The legal team for Sean “Diddy” Combs has moved to get the disgraced music mogul released from prison ahead of his Oct. 3 sentencing. Less than a month ago, Combs was acquitted of the most damning charges in his high-profile sex-trafficking case.
Combs’ defense attorneys on Tuesday filed a motion requesting the Bad Boy Records founder’s release, outlining the terms for his bail, including a $50-million bond and travel restrictions. The motion, reviewed by The Times, is addressed to Judge Arun Subramanian and claims “there are exceptional circumstances warranting a departure from mandatory detention and ensuring that Sean Combs is released.”
In the 12-page filing, Combs’ lawyers make the case for his pre-sentence release, including that he shouldn’t be jailed for his “swinger” lifestyle and that he faces “ongoing threats of violence” at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Combs has been in federal custody in the notorious Brooklyn prison since his arrest in September.
The 55-year-old music star was cleared earlier this month of racketeering and sex trafficking but convicted on two counts of prostitution-related charges.
Combs was found guilty of violating the Mann Act by transporting male sex workers across state lines, but his attorneys argued that in similar convictions “the defendants were released pending sentencing.” Additionally, the filing puts a new spin on Combs’ relationships with ex-girlfriends Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane,” who went by a pseudonym. Each testified about the musician’s orgies known as “freak-offs” and made allegations about his violent behavior. The filing claims that the relationship Combs had with his exes was open, akin to swinging.
“In the the lifestyle he and other adults voluntarily chose, Mr. Combs would be called a swinger,” reads the motion, which later asserts that “Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct.”
Combs’ legal team insists in the motion that Combs “is not a risk of flight nor is he a danger to the community or to any specific people.” The motion also downplays the claims of domestic violence against Combs.
Notably, Combs was seen in security footage kicking and dragging Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel. The accuser identified as “Jane” had accused Combs of forced sex, physical violence and abuse.
Referring to earlier court proceedings, Combs’ attorneys note that the “defense admitted a history of domestic violence” but claimed in the motion that Combs struck “Jane” twice in June 2024 because she “provoked” him. The filing also says Combs enrolled in a domestic violence program prior to his arrest last year.
“As we said in court this jury gave [Combs] his life back, and he will not squander his second chance at life, nor would he do anything to further jeopardize his seven children not having a father, and four of his children not having a parent at all,” his defense team says in the motion, referring to the four children Combs shares with Kim Porter, who died in 2018.
According to the proposed bail package, Combs’ $50-million bond would be secured by his home in Miami, where he will live if released. Combs’ attorneys also say his travel would be limited to specific sites in Florida and New York for attorney meetings, and the airports required to travel between those destinations.
To ensure his release, Combs’ attorneys said he was open to the court adding more conditions — including house arrest, mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment — if deemed necessary.
Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report
