Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy Says Feds Are Sabotaging Him with Jail Laptop

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

As disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs sits behind bars in Brooklyn on federal racketeering and sex crimes charges, he wants to be able to help his legal team with the case. But he says the restrictions the prosecution put on his laptop use is keeping him from doing that. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber combed through legal documents from both sides and breaks down the arguments.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’ve ever been injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/YouTubeTakeoverHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. A battle over of all things, a laptop has now ignited a new legal feud and back and forth between prosecutors and Sean Combs' defense counsel in his criminal case. We are going to break down the competing letters to the court right now. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. All right, so Sean Combs' legal team has just raised, I would say, a new issue, sort of new issue to the court.

And we're going to address it right now, and it concerns of all things, believe it or not, access to a laptop while he's in the Metropolitan Detention Center, the MDC, where he's currently locked up while he's waiting trial next year. And before I even go into the defense's letter, I said it was new, but really this is an issue that has come up before. You see, Sean Combs' defense lawyers, they have argued. that the conditions at the MDC make it incredibly difficult for him to properly review evidence in the case and prepare for trial. And yes, he has a constitutional right to prepare for his trial. But they have been arguing for quite some time that because of the incredible amount of material in this case, you really can't do it without a laptop. He needs a laptop to review everything.

I mean, this is a massive case. Combs is accused of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage, prostitution, and they are looking at him, allegedly operating a criminal enterprise from 2008 to 2024. That is a long, long time period. And when he was first arrested, prosecutors at the time, they said they interviewed more than 50 victims and witnesses. They obtained over 90 cell phones, laptops, over 30 electronic and storage devices, firearms, physical evidence, records that were obtained pursuant to over 300 grand jury subpoenas and voluntary production. Think about how much stuff there is. So it is a massive case with a lot of evidence. And in fact, this was an issue

that Combs' team had raised when trying to get him bail. They argued, look, he can't review all of this material in the MDC, so he needs to be released on home confinement immediately. Unfortunately, for Sean Combs, that argument was rejected by the judge overseeing this case, Judge Arun-Subramanian. In fact, in Judge Suburmanian's order denying Sean Combs' bail pre-trial release, He wrote, given Combs' access to counsel and documents, there was an issue with Combs receiving a laptop for the purposes of reviewing discovery, but the court addressed that, the firm deadline for the government's discovery, the end of the year, and the time left before trial, over five months, Combs has not carried his burden of demonstrating that release from detention is necessary for trial preparation purposes. And with respect to that laptop, the prosecutors in a pretrial hearing actually addressed that. Prosecutor Christine Slavik reportedly told the judge that Combs will be provided a laptop at the MDC, and it will be preloaded with information that he is allowed to have and see.

So with all of that in mind, now we want to get into the defense's letter that was just filed this week. And they write the court, they write Judge Subramanian saying the following, quote, 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 and allow him to use that laptop on his unit, consistent with the way other inmates on his unit are permitted to use their laptops. Two months after he was charged and detained on November 25th, 2024, the government provided the MDC with a laptop that Mr. Combs can use to review discovery, take notes related to his case, and otherwise assist in his defense.

In the nine days since then, Mr. Combs has still not been provided with the laptop, despite numerous inquiries by defense counsel. And Combs lawyers doubled down because they say this morning, and this was filed on December 4th, by the way. They say this morning, the government gave them only two options. One, Sean Combs will only be provided with the laptop in the unit's video conference room during select times when legal staff is available

and when that room is not otherwise being used during other inmates' legal calls. Or two, he will only be provided with the laptop in the legal visiting room between the hours of 8 and 3.30 p.m. But not both. So not both. Now, Sean Combs' lawyers objected to this. They say these restrictions are, quote, untenable. They're unjustified.

And they argue it seems to only be placed on Combs, that these restrictions were not placed on other inmates in his unit or on his unit. And they say the problem is this limits the amount of time he has to use the laptop because he's going to either be forced to choose between using the laptop or meeting with his attorneys. He only has limited time. And Combs lawyers say essentially if this is about security or privacy issues with what he's viewing, The material doesn't contain any evidence designated as attorney's possession only,

meaning that it should only be disclosed to attorneys in this case. The defense is arguing that this won't endanger the safety or privacy of any alleged victims or witnesses in the case, and they say there's no reason to believe Combs is going to show this stuff to other inmates. And then they write this. Moreover, given the government's efforts to surreptitiously monitor and record his handwritten legal notes, Mr. Combs' need for a laptop to take leave. legal notes free from government surveillance is heightened.

