Janice Combs, the mother of Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrived at Manhattan Federal Court on October 10, 2024, for her son's status conference on sex trafficking charges. The rapper's trial is scheduled to begin in May 2025.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' mother, Janice Combs, made an appearance at Manhattan Federal Court on October 10, 2024, for her son's status conference on sex trafficking charges. The disgraced music mogul's trial is now set to begin on May 5, 2025.
Judge Arun Subramanian scheduled Diddy's trial date after a status conference where the prosecution and defense discussed issues related to evidence discovery and potential trial dates. Janice Combs arrived roughly an hour before her son's scheduled court appearance in a black Cadillac SUV. She was escorted into the courthouse by a woman and a security guard.
Diddy's Mother Attends Status Conference Amidst Ongoing Sex Trafficking Charges
Diddy's children, including twins Jessie & D'Lila, daughter Chance, and sons Christian, Justin, and Quincy, were also present at the status conference. The "Last Night" singer arrived at court wearing a long-sleeved tan prison shirt and pants. He was not handcuffed, but his feet were shackled.
After the hearing, Diddy turned around and faced his family. He waved, blew kisses, and bowed in praise. His daughters blew him kisses back. Judge Subramanian thanked Diddy's family for attending the status conference. The family remained in the courtroom as press was escorted out.
Diddy's Mother Attends Status Conference Amidst Ongoing Sex Trafficking Charges
Diddy's legal team is expected to receive the discovery material within the next 30 days, according to the prosecution. The government seized a total of 96 devices from Combs during raids of his homes – nine at the airport, 36 in Miami, and 51 in Los Angeles.
Authorities also seized Combs' phone during his September 16 arrest and conducted a search of his hotel room in Manhattan. The US Attorneys Office expects the device downloads to be completed by next week, but noted discovery will continue through December.
Diddy's Mother Attends Status Conference Amidst Ongoing Sex Trafficking Charges
Combs remains held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is no longer requesting to move unless there is an issue with reviewing discovery.
In a joint letter submitted ahead of Thursday's hearing, the prosecution revealed the process of turning over evidence to Diddy's legal team had begun. The US Attorneys Office had turned over search warrants, the musician's phone along with iCloud reports. The prosecution is also in the process of copying information off of 40 additional electronic devices seized during the March raids on Diddy's homes.
Diddy's Mother Attends Status Conference Amidst Ongoing Sex Trafficking Charges
Combs also requested an evidentiary hearing in an October 9 filing. Lawyers for Diddy claimed the disgraced Bad Boy billionaire was deprived of the right to a fair trial through a series of "unlawful government leaks." He accused Department of Homeland Security agents of providing "false and prejudicial statements" to various press outlets over the last seven months following the raids on his homes in Miami and Los Angeles, where his sons were allegedly "handcuffed and manhandled by federal agents armed with assault rifles."
The government denied being the source of the leak in a separate filing. Assistant US Attorney, Emily Johnson, explained to Diddy's lawyer that the government was "not in possession of the video" before CNN published it in May. "The Government was not in possession of the video before its publication by CNN. Indeed, at the time of CNN's publication, the Government did not possess any video of the March 2016 incident," she wrote in emails shared with the court.
Diddy's Mother Attends Status Conference Amidst Ongoing Sex Trafficking Charges
"To be clear, to our understanding, DHS did not have possession of the videotape prior to CNN's publication of it," Johnson wrote in a follow-up email. "Only the government has authority to obtain grand jury material, and the video broadcast by CNN was not obtained through the grand
