Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky told the court … “I thank your family members for coming, but I cannot release him.” Diddy’s sons Christian and Justin were inside the courtroom at the time.
12:47 PM PT — Diddy‘s attorney is taking on the narrative that the rap mogul isn’t a brute and a bully … seemingly hinting there’s more to the story regarding the 2016 hotel hallway incident involving Combs and his then-girlfriend, Cassie.
Diddy’s camp argued “victim one” was looking through his phone and discovered he had more than one girlfriend … hitting the rapper in the head with a cell phone and taking off with his clothing — which explains why he was in the hallway in a towel in the footage that surfaced back in May.
His lawyer claims Diddy and the unnamed victim, assumed to be Cassie, were very much in love … until the woman in question cheated “for years” with the trainer the A-lister provided for her. We’ve reached out to Cassie’s reps for comment.
Cassie notably married physical trainer Alex Fine in 2019. They share 2 children together.
Diddy’s lawyer claims his client is “not a perfect person” … though found himself in “toxic relationships,” but claims they were mutual.
However, earlier in court, it was suggested that Diddy wrote a large check to an ex for 10 years … it’s unclear who received the payment and for what reason.
12:20 PM PT — Prosecutors are laying out their case for denying Diddy bail … and they say they’re worried he will intimidate witnesses and obstruct the case if he’s released on bond.
What’s more, the feds say the witnesses they’ve interviewed have universally expressed fear … and prosecutors claim Diddy called his former artist Kalenna Harper 54 times the day before she made a statement about a recent lawsuit they were named in.
Prosecutors also say Diddy’s got the money and the means to be a flight risk … and the feds say he had what appeared to be narcotics in his hotel room when he was arrested.
The feds say a pink powder that tested positive for Ecstasy was found in Diddy’s hotel room … as well as other drugs.
Diddy just pled not guilty to all the charges against him.
The embattled mogul made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon in Lower Manhattan … where he entered a not-guilty plea, as expected. The more pressing issue for Diddy was whether or not the judge would let him out on bail.
Diddy offered to fork over a staggering $50 million as bond. He wouldn’t pay that amount in cash — instead, he offered his $48 million Miami mansion and his mother’s home as collateral … and said he was willing to wear a GPS monitor, and limit his travel to South Florida and the NYC area.
The court hearing is still going on and a judge has yet to rule on the issue of bail.
If convicted, Diddy’s facing a minimum sentence of 15 years, and a statutory maximum of life in prison. So, the stakes are incredibly high for him.
Prosecutors believe Diddy is a flight risk here and they don’t want him out on bail.
