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In not-so-surprising news, federal prosecutors are accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of attempting to obstruct justice from jail.
As reported by legal journalist Meghann Cuniff on Saturday (Nov. 16), court filings reveal that the disgraced hip-hop mogul has been attempting to contact potential witnesses to “influence” the public’s opinion on his sex trafficking/racketeering case.
Phone records obtained by the prosecutors show that Combs had been calling family members to have them contact possible witnesses. Combs’ hope, allegedly, is to have the witnesses craft “narratives” that corroborate his recollection of any events mentioned in court.
Legal documents also claim that marketing ploys had been used by Combs’ team to allegedly sway public opinion. One such incident involves Combs urging his children to post a video for his birthday earlier this month.
The court filing claims that Combs surveyed the post’s analytics, including audience engagement. Combs “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case,” the legal document read. Subsequent posts on Combs’ Instagram were made with the hope of painting him in a positive light ahead of trial.
Bribery & Blackmail
The court filing provides more details about his contacts with witnesses.
Prosecutors say that Combs reached out to one witness, a former bandmate, in September after not speaking for months. The witness (listed as Witness-2) is not mentioned in Cuniff’s article by name, but LoveBScott.com alleges that the witness is believed to be Kalenna Harper, a former member of Diddy’s group, Dirty Money.
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According to the filing, Combs and Witness-2 “exchanged multiple texts and had multiple calls – at least 128 phone contacts in total. Throughout these phone contacts, the defendant repeatedly asked Witness-2 when she planned to post her statement.”
The statement in question was posted on September 13, and prosecutors allege that Combs paid the witness after she posted the statement. September 13 was the day that Harper publicly denounced an abuse lawsuit filed by fellow groupmate Dawn Richard on her Instagram Stories.
RELATED: Diddy’s Lawyers Accuse The Government Of Information Leaks
Combs’ legal team has made a third request for bail, arguing that he should be freed to prepare for his trial. However, with their findings that the mogul has been attempting to obstruct justice, the prosecution hopes that he stays put.
Combs’ trial is set for May 2025.
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