At a hearing Wednesday evening, Judge Arun Subramanian denied the defense's request that Combs be released on a $1 million bond while he awaits sentencing.
Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in jail while he awaits sentencing for his conviction on two counts of prostitution-related offenses, a judge decided Wednesday evening.
Hours earlier, jurors in Combs's federal criminal trial found the hip-hop mogul guilty on two of the five counts filed against him, acquitting him of the other three.
The 12-member panel acquitted Combs of racketeering and sex trafficking, the most serious charges, but found him guilty of prostitution-related offenses.
The 55-year-old, who could have been sentenced to life in prison had he been convicted of racketeering or sex trafficking, now faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. At a bail hearing scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Judge Arun Subramanian rejected a request from Combs's attorneys that he be released on a $1 million bond while he awaits sentencing, citing, in part, the defense's own testimony in the trial.
"At trial, the defense conceded the defendant's violence in his personal relationships," he said, adding that the defense had failed to prove that Combs poses "no danger to any person."
The jury spent more than 12 hours across three days deliberating the case. On Tuesday afternoon, the panel said that it had come to an agreement on counts two, three, four and five — sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution — but was unable to reach a verdict on count one: racketeering conspiracy.
An hour into its deliberations Wednesday, the jury sent a note telling the judge that it had reached a verdict on all five counts.
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including ABC News, the Associated Press, CNN, NBC News, the New York Times and USA Today.
Live coverage has ended for today.
- Mike Bebernes
The bail hearing has ended, Combs to return to custody
Judge Arun Subramanian concluded Wednesday’s bail hearing after denying the defense’s request that Combs be released on bond.
The next step in the trial will be a remote hearing next Tuesday to discuss when sentencing should begin.
- Mike Bebernes
Judge proposes scheduling first sentencing hearing for October
Judge Arun Subramanian suggested that sentencing could begin in four months, but indicated that he would be open to moving up that date at the defense’s request.
Combs will remain in custody in the interim. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison after being convicted of two prostitution-related charges, though the actual sentence could be much shorter. The final decision will be up to the judge.
- Mike Bebernes
Judge says the defense's own testimony informed his decision to deny bail
Judge Arun Subramanian told the courtroom that he opted to deny Combs's request for release in part because his attorneys had admitted that he had a history of violent behavior over the course of the trial.
"At trial, the defense conceded the defendant's violence in his personal relationships," he said, adding that the defense had failed to prove that Combs poses "no danger to any person."
Subramanian added that Combs's duties as a father and son did not rise to the level that's necessary to allow an exception to the text of the law, which mandates detention in most cases.
- Mike Bebernes
Judge denies Combs bail
Judge Arun Subramanian has rejected the defense's request that Combs be released on a $1 million bond while he awaits sentencing, arguing that the detention is "mandatory" under the law for the crimes he was convicted of, per the New York Times.
- Mike Bebernes
Bail hearing is expected to begin soon
Judge Arun Subramanian will decide whether Combs can be released or if he will be forced to remain in custody as he awaits sentencing after being found guilty of two prostitution-related offenses.
His lawyers have proposed that he be freed on a $1 million bond and agreed to have him face certain conditions upon his release, including surrendering his passport, submitting to drug testing and complying with strict restrictions on where he can travel within the U.S.
"He needs and wants to be with — and remain with — his family," they wrote in a letter to the judge.
The prosecution has urged the judge to deny Combs bail, arguing that he "continues to be a danger to others and is either unable or unwilling to follow the law."
Doug Wigdor, Cassie Ventura's lawyer, submitted a separate letter to the judge stating that his client believes Combs "likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community."
- Mike Bebernes
Combs's lawyers send 2nd letter to judge ahead of bail hearing
In the lead-up to Combs's bail hearing to decide whether he will be released ahead of sentencing, his legal team has sent a second letter encouraging the judge to allow him to be released.
In the letter, they accuse the prosecution of unfairly portraying Combs as "a monster who perpetrated a 20-year federal crime spree through a racketeering enterprise," adding that this depiction was "resoundingly rejected by the jury."
The letter also discussed the notoriously dangerous conditions at the Brooklyn jail where Combs has been housed.
"It would be unjust to continue detaining Mr. Combs at the [Metropolitan Detention Center] even one day longer, especially since — given the sentencing guidelines for these prostitution offenses — he would otherwise be entitled to serve any additional time imposed at a lower-security facility," they wrote.
- Mike Bebernes
Legal experts break down why the jury delivered a mixed verdict
In the wake of the jury's decision, legal experts have been offering their views on why the prosecution was only able to secure guilty verdicts on two prostitution-related charges and not the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Ephraim Savitt, a former federal prosecutor in New York, told Business Insider that the prosecution overstepped by attempting to portray Combs as a "mob boss" — an accusation he says was unconvincing. "They were overreaching, and in my view, it was a mistake," Savitt said. "The jury just rejected the entire notion wholesale."
Former Assistant District Attorney Julie Grant suggested on CNN that jurors may have relied on their own conceptions of what something like sex trafficking should look like rather than how those crimes are defined in the law. "[They] may not see the enterprise — they may not see the sex trafficking for what it literally is by law," she said.
Criminal defense attorney Dina Doll told the Associated Press that the "dream team" of lawyers Combs was able to afford likely played a major role in the outcome of the case. "A typical criminal defendant cannot do that," she said. "I think that's where his fame and celebrity helped him."
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