The sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs has been scheduled to begin on Monday, May 5, 2025. The high profile case will be presided over by Manhattan federal court Judge Arun Subramanian.
A prosecutor for the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson, argued that the defense for Combs was trying to exclude what they saw as a “damning piece of evidence” by alleging that it was leaked by the government.
On Wednesday (October 9), Combs's lawyers claimed that a 2016 video of Combs physically assaulting his former girlfriend and singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel was leaked to the press by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Lawyers for the disgraced hip-hop mogul accused the leak of the video, which has been shared by media outlets worldwide, “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.”
In response, Johnson argued that the allegations were “baseless and simply a means to try to exclude a damning piece of evidence” from the court. Adding, “Not a single one of those alleged leaks are from members of the prosecution team.”
Judge Subramanian said he would sign a proposed order from defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo instructing both sides to comply with rules prohibiting them from publicly disclosing information that could taint a jury.
According to the Associated Press, Combs’ mother, Janice Combs, attended the proceeding, sitting alongside Combs's children in the courtroom gallery.
Combs was arrested on September 16 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan and taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations. He was indicted on charges of federal sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has since been denied bail and was later placed on suicide watch.