Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Gets Special Jail Laptop Preloaded With Key Legal Documents
Federal agents arrested hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in September 2024. He pleads not guilty to criminal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. But Combs continues to get slammed with new civil cases. Combs was denied bail three times, but he can now have a laptop in jail with preloaded discovery materials as he prepares for trial. Here’s what to know.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs can have a laptop in jail — but he can only view the preloaded material
Sean “Diddy” Combs lives in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York — a notoriously difficult jail. While Combs tried to get bail three times, three judges denied his request. Now, Combs has to prepare for his trial in May 2025 from behind bars. However, he has access to a laptop preloaded with discovery materials.
Combs’ laptop cannot be used for any purpose other than viewing the preloaded material. It also can’t be used to store or take notes. According to the order obtained by DailyMail.com, Combs can use the technology “seven days per week from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This can be in his unit’s visiting room or in his unit’s VTC room.”
“The purpose of the Discovery Laptop is to review discovery, not to take or store notes,” Judge Arun Subramanian wrote. “It is the Court’s understanding that the laptop has been preloaded with discovery materials but does not allow any functionality beyond reviewing those materials.
While the public has divided opinions regarding the laptop usage, Comb’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, penned a letter in early December 2024 stating Combs didn’t receive the same treatment as other inmates and still waited on the laptop.
“We write on behalf of Mr. Combs to request that the Court direct the MDC to provide Mr. Combs with the laptop prepared for him by the government,” Agnifilo wrote. ” … Mr. Combs has still not been provided with the laptop despite numerous inquiries by defense counsel.”
The hip-hop mogul’s trial will likely experience delays
Sean “Diddy” Combs is preparing for his trial in May 2025. While he and his legal team are preparing for the trial on this date, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Law&Crime Network that Combs’ trial will more than likely be pushed if minors are involved in the accusations.
“Minors present a completely different set of circumstances,” Rahmani said, according to DailyMail.com. “We know through his lawyers, Combs is arguing that the sexual activity happened, but it was consensual. Of course, for sex trafficking, you need one of those elements: force, thought, or coercion. Obviously, minors cannot consent to any sexual activity, so that would be a very different defense entirely.”
Rahmani added that the involvement of minors is a “potential game changer.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs might get special treatment behind bars
Sean “Diddy” Combs didn’t earn bail. However, former inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn told Us Weekly that Combs could receive special treatment if the guards like him.
“If the guards take a liking to Diddy, he will get extra food, extra time out of his cell,” one former inmate said.
“He’s rich … so they might not treat him so bad [as a] form of extortion,” another former inmate, Blaire G, said.
However, Combs’ fellow inmates might not like him due to the allegations against him. Prison consultant Sam Mangel told the publication that sexual offenders are often “specifically targeted.”
“Diddy’s charges are problematic in the Bureau of Prisons,” Mangel added. “It would not surprise me at all if other people were screaming and threatening him.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
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