NYC judge orders federal prosecutors to destroy notes taken from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jail cell

A Manhattan justice connected Tuesday ordered national prosecutors to destroy records of notes taken from Sean “Diddy” Combs’ jailhouse cell. 

Manhattan national tribunal Judge Arun Subramanian issued the directive pursuing a tribunal proceeding attended by Combs aft his lawyers complained astir national authorities photographing idiosyncratic notes from his compartment during a sweep.

Multiple national agencies conducted a monolithic contraband sweep astatine MDC Brooklyn starting connected Oct. 28 arsenic portion of an ongoing effort to cleanable up the troubled jail, which saw 2 stabbing murders successful a six-week play this summer.

Sources described the operation, tally by the national Bureau of Prisons, arsenic a amusement of force, implicit with contraband-sniffing dogs, an FBI mobile bid halfway parked extracurricular the Sunset Park jail, and information screenings of defence lawyers arsenic they exited.

On Nov. 1, BOP officials announced that national agents identified and confiscated respective physics devices, drugs and associated paraphernalia, and homemade weapons.

The feds connected Combs’ lawsuit revealed they’d travel into possession of the notes successful written arguments opposing his latest petition for merchandise connected Friday, accusing him of witnesser tampering and making efforts to wage disconnected radical who whitethorn instrumentality the basal against him.

In tribunal Tuesday, Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the papers contained accusation taxable to attorney-client privilege and demanded CCTV of the raid. He said Combs had written the connection “legal” connected the stack that was seized and argued determination was nary crushed for an researcher — who prosecutors said did not confer with them — to hunt done papers to look for compartment phones, weapons oregon drugs.

“Virtually each azygous happening successful these ineligible pads are matters helium discusses with his attorneys,” the defence lawyer said, calling the seizure “a implicit organization failure.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik countered that the researcher who looked done the compartment autarkic of the prosecution’s enactment was tasked with making definite Combs was successful compliance with jailhouse rules, which she said Combs “was not.” She said the paperwork taken included notes by Combs astir uncovering “dirt” connected witnesses.

Slavik said nary members of the prosecution squad were alert of, progressive in, nor made immoderate requests to the researcher who carried retired the search. She said labeling thing arsenic “legal” did not, connected its face, marque it taxable to attorney-client privilege and that a filter squad had reviewed them for thing out-of-bounds. 

The authoritative said the materials were obtained pursuant to the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s ongoing covert probe into Combs and his associates and that they didn’t interest his communications with his lawyers but, successful summation to a enactment astir uncovering ungraded connected witnesses, related to his household members, fiscal advisers, birthdays, and “inspirational quotes” that “have thing to bash with this lawsuit astatine all.”

Subramanian, who volition regularisation connected the defence claims aft receiving written arguments from the 2 sides, told prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s bureau to email him immoderate originals from the 19 pages that were photographed for the clip being. 

The 55-year-old Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, enactment trafficking and interstate proscription to prosecute successful prostitution, charges carrying a imaginable decades-long agelong sentence.

Prosecutors allege that for years, the hip-hop mogul utilized his concern empire to facilitate the intersexual maltreatment and coercion of women helium forced to enactment successful convulsive intersexual performances called “freak offs.” They accidental helium directed and videotaped the performances and drugged his victims into compliance, and that helium and associates engaged successful forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

Combs, who wore tan situation covering to Tuesday’s hearing, appeared without chains astir his ankles aft his ineligible squad requested the tribunal licence him to beryllium unshackled.

He’s owed backmost successful tribunal Friday erstwhile Subramanian said helium wouldn’t origin the notes to beryllium destroyed successful his determination connected whether to merchandise Combs connected a $50 cardinal bond.