Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail as he awaits trial

Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has been denied bail as he awaits a sex trafficking trial, by a judge who cited evidence showing him to be a 'serious risk' of witness tampering. Lawyers for Combs argued that a $50 million bail package would be sufficient to ensure he doesn't flee and doesn't try to intimidate prospective trial witnesses. US District Judge Arun Subramanian concurred with two previous judges that the Bad Boy Records founder was a danger to the community if he was not behind bars. "There is compelling evidence of Combs's propensity for violence," Subramanian wrote. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employees. An indictment alleges that he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings. Subramanian said he took a fresh look at all the bail arguments and the evidence supporting them to make his decision. Prosecutors say that even in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, Combs has orchestrated social media campaigns designed to influence prospective jurors and tried to publicly leak materials he thinks can help his case. They say he also has contacted potential witnesses through third parties. Lawyers for Combs say any alleged sexual abuse described in the indictment occurred during consensual relations between adults and that new evidence refutes allegations that Combs used his "power and prestige" to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers known as "Freak Offs." Subramanian said evidence shows Combs to be a "serious risk of witness tampering," particularly after he communicated over the summer with a grand jury witness and deleted some of his texts with the witness. The judge also cited evidence showing that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations during pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn when he paid other inmates to use their phone code numbers so he could make calls to individuals who were not on his approved contact list. Subramanian said Combs "willingness to skirt" jailhouse rules to conceal communications was "strong evidence" that any conditions of release would not prevent similar behaviour.