Judge rejects claim that Sean 'Diddy' Combs was treated differently
because of his race
[May 10, 2025]
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was not treated differently because
of his race by prosecutors who brought racketeering and sex trafficking
charges against him, a judge ruled Friday as he rejected a request to
dismiss some charges three days before opening statements in the hip-hop
mogul's trial.
Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs had shown no evidence of
discriminatory effect or intent based on his race, when his lawyers made
their arguments in Manhattan federal court in February. In a separate
written opinion, the judge also refused to suppress evidence in the
case.
The lawyers had written that the prosecution was unprecedented because,
“most disturbingly, no white person has ever been the target of a
remotely similar prosecution.”
The judge agreed with arguments by prosecutors that the extent of
criminal conduct by Combs from 2004 to 2024 — when he was alleged to
have overseen a racketeering enterprise that enabled him to sexually
abuse women — was enough to separate the case against him from other
prosecutions.
“It's the severity of what Combs allegedly did — not his race — that
mattered,” the judge wrote.
Subramanian noted that lawyers for Combs had alleged that the government
sought to humiliate him through its news releases, the way search
warrants were executed at his home, the refusal to let him surrender and
alleged leaks to the media.
“However, Combs doesn’t point to any evidence that racial bias played a
role in the Government’s actions, that the prosecution team was
responsible for any leaks to the press, or that the way Combs’s homes
were searched bespeaks a discriminatory purpose,” the judge wrote.
He added that the government's press releases and refusal to allow Combs
to self-surrender were in keeping with how it has handled cases with
defendants of other races.
The ruling came as opening statements were scheduled to occur Monday
immediately after the final stage of jury selection, which defense
lawyers say will take only a matter of minutes.
Prosecutors allege that Combs, 55, used his fame and power at the top of
the hip-hop world to sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024. He pleaded
not guilty after his September arrest and has been held without bail at
a Brooklyn federal lockup.
At a hearing Friday, Subramanian cancelled plans to finish picking the
jury for the trial, saying he was worried that some jurors might get
“cold feet” and back out of the case by Monday if they had the weekend
to think about it.
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs, far left, looks on from the defense table with
his attorneys, as a prospective juror, far right, answers questions
posed by Judge Arun Subramanian, center, at Manhattan federal court,
Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
 One juror who sent an email to the
court's jury department on Thursday night expressing concern about
her “well-being” was dismissed from the panel of 45 jurors, from
which 12 jurors and six alternates will be chosen on Monday.
Combs was in the Manhattan courtroom on Friday, but jurors weren’t
required to be there. The trial is projected to last two months.
Would-be jurors were asked questions earlier in the week to help the
judge and lawyers determine if they could be fair and impartial. And
they were also questioned to ensure they could decide the case on
the facts — even after seeing explicit videos of sexual activity
that some might find disturbing.
If Combs is convicted on all charges — which include racketeering,
kidnapping, arson, bribery and sex trafficking — he would face a
mandatory 15 years in prison and could remain behind bars for life.
An indictment includes descriptions of “Freak Offs,” drugged-up
orgies in which women were forced to have sex with male sex workers
while Combs filmed them.
The charges against him also portray Combs as abusive to his
victims, sometimes choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them,
often by the hair. Once, the indictment alleges, he even dangled
someone from a balcony.
His lawyers say prosecutors are trying to criminalize sexual
activity between consenting adults. They concede that Combs had
abused various substances but say he has since undergone treatment.
A centerpiece of the evidence against him are recordings of Combs
beating a longtime girlfriend in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in
2016.
After a video of the encounter aired on CNN last year, Combs
apologized, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions in
that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
Numerous prospective jurors told the judge they'd seen the video and
some were deemed too affected by it to be impartial.
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