Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ legal team trying to stall start of rapper’s sex trafficking trial
In yet another twist in the case against the rapper, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ legal team is trying to stall the start of the rapper’s sex trafficking trial.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ legal team is trying to stall the start of the rapper’s sex trafficking trial.
The former music mogul, 55, is currently scheduled to begin in less than three weeks on federal charges, and he appeared in a New York federal courtroom on Monday (14.04.25), during which it has now emerged Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo told the court the defence may request a two-week adjournment. He cited discovery issues, including the government's alleged failure to obtain a full set of emails from a key witness.
Mr Agnifilo said: “The government let the witness select which emails were important, instead of asking for all 200,000.”
But Judge Arun Subramanian gave Combs’ lawyers until Wednesday (16.04.25) to formally request a delay – and Warner them: “We are a freight train moving toward trial.”
Combs has been held without bail since his arrest in September 2024.
Even though he entered a not guilty plea during Monday’s hearing, prosecutors argue recent procedural issues — including his failure to enter a plea following new charges and delays in the discovery process — indicate a broader strategy to buy time before trial.
The most recent indictment, filed on 4 April, adds two new charges to the existing list against Combs.
Prosecutors allege the rapper used “force, fraud or coercion” to compel a woman, referred to as “Victim-2”, to engage in commercial sex acts between 2021 and 2024.
He is also accused of transporting the woman, along with other individuals including commercial sex workers, across state lines to participate in acts of prostitution.
The expanded indictment builds on earlier charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Prosecutors allege Combs, over a period of years, coerced multiple women into sex acts, including three who were sex-trafficked and one employee who was forced into sexual activity.
The case claims Combs abused his “power and prestige” as a high-profile figure in the music industry to recruit and exploit women, aided by a network of employees and associates.
According to federal filings, Combs also allegedly blackmailed and violently intimidated victims, employing tactics that included physical assault, arson and kidnapping.
He is further accused of orchestrating events known as ‘Freak Offs’, in which allegedly drugged women were apparently forced to participate in choreographed sexual encounters.
Combs’ legal team has dismissed the new charges as involving no new accusers and claims the relationships in question were consensual.