Now, that is in reference to what happened a few weeks ago when the defense accused the government of possibly violating Sean Combs' rights by having in their possession photographs of paperwork in Combs jail cell that they say might have been privileged writings. That is a whole separate issue that Judge Suburbanian has been working through to see whether or not privileged material was improperly photographed and handed over to the prosecution. but even so, they brought it up again here as a little kind of sting to the prosecution.

But in the same vein, the defense also writes in the letter. In addition, last night, defense counsel learned that the MDC has been providing the prosecution team and not via the filter team copies of MDC attorney visitation forms. By the way, a filter team is kind of this independent group of examiners who take evidence, take documents and materials, and they literally filter. throughout what could be privileged, and that shouldn't be disclosed to the other side. An example is attorney-client communications. So the defense writes, who Mr. Combs meets with in connection with his legal defense,

including potential experts and investigators, is potentially privileged. Even if not privileged, this level of surveillance offends due process and hamperes his ability to prepare his defense. And before we go any further, I have to thank Morgan and Morgan for sponsoring today's law and crime, YouTube takeover. Here's the truth. One of the most unpredictable things in life is if you get injured, right, comes out of nowhere. Well, Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm, that may be who you want in your corner. Because you know what? Your case could be worth millions. Morgan and Morgan, who has over 1,000 attorneys, they have a proven

track record of winning big. Recently, they secured verdicts of $12 million in Florida, $26 million in Philadelphia, $6.8 million in New York, all far exceeding insurance offers in these cases. And even if your case isn't worth seven figures, why not start a claim and get the money you deserve? And starting a claim is so easy. It takes just eight clicks can be done right from your phone and it's free unless you win. So if you're hurt, visit for the people.com slash YouTube takeover or click the link in the description and pinned in the comments. So with all that being said, the defense is asking the court now to step in. And they are asking the court to direct, to order the MDC, the Metropolitan Detention Center,

to provide Sean Combs this laptop and to allow him to use it in his jail unit and to also stop sending these attorney visitation forms to the government, to the prosecutors. Well, as you can imagine, not surprisingly, the prosecution responded, and they argue that what the defense is asking for is premature and moot. They write, pre-trial defendants housed at MDC review discovery during designated hours using computers within their housing units in, exceptional cases, particularly those with especially voluminous discovery, courts in this district have permitted certain pretrial defendants to access laptops preloaded by the government with discovery materials so that those defendants can prepare for trial while in custody. And the prosecutor cite other cases to support that. And they say, look, the MDC informed us that out of approximately 25 other inmates in the defendant's unit in Chonkome's unit, only three other inmates are actually allowed to use laptops.

So, in other words, Combs, he is in a unique position. He is being granted kind of an advantage here in a way. But the government cautions, look, even if he's being provided a laptop, normally a general rule of practices, that comes with limitations. That comes with restrictions. Like how long an inmate can use the laptop and where they can use it and not to copy or transfer material to other people. To support that, the prosecutor cite a case where a defendant was allowed access to discovery materials on a laptop. but Monday through Friday in the MDC visiting room for 10 to 15 hours per week. So there were limitations put there.

Now here, prosecutors say, look, we agreed to give Sean Combs a laptop. We started producing evidence for him to review on there. But the majority of the documents on there, they're sealed, meaning the defendant can see it and he can review it, but only when he's in the presence of Bureau of Prison Personnel or law enforcement personnel or his defense attorneys. And they say according to the MDC, and remember, Prosecutors are deferring to the MDC a lot here. They're the ones who have the responsibility of housing Sean Combs

and ensuring security and privacy and any kind of those issues. But they say, look, according to the MDC, Combs could use the laptop in the unit's visiting room or in the video conference room. But again, in both choices, there are certain hours he can use it. It has to be within a certain time frame. And also, it can't be within the presence of other inmates.

