Sean “Diddy” Combs received positive news on Nov. 19 when a judge directed federal prosecutors to destroy several pages of handwritten notes seized during a raid of his jail cell at MDC-Brooklyn last week.
Judge Arun Subramanian issued the ruling during an hour-long hearing where Combs was finally able to appear in court without shackles on his ankles, ABC 7 reported. The disgraced hip-hop mogul flashed smiles at the audience and hugged his legal team.
“The government should not be in possession of the 19 pages,” Judge Subramanian said at the end of the hearing.
Combs’ lawyer requested an immediate hearing after accusing prosecutors of securing “improper possession” of his handwritten notes, which contain “attorney-client privileged material.” Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo held a stack of notepads, folders, and papers during the Tuesday hearing, arguing that they were initially seized from Combs’ jail cell even though the Bad Boy founder “has handwritten the word ‘legal’” on them, Agnifilo said. His lawyers argued that every page from the stack is subject to attorney-client privilege.
“Virtually every single thing in these legal pads are matters he discusses with his attorneys,” Agnifilo said. “This has been a complete institutional failure.”
However, a member of the prosecution team disagreed and attempted to deny claims of the handwritten notes being private legal documents.
“Self-labeling something ‘legal’ does not automatically make it subject to the attorney-client privilege,” prosecutor Christy Slavik said. “The government received these materials through a completely appropriate channel.”
In a victory for Combs, the judge ruled that the handwritten notes would not be considered when deciding on the “Mo Money Mo Problems” rapper’s bail during Friday’s hearing.
Combs is being held at MDC-Brooklyn without bail on racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He’s been there since mid-September, when he was arrested on a federal indictment alleging he engaged in a decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including at elaborate sex parties he called “freak-offs.”
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