Sean 'Diddy' Combs due in Lower Manhattan court for pre-trial hearing, attorneys to ask for bail

Updated 38 minutes ago
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Sean "Diddy" Combs is expected back in a Lower Manhattan federal courtroom Thursday afternoon.

He'll go before the judge presiding over the trial and get a timetable for when this all could get underway.

Combs has been sitting in a Brooklyn jail since his arrest weeks ago, as he was denied a release. His lawyers will yet again try to offer essentially the same bail package for a now third time, as they did last month.

They are putting up his $48 million estate as collateral, listing his private jet for sale, eliminating any risk of flight, and hiring the celebrity private security firm owned by former NYPD Detective Herman Weisberg, who would secure Diddy inside of his home.

The music mogul was denied release. A judge cited Diddy's "substance abuse and anger issues" saying the "danger is quite serious" for threats and intimidation of witnesses.



This comes as Combs has a pile of charges stacked against him including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking stemming from allegations going back to 2008.

The 54-year-old's lawyers also filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing, accusing the federal government of leaking hotel surveillance footage of him beating his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

It is still unclear how this video surfaced to the general public. Combs attorney in a statement said, "A series of unlawful government leaks, which have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial."

Combs' attorneys took specific aim at Homeland Security Investigations over the searches of Diddy's homes and at prosecutors over the video depicting Combs attacking Cassie.

Federal prosecutors denied leaking the hotel security camera video that shows Combs attacking Cassie at the InterContinental in Los Angeles.



"The Government was not in possession of the video before its publication by CNN. Indeed, at the time of CNN's publication, the Government did not possess any video of the March 2016 incident," prosecutors wrote in a letter to the judge.

Prosecutors also said they informed the defense, prior to its filing Wednesday night alleging leaks, that they did not obtain the video through the grand jury process and that they did not believe Homeland Security Investigations obtained the video prior to CNN airing it.

"There is thus no colorable factual basis for the defendant's claim that the Government leaked the video to CNN, let alone that it was leaked 'in violation of grand jury secrecy,'" prosecutors wrote.

While Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges, in advance of Thursday's hearing, prosecutors say they've started to turn over evidence from his cell phone, 40 devices and data from seven iCloud accounts, all seized during search warrants executed back in March at his homes in Miami and Los Angeles.



A new, one-hour special from ABC News Studios is diving into the shocking arrest of Sean "Diddy" Combs and the downfall of the famous and powerful hip-hop mogul. The primetime special, "Secret Life of Diddy - A Special Edition of 20/20," aired Wednesday on ABC at 10/9c and streams Thursday on Hulu.

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