Diddy’s lawyers make third bid to get him released on bail

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs have tried for a third time to persuade a judge to let the hip-hop mogul out of jail while he awaits his sex trafficking trial.

A decision on Friday’s request will not come until next week as prosecutors warned of his “concerted effort” from behind bars to disrupt the case.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he will rule promptly on Combs’ bail request after the defence and prosecution file letters by noon on Monday fleshing out some of the arguments they made during a two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Combs’ lawyers pitched having him await trial under around-the-clock surveillance at his mansion on an island near Miami Beach or — after the judge scoffed at that location — at an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Under their plan, Combs’ lawyers said he will be under near-total restrictions on his ability to see or contact anyone but them.

But prosecutors argued that no bail conditions can mitigate Combs’ “risk of obstruction and dangerousness to others”.

Combs has routinely flouted jail rules while locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, prosecutors said, accusing him of attempting to interfere with witnesses and taint the jury pool.

Defence lawyer Anthony Ricco countered that the prosecution’s portrayal of Combs as “a lawless person who doesn’t follow instructions” or “an out-of-control individual who has to be detained” is inaccurate.

Another Combs lawyer, Teny Geragos, added that given the strict release conditions they’ve proposed, “it would be impossible for him not to follow rules”.

His trial is scheduled to begin on May 5.

Two other judges previously concluded that the Bad Boy Records founder would be a danger to the community if he is freed. An appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request.

Friday’s hearing was the second time Combs was in court this week.

On Tuesday, a judge blocked prosecutors from using as evidence papers that were seized from his cell during a jail-wide sweep for contraband and weapons.

As he entered through a side door, Combs waved to relatives including his mother and several of his children in the courtroom gallery, tapping his hand to his heart and blowing kisses at them.

Combs was not handcuffed or shackled and wore a beige jail uniform, occasionally pulling a pair of reading glasses from his pocket as he peered at papers in front of him.

Prosecutors contend that while incarcerated the I’ll Be Missing You singer has orchestrated social media campaigns aimed at influencing potential jurors.

They allege that he has also attempted to leak materials he believes would help his case and is contacting potential witnesses via third parties.