Attorneys for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs call government’s use of his personal notes ‘outrageous’
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs (pictured here in 2017) accused federal prosecutors of “outrageous” conduct for obtaining the former music mogul’s personal notes from his jail cell.
By Kara Scannell, CNN
(CNN) — Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs accused federal prosecutors of “outrageous” conduct for obtaining the former music mogul’s personal notes from his jail cell.
Combs’ attorneys said in a letter to the judge in his case that the notes include attorney-client material about defense witnesses and strategy. They describe the search as a violation of his constitutional rights.
“The targeted seizure of a pre-trial detainee’s work product and privileged materials – created in preparation for trial – is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation,” Combs’ lawyers wrote.
They asked Judge Arun Subramanian to hold an evidentiary hearing.
Combs has been in held in the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
His lawyers said they first learned that prosecutors possessed his notes from a court filing late Friday night.
In the filing, prosecutors disclosed that the notes were obtained during a nationwide pre-planned sweep of Bureau of Prison facilities. They suggested, based in part on the notes, that Combs was attempting to influence witnesses ahead of his trial.
“The strong inference to be drawn from the defendant’s communications with Witness-2 and his personal notes is that the defendant paid Witness-2 after she posted her statement,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Prosecutors said the notes were reviewed by a filter team of individuals not involved in the case for any privileged materials before they were turned over.
Combs lawyers said they want to know who authorized a search of Combs’ area, who gave the paperwork to the US Attorney’s Office, and what material was taken.
Combs is due in court on Friday as his lawyers try for the third time to get him released on bond.
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