Judge Arun Subramanian says the defense didn’t prove jury prejudice after Combs was acquitted on stronger counts.
Judge denies Sean “Diddy” Combs’s last-ditch bid for a new trial or an acquittal just days before his scheduled sentencing, handing the music mogul a major legal setback as he faces prison time.
According to Variety, In a Tuesday filing, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected defense arguments that joining the RICO and sex-trafficking counts with Mann Act charges prejudiced the jury and merited a new trial. The judge said Combs’s team had not met the “heavy burden” required to show spillover prejudice — especially notable because jurors had already acquitted him of the more serious RICO and sex-trafficking charges.
“The government proved its case many times over,” Subramanian wrote, adding that if prejudice had truly infected the proceedings, the jury would likely have convicted on the most relevant counts first.
Combs’s lawyers had also asked for outright acquittal, asserting that recordings of sexual encounters with male escorts amounted to amateur pornography and were therefore protected by the First Amendment. The judge was unconvinced on that front as well, leaving the July convictions — two counts of transportation for prostitution — intact.
The decision arrives amid fierce back-and-forth over how long Combs should be punished. Prosecutors on Monday submitted a detailed 164-page sentencing memo arguing for a stiff term, urging “no less than 11 years” behind bars and calling Combs “unrepentant.” The government had previously floated a 4–5 year sentence.
Defense attorneys countered in their filings that Combs has already paid a steep price and urged a far lighter term — no more than 14 months. Support letters from public figures including Combs’s former girlfriend Yung Miami and producer Dallas Austin, along with endorsements from inmates who participated in Combs’s “Free Game” course, were filed on his behalf.
Although Combs avoided racketeering and sex-trafficking convictions, the Mann Act verdicts carry serious exposure: he faces up to 20 years in prison. With sentencing set for Friday, Tuesday’s order narrows the remaining legal options and puts the spotlight on how the judge will weigh the contrasting recommendations and character letters.
As the countdown to sentencing continues, the case remains a flashpoint in public conversations about celebrity, accountability and the justice system.
What do you think — should Combs get a lighter sentence because of the acquittals, or should the convictions alone dictate a tougher penalty? Share your thoughts below.
