By admin 
NEW YORK– Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday accused prosecutors of “outrageous government behavior” by using material from his jail cell in an attempt to keep him locked up before a trial in May.
They said information gathered during a raid on Combs’ cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn was cited in documents the government filed Friday in Manhattan federal court in an effort to keep the music mogul locked up ahead of his trial on 5 May.
“This is a matter of grave concern that, with all due respect, must be addressed immediately,” the attorneys told Judge Arun Subramanian, who has already scheduled a bail hearing for Combs on Friday. They asked for an “immediate hearing” so prosecutors can explain who authorized the search of Combs’ cell, where personal belongings and paperwork were seized.
Later Monday, prosecutors responded to the claims with a letter to the judge saying the inspection of Combs’ cell was part of a security-related investigation unrelated to Combs or his prosecution.
They said the search was planned before Combs was arrested and was properly conducted with an investigator entering Combs’ cell and deciding not to examine a manila envelope marked “legal” that was in the cell.
They added that potentially privileged material was first reviewed by a “filter team” of government lawyers who did not work on the case. The team was tasked with removing all confidential communications protected by attorney-client privilege so that prosecutors could not see them.
Combs, 55, has been held since his arrest in September on charges that he coerced and abused women for years using a network of associates and associates. An indictment accuses him of silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical abuse.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently seeking to be released to home confinement on a $50 million bond.
On Friday, prosecutors said Combs has tried to evade scrutiny of his prison communications while orchestrating social media campaigns aimed at corrupting the jury pool and attempting to publicly leak material he believes is helpful to his case. They said he also contacted witnesses through third parties.
In their letter Monday, Combs’ attorneys noted that prosecutors acknowledged in their bail arguments last week that they “may possess privileged material, such as the notes recovered from the suspect’s cell.”
Combs’ attorneys called it “outrageous government conduct that amounts to a substantive violation of due process.”
They accused prosecutors of reviewing their client’s “privileged notes to his attorneys regarding defense witnesses and defense strategies.”
Copyright © 2024 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.