Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in a Manhattan court on Nov. 19 for a hearing related to his federal sex trafficking case. The arguments centered on Combs’ handwritten notes in his cell, which were recently seized by the government.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian will review the memos in question over the next few weeks and determine whether anything written down was privileged, according to Law and Crimewho had a reporter in the courtroom. In a victory for the defense, the judge will not consider the grades when deciding whether to let Combs out on bail. In their opposition motion, prosecutors argued the notes showed witness tampering. A bail hearing is set for Friday.

Combs’ defense team claimed prosecutors obtained “privileged attorney-client material” from his cell during a search at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Entertainment. However, the feds believe they have uncovered evidence that the Bad Boy Records founder tried to intimidate witnesses from behind bars. Prosecutors argued in their filing that they took adequate steps to ensure they did not read the privileged information.

The 55-year-old musician sat before a federal judge without handcuffs, which his lawyers requested so that potential jurors would not be biased ahead of the May 2025 trial. Combs was arrested in September and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty. The “Last Night” rapper has been in jail for over two months.

“This search and seizure violates Mr. Combs’ rights under the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments,” his attorneys wrote in a motion filed Nov. 18. “The targeted seizure of a pretrial detainee’s work product and privileged materials — created in preparation for trial — is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantial violation of due process.”

Prosecutors argued that the government learned that Combs “has continued to engage in obstructive behavior” since entering custody. A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) investigator reportedly monitored Combs’ communications, which is standard practice. The government alleges Combs was trying to avoid detection by making three-way phone calls, using other inmates’ phone access codes to make calls and “using a third-party text messaging provider” through a monitored email system.

“(Combs) used these unauthorized methods of communication to continue to engage in obstruction, including instructing third parties to address witnesses and attempting to influence the jury pool in this criminal case,” the government wrote in a motion before Tuesday’s hearing. .

Following an October 28 MDC sweepa BOP investigator found the following on Combs’ bed: a manila folder marked “legal,” a labeled (redacted) notebook, an address book, and personal effects. The investigator photographed the notebook and diary.

“No physical material was seized from the defendant,” prosecutors wrote.

The photos were sent to a “screening team,” which determined what, if anything, was privileged before letting prosecutors review them. The notebook was largely described as “notes to self”. The judge ruled that the leak team can keep the notes for now.

The government believes the information in some of the photos further proves that Combs should not be released from prison while he awaits trial. In their motion, they accused Combs of “paying off a potential witness and (expletive) other potential victims and witnesses who were provided to the Government after review by the government’s screening team.”

Combs had previously been denied bail, with several judges citing concerns about witness tampering. The contractor’s lawyers proposed a detailed package of 50 million dollars that would include home confinement at his Miami mansion, where he agreed to wear a GPS monitor. They would also be monitored by private security and could only visit an approved list of guests. The government opposes this.

“The defendant’s goal is to blackmail victims and witnesses either into silence or into testifying in his defense. A charge that is more often seen in mob trials or Mexican Mafia type cases,” the government wrote in a motion filed Friday.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Subramanian and federal prosecutors agreed that the handwritten notes would not be considered for the Nov. 22 bond hearing.

In related news, an anonymous male celebrity who lives in LA has filed a lawsuit against Tony Buzbee, the Texas attorney who has filed dozens of civil sexual assault lawsuits against Combs, according to CNN. Using the pseudonym “John Doe”, the celebrity accused Buzbee of “shamelessly trying to extort exorbitant sums of money from him or publicly make horrible false accusations against him”.