Now, there was a third option for him to use it in his own unit from 8 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., even if there are other inmates around, the prosecutor said that doesn't work here because these are sensitive, sealed materials talking about the names of alleged victims and witnesses and travel, financial records of other people, and this would violate the protective order that has been put in place by Judge Sub-Romanian, which protects against certain information from being disclosed to third party. So it's just too much of a risk. prosecutor say, look, he's got these two options. These are two viable options. And they also say, look, in response to Sean Combs' lawyer's argument, well, this puts an unreasonable time limit on how he can review the material, they say, tell you what, let's see how this goes. If there is a problem, we can address it at another time. If he is being split between time to see his defense attorneys and review this laptop, then we'll come back and review this. But what the defense is asking for now for the court to step in, they argue, prosecutors argue, it's just premature. We're doing two things simultaneously. We're giving him access to review evidence in this case,

and we are also protecting the material from being disclosed. And also, in response to the defense's argument that the MDC stopped sending prosecutors the attorney visitation forms, the government argues first, these forms simply say that an attorney visited his client. That's not privileged. Number two, Sean Combs can complain about us reviewing these visitor logs or these visitation forms because it was he who made access to his attorneys an issue in this case when he was arguing for bail, namely that when there was that sweep for contraband at the MDC, remember we talked about that? There was that pre-planned sweep at this facility looking for all sorts of illicit materials like the homemade weapons and there was electronic devices. Well,

remember, Sean Combs' defense counsel had argued at the time, and this is what brought up by prosecutors now. They said, look, this sweep delayed in us being able to meet with our client. We lost time in trial preparation. In other words, prosecutors saying, you're the ones who brought up this issue of meeting with your client, access to your client. So now these visitation logs are important. They're important in us addressing that. And number three, they say this argument about that they shouldn't be entitled to having the visitation forms. They say, look, we don't plan of collecting any of these forms unless Sean Combs continues making it an issue of how often he meets with his attorneys. Oh, and by the way, they also talk about one more thing in their

letter. They completely reject Sean Combs' argument that, look, he needs the laptop to take notes about his case. Prosecutors say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That goes beyond the intended purpose here. To allow them to do that, they say, would create unjustified disparities between Combs and other defendants who don't get that treatment. He can't use this laptop just to take notes. That's not fair. So that was the prosecution's response to the defense, but now we have a follow-up response from the defense, and the battle of the laptop and visitation continues. So in their subsequent letter to Judge Subraman, Combs' lawyers say, quote, first, contrary to the government's argument, Mr. Combs' reasonable request for laptop access is consistent with the way other inmates in his unit

access their laptops. Other inmates, are permitted to use their laptops in the unit, notwithstanding the fact that their laptops also contain sealed material subject to protective orders. There is no reason to treat Mr. Combs differently. And they cite cases in support of that. Although, I'll tell you what's interesting. By the way, a little legal primer here. In legal letters like this, correspondent briefs, complaints, anything,

when you cite a case, you cite the case, the name of it, you cite the citation where it can be found, some of the details like the court, the year. And then in parentheses, there's a brief snippet that you're quoting about, whether it's a specific quote or the holding of the case, the main point that you want to say, why is this case relevant? I thought it was interesting here that in the brief description of each case that they cite, it doesn't say anything about using a laptop in a private unit or about sensitive materials per se. It's just about how defendants were able to more liberally use laptops.

Just thought that was interesting. Anyway, next, Sean Combs lawyers say that it is absurd, absurd that prosecutors are saying Combs can't take notes on the laptop because he could take notes on the discovery on the laptop and taking notes on discovery on the laptop is the same thing as taking legal notes about the case, that he should be able to do that on the laptop. And they follow up and double down saying that he has a right, especially since his legal notes, they alleged, were improperly photographed. That's the issue that I talked about before. And they argue if he has to keep taking handwritten notes, it, quote, subjects them to further

surveillance by the government, and that is unjustified. But they also say Sean Combs is being treated differently. They argue that that would be, quote, inconsistent with how other inmates in his unit have been using laptops to create and share work product in their cases with their lawyers, and you know who Combs' lawyers actually cite in support of that? Sam Bankman freed. Remember him? The crypto fraudster? They argue that in that case, there was a laptop, and it was said that that laptop would enable him, presumably the defendant, to review materials and share work product with counsel through the exchange of hard drives. And Sean Combs' lawyers say, look, if they don't get what they're asking for in the end right here,

then this would infringe on Combs' constitutional rights. More specifically, It seems they're talking about his due process rights and his right to assistance of counsel in a case. So there you have it. A little tangential update in the case, a little side issue. I don't know. I find even minor battles interesting, even if it's about a laptop, interesting to see the back and forth between Sean Combs' defense counsel and prosecutors kind of gives us a preview of maybe what a trial will end up looking like. But there you have it. We'll keep on following any updates for you in the case.

Thank you so much for joining us here on Sidebar. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. Speak to you next time.