Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial set for May

NEW YORK (AP) — A May 5 trial date was set Thursday in Sean “Diddy” Combs'sex trafficking case, and a prosecutor argued that the jailed hip-hop mogul's lawyers were trying to exclude a “damning piece of evidence” by claiming it was leaked by the government.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson struck back against the defense's claims during Combs' first appearance before Manhattan federal court Judge Arun Subramanian, who will preside over his trial. Combs' mother flew in from Florida for the proceeding, sitting behind him with his children and other family members in the courtroom gallery.

Johnson took issue with the defense lawyers' argument in a submission late Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security leaked a video to the media of Combs punching and kicking his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.

Combs' lawyers said the video, aired by CNN in May, and other alleged government leaks “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.”

But Johnson urged the judge to see through the defense claims, calling them “baseless and simply a means to try to exclude a damning piece of evidence” from the trial.

“Not a single one of those alleged leaks are from members of the prosecution team,” Johnson said.

Still, Subramanian told defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo to write a proposed order that he would sign instructing lawyers on both sides to comply with rules prohibiting them from publicly disclosing information that could taint a jury.

The prospective order would also restrict what both sides can publicly say about the case — something Johnson said was necessary after Agnifilo characterized Combs' indictment in a TMZ interview last month as a “takedown of a successful Black man.”

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

Johnson reasserted that the indictment could be updated to add charges or defendants.

Combs, wearing a beige jail jumpsuit, was more engaged and animated during Thursday’s hearing than he had been at two earlier court appearances. When he entered the courtroom, he gave a hearty hug to each of his lawyers and smiled as he spoke with them.

During the proceeding, he turned to attorney Anthony Ricco and whispered in his ear, as Johnson spoke about electronic materials seized from his residences and from him during his arrest.

Ricco said outside the courthouse afterward that Combs is making the best of a difficult situation.

“Dr. King called it the law of unintended consequences,” he said, referring to civil rights leader Martin Luther King. “Sometimes the more you push a person down, the stronger they get.”

Johnson said 96 electronic devices were seized in raids in March on Combs’ residences in Miami and Los Angeles and at an unspecified private airport in Florida. She said another four devices were seized when Combs was arrested last month.

She said eight devices seized in Miami contained over 90 terabytes of information, which she labeled as “extraordinary” as she explained delays in extracting some information for technological reasons.

The judge said Combs can return to court in December unless lawyers agree that hearing is unnecessary.

Much of the hearing featured arguments by lawyers about what is needed to protect an eventual jury from bias, highlighted by Johnson's claims about the hotel video.

After the video was broadcast, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.”

Responding Wednesday night in a court filing to defense claims that the federal government had leaked the video to CNN, prosecutors told the judge that the government was not in possession of the video before it was aired on CNN.

After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.” His lawyers have described the episode as a lovers’ quarrel. In Combs' indictment, prosecutors allege he tried to bribe a hotel security staffer to stay mum about the video.

Combs’ lawyers have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Bad Boy Records founder freed on bail. He has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his Sept. 16 arrest.

Two judges have concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if he is released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has been plagued by violence and dysfunction for years. At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected a $50 million bail package, including home detention and electronic monitoring, after concluding that Combs was a threat to tamper with witnesses and obstruct a continuing investigation.

In the meantime, Agnifilo said: “We're making a go of the MDC. The MDC has been very responsive for us.”

In an appeal of the bail rulings to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for Combs on Tuesday asked a panel of judges to reverse the bail findings, saying the proposed bail package “would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses.”

They urged the appeals court to reject the findings of a lower-court judge who they said had “endorsed the government’s exaggerated rhetoric and ordered Mr. Combs detained.”

In this courtroom sketch, District Judge Arun Subramanian is shown on the bench at the hearing for Sean "Diddy" Combs, in Federal court, in New York, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Gloria Allred exits Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Attorney Marc Agnifilo for hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy Combs, speaks to the members of media as he exits Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Attorney for Sean "Diddy" Combs, Anthony Ricco, speaks to the members of media as he exits Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Janice Combs, right, King Combs, center, and D'Lila Combs and Jessie Combs, twin daughters of Sean "Diddy Combs, exit Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, addresses the judge while Combs, seated second from right, in prison uniform, watches in Federal court, in New York, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Combs' new defense attorney, Anthony Ricco is seated far right. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, Sean "Diddy" Combs, left, upon entering the courtroom hugs his attorney Anthony Ricco prior to the hearing in Federal court in New York, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Attorney Marc Agnifilo, center, and Teny Geragos, right, for Sean "Diddy Combs, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

King Combs, center, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Justin Dior