Sean “Diddy” Combs hit another legal roadblock today (February 12) as a federal judge denied his request for an evidentiary hearing regarding a controversial Bureau of Prisons (BOP) sweep at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) that led to the seizure of his handwritten notes.
Diddy had argued that the search violated his constitutional rights, but Judge Arun Subramanian wasn’t convinced.
During an MDC sweep between October 28 and November 1, 2024, a BOP investigator photographed 19 pages of Combs’ personal notes and forwarded them to a government filter team.
The filter team, comprised of prosecutors not directly involved in the case, reviewed the materials, redacted certain portions, and then sent them to the prosecution’s case team.
Diddy’s legal team was furious, claiming the seizure violated his Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights and gave the prosecutors a leg up in building their case against the imprisoned rap mogul.
The defense pushed for a full hearing to examine whether the government intentionally obtained privileged attorney-client communications.
However, the court sided with the Feds, who stated they would not introduce the notes, any evidence derived from them, or any information obtained through related investigative steps in Combs’ upcoming trial.
Judge Subramanian ruled that Diddy’s constitutional violation claims were pointless because the government had already discarded the seized materials and pledged not to use them.
The ruling is a blow to Diddy, whose legal team had hoped to use the evidentiary hearing to have certain evidence thrown out to bolster their case.
The court did acknowledge the situation as a “misstep” but stopped short of granting any relief, advising that Diddy can raise the issue again if prosecutors attempt to introduce any disputed materials at trial.
Diddy remains locked up in the MDC under tight restrictions, awaiting his trial scheduled for May 2025 on federal sex trafficking and RICO chargesDiddy Evidence.