Sean 'Diddy' Combs appears in court over seized handwritten notes as he's accused of witness tampering from jail

Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared in a Manhattan court on Nov. 19 for a hearing related to his federal sex trafficking case. Arguments centered upon Combs's handwritten notes from his jail cell, which were recently seized by the government.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian will review the notes in question over the next few weeks and determine if anything written down is privileged, according to Law & Crime, which had a reporter inside the courtroom. In a win for the defense, the judge will not take the notes into consideration when deciding whether to let Combs out on bail. In their opposition motion, prosecutors claimed the notes show witness tampering. A bail hearing is set for Friday.

Combs's defense team argued that prosecutors obtained "attorney-client privileged material" from his cell during a search of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Entertainment. However, investigators believe they uncovered proof that the Bad Boy Records founder had been trying to intimidate witnesses from behind bars. Prosecutors maintained in their filing they took proper steps to ensure they did not read privileged information.

The 55-year-old musician sat before Subramanian without shackles, something his lawyers requested so that potential jurors wouldn't 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 are in violation of Mr. Combs' Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights," his attorneys wrote in a motion filed on Nov. 18. "The targeted seizure of a pre-trial detainee's work product and privileged materials — created in preparation for trial — is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation."

Prosecutors claimed the government learned Combs "has persisted in engaging in obstructive conduct" since entering custody. A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) investigator had allegedly been monitoring Combs's communications, which is general practice. The government claims Combs was trying to avoid detection by using three-way phone calls, using other inmates' phone access codes to make calls, and "use of a third-party text messaging provider" through a monitored email system.

"[Combs] used these unauthorized methods of communications to continue to engage in obstruction, including by instructing third parties to reach out to witnesses and attempting to influence the jury pool in this criminal case," the government wrote in a motion ahead of Tuesday's hearing.

Following an Oct. 28 sweep of the MDC, a BOP investigator found the following on Combs's bunk: a manila folder marked "legal," a notebook with a label that's been redacted in the legal filing, an address book and personal effects. The investigator took photos of the notebook and address book.

"No physical materials were seized from the defendant," prosecutors wrote.

The photographs were sent to a "filter team," which determined what, if anything, was privileged before letting prosecutors review them. The notebook was described largely as "notes to self." The judge ruled the filter team can keep the notes for now.

The government believes that information in some of the photographs further proves Combs should not be let out of jail while he awaits trial. In its motion, it accused Combs of "paying a potential witness and [redacted] on other potential victims and witnesses, which had been provided to the Government after review by the government's filter team."

Combs has previously been denied bail, with multiple judges citing a concern about witness tampering. The entrepreneur's attorneys have proposed a detailed $50 million package that would include home confinement at his Miami mansion, where he's agreed to wear a GPS monitor. He'd also be monitored by private security, and only an approved list of guests could visit. The government opposes this.

"The defendant's goal is to blackmail victims and witnesses either into silence or [to] provide testimony helpful to his defense. An allegation that is more often seen in mob trials or Mexican Mafia-style cases," the government wrote in a motion filed on Friday.

At Tuesday's hearing, Subramanian and federal prosecutors agreed that the handwritten notes will not be considered for the bond hearing on Nov. 22.

In related news, an anonymous male celebrity who lives in L.A. has filed a lawsuit against Tony Buzbee, the Texas-based attorney who's filed dozens of civil sexual assault lawsuits against Combs, according to CNN. Using the pseudonym "John Doe," the celebrity accused Buzbee of "shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him."