The federal attorneys prosecuting Sean “Diddy” Combs at his Manhattan racketeering and sex trafficking trial were taken to task on Tuesday along with the jailed former hip-hop mogul’s team of top defense lawyers when Judge Arun Subramanian furiously reprimanded all counsel on both sides of the case and then opened a probe after sealed evidence only seen by their eyes leaked to the tabloid press.
“Someone is lying here,” Subramanian said following a questioning session with the attorneys. The judge had concluded that “one or more people in this courtroom…flagrantly violated this court’s orders” and noted that he asked jurors to commit to the idea that Combs’ case be tried “on the facts and evidence alone.”
“I will make sure that this commitment is honored, and I will swiftly investigate and punish any violations that took place,” Subramanian said.
The sealed evidence in question did not get a mention in court, but news outlets, including USA Today, reported that it involved a juror and appeared in tabloid news brands TMZ and the Daily Mail.
Maurene Comey, the feds’ lead prosecutor on the case, and defense team chief Marc Agnifilo both denied that anyone on their teams leaked the information to the press. This didn’t seem to be of consequence to Subramanian, who informed them that as the leaders of their legal teams, he would hold them individually responsible if someone on their side was found to have leaked the information. Violating a sealing order could result in “civil or criminal contempt charges,” he added.
“Ms. Comey and Mr. Agnifilo, you’re each personally responsible for the conduct of your teams and your clients,” Subramanian said. “There’s no passing the buck anymore. The buck stops with you. If anything happens, then lead counsel is responsible.”
Meanwhile, after weeks of testimony about the “freak-off” hotel suite parties thrown by Combs — drug-fueled, days-long sex sessions that the jailed mogul allegedly orchestrated and filmed — jurors hearing the case finally saw one with their own eyes. A total of 18 minutes of footage of Combs’ ex and “Victim-1” Cassie Ventura with male escorts was shown; the 12 men and women will have to decide if the video they watched today is sex trafficking, the prosecutors’ argument or is it an intimate moment, as the defense argues, from Combs’ personal sex life.
