Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs call government use of his personal memos ‘outrageous’

CNN
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Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs accused federal prosecutors of “outrageous” conduct in obtaining the former music mogul’s personal notes from his prison cell.

Combs’ attorneys said in a letter to the judge in his case that the memos contain attorney-client material about defense witnesses and strategy. They describe the search as a violation of his constitutional rights.

“The targeted seizure of a custodian’s work product and privileged materials — created in preparation for trial — is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantial due process violation,” Combs’ attorneys wrote.

They asked Justice Arun Subramanian to hold an evidentiary hearing.

Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking, extortion and transportation to engage in prostitution and dismissed all misdemeanor charges.

His lawyers said they only learned prosecutors were in possession of his trial notes late Friday night.

In the filing, prosecutors revealed the notes were obtained during a nationwide pre-planned sweep of Bureau of Prison facilities. They suggested, based in part on the memos, that Combs tried to influence witnesses ahead of his trial.

“The strong inference that can be drawn from the defendant’s communications with Witness-2 and his personal notes is that the defendant paid Witness-2 after she published her statement,” the prosecutor wrote in the case.

Prosecutors said the memos were reviewed by a filter team of people not involved in the case for privileged material before being handed over.

Combs’ attorneys said they want to know who authorized a search of Combs’ compound, who gave the papers to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and what material was taken.

Combs is due in court on Friday as his lawyers try for the third time to get him released.