Sean 'Diddy' Combs will appeal his bail denial on conspiracy and sex trafficking charges on Wednesday. CNN

CNN
–

Sean “Diddy” Combs is expected to appeal a federal judge's decision Wednesday afternoon to hold the hip-hop artist and music mogul without bail after he pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit conspiracy, sex trafficking and prostitution. .

Combs will be held in the Special Housing Unit at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn pending a court appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter at 3:30 p.m., according to a law enforcement official. Carter is expected to eventually preside over Combs' case.

On Monday night — after several sexual assault cases and a federal human trafficking investigation last year — Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan and taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations, a source familiar with negotiations for his surrender told CNN.

Judge Robin Tarnofsky ruled Tuesday in a New York court that Combs will be held in custody pending charges. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Combs, 54, allegedly created and ran a “criminal enterprise” through his business empire that involved crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, according to federal indictments.

The complaint alleges that Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior” for more than a decade.

Specifically, the indictment accuses Combs of working with other associates and employees, alleges that he hosted drug-fueled “freak offs” with victims and sex workers, notes instances of physical and sexual abuse, and what law enforcement found in a March raid on his home. It sheds light on what was received. .

In court, prosecutors argued that the music mogul should not be released because he had previously reached out to witnesses and victims. Meanwhile, Combs' defense attorneys have offered to keep him under house arrest with a $50 million bond secured from his Miami residence, according to a bail motion filed Tuesday.

The judge told Combs that there were no conditions he could assure him that he would appear in court when he was released. Tarnofsky said his concern is that “this is a crime that happens behind closed doors, even when pretrial services are monitoring.”

If the bail application is denied, Coombs will be returned to the detention center. Combs' lawyer, Mark Agnifilo, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday night that Combs likely won't take a plea deal.

“I believe he's innocent of the charges, and he's going to go to trial, and I believe he's going to win,” Agnifilo said.

Combs was a 'serial abuser and a serial obstructor', prosecutors said

In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said Combs should be detained because he is a “serial abuser and a serial obstructor,” and pretrial services also recommended detention.

Agnifilo claimed the case was about “one victim” — an argument fiercely contested by federal prosecutors. In a rebuttal, Johnson insisted, “This is not a case of one victim. There are multiple victims.”

Since last November, Combs has had 10 lawsuits — nine directly alleging sexual assault.

“Members and associates of Combs Enterprises engaged in and attempted to engage in interstate transportation to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” The complaint said.

During Combs' detention hearing, federal prosecutors said at least a dozen witnesses personally observed the music mogul's violence against women or their injuries at his hands. Prosecutors also noted that Combs reached out to victims and witnesses, some of whom were afraid of him.

Agnifilo told CNN Tuesday night that he “flew around the country,” interviewed “a large number” of men who were witnesses in the case and argued the “freak off” — what the allegation described as “elaborate and manufactured” sex. Performances in which he drugged and forced victims into extended sexual acts with male sex workers—consensual acts between adults.

“Nobody was too drunk. Nobody was too high,” he said.

The complaint alleges years of abuse by Combs that was “at times verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.” Combs “engaged in a persistent and widespread pattern of victimization of women and other individuals,” the complaint said.

Johnson told the judge Tuesday that the investigation found evidence of Combs' allegations that he assaulted the victims by choking, hitting, kicking and dragging them.

The physical abuse in particular was “repeated and widely known,” the complaint said, and occurred on “numerous” occasions beginning around 2009 and continued for years.

The sex-trafficking allegations are based on allegations made against a single, unnamed “Victim-I” from 2009 to about 2018, the complaint said.

The complaint cites a March 2016 incident, “which was captured on video and later publicly reported,” showing Combs kicking, dragging and throwing a vase at a woman. When a hotel employee intervened, Combs tried to bribe them into silence, the complaint added.

The details coincide with CNN's report in May that video showed Combs punching and kicking his then-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel. He is not named in the charge sheet.

In November 2023, Ventura sued Combs and accused him of rape and years of abuse. In response, an attorney for Combs said he “vehemently denies these offensive and offensive allegations.” They settled the case a day after filing the case.

Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who represents Ventura, said in a statement Tuesday: “In response to the numerous inquiries we have received regarding Sean Combs' allegations, neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

The explosive surveillance video contradicted Combs' earlier comments denying wrongdoing, and days later he posted an Instagram video apologizing. That video has since been deleted.

“My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said.

Combs' attorney argued that the 2016 video was not evidence of sex trafficking, as prosecutors suggested, but evidence of Combs “having multiple girlfriends and getting caught.”

“It was just a matter of personal embarrassment because she and the person in the video were in the midst of a 10-year relationship that was difficult at times, it was toxic at times, but it was mutual,” Agnifilo told CNN on Tuesday night.

DD's attorney has promised that he will not run away and has 'earned' the trust of the court

Agnifilo asked the court Tuesday to allow Combs to remain on bond ahead of trial, saying he has no escape plans and that he has “earned” the court's trust.

The attorney said he took the passports of Combs and his family members and reported all of his domestic travel since he was involved in the investigation as a show to prosecutors that they were taking it seriously. Additionally, Combs is in treatment and therapy, which was a factor in Agnifilo's release.

Agnifilo said he knew the music mogul was going to formally face charges on March 25, when the Homeland Security Investigations Agency conducted dramatic searches of his Los Angeles and Miami homes.

Law enforcement seized guns, ammunition, narcotics and a large collection of baby oil and lubricant during the search, according to the complaint. The indictment accuses Combs of using the firearm “to intimidate and threaten others.”

By September, Agnifilo said he realized an indictment was “coming down within weeks, maybe months,” so he urged Combs to fly to New York. Agnifilo said he called federal prosecutors and said his client was willing to surrender.

Asked how Combs' defense team would assure the court he would not be a flight risk or contact witnesses, as prosecutors argued Tuesday, Agnifilo said: “The most important thing, even more than the passport, is that Mr. Combs came. September 5 in New York.

Agnifilo said he will argue the same point again Wednesday and “we'll do as much as we can until we get him out.”