 bottles of lube which were part of his “Freak Off” supplies.
In addition to his federal criminal charges, Combs also faces a handful of lawsuits with allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and sex trafficking dating back to the early 1990s.
Music producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones filed one suit in February 2024, claiming Combs forced him to hire sex workers and participate in sex acts while he worked on his latest album.
Combs has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the federal sex trafficking charges against him, but his battle is far from over.
He faces life in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.
