In a sweeping legal setback for Sean “Diddy” Combs, a federal judge on Friday denied two critical motions that could have limited the scope of evidence and charges in his ongoing sex trafficking and racketeering case—tightening the legal vise ahead of a trial that could span months and end in a life sentence.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, overseeing the high-profile case in the Southern District of New York, ruled that evidence collected from a series of 2024 searches—including federal raids on Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami mansions—will not be suppressed. These searches, which also targeted Combs’ iCloud data and personal cell phones, were conducted under four separate warrants. Combs’ legal team had argued the warrants were unconstitutional and based on “intentionally misleading” information, alleging that the government’s actions warranted a hearing under Franks v. Delaware, a legal benchmark for contesting warrant validity.
Judge Subramanian disagreed. In a 27-page opinion, he concluded that the warrants were neither general nor unconstitutional, and that federal agents lawfully executed the searches.
“[There] was ample probable cause based on the evidence submitted in the affidavits,”
he wrote.
In a second ruling, the judge also denied Combs’ motion to dismiss two counts of the superseding indictment—specifically, charges that accuse the music mogul of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2421(a), which prohibits the transportation of individuals across state or international lines with intent to engage in prostitution. Combs had argued the charges represented “a clear case of selective prosecution,” claiming he was targeted because of his status as a prominent Black man. The court, however, found no credible evidence of racial or discriminatory intent in the government’s actions.
“[Combs] has failed to show some evidence of both discriminatory effect and discriminatory intent,”
Judge Subramanian stated in his order.
These two rulings arrive just days before Combs is expected to stand trial, with jury selection rescheduled to begin on Monday, May 12. The case stems from an expansive federal investigation into what prosecutors describe as a two-decade criminal enterprise in which Combs allegedly used his music and fashion empire to recruit, drug, and sexually exploit women. Prosecutors claim the encounters were filmed without consent, used to manipulate victims, and facilitated by a network of employees and enablers.
The defense maintains Combs’ innocence, arguing that his private life was non-criminal and consensual in nature. His attorneys have framed the prosecution as an attack on a “bold and unconventional” public figure who is being criminalized for his personal relationships.
Combs has been held without bail since his arrest in September 2024. Among the witnesses expected to testify is his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, whose 2023 civil suit alleging abuse and trafficking was settled out of court but sparked renewed legal scrutiny into Combs’ conduct. The trial is anticipated to last up to ten weeks and could include testimony from as many as ten alleged victims.
Should Diddy be convicted on the full slate of charges—including sex trafficking, obstruction of justice, and racketeering conspiracy—he could face life in federal prison.
The stakes now could not be higher. With his final efforts to weaken the government’s case denied, the trial beginning next week will likely be one of the most closely watched in the modern history of celebrity criminal prosecutions.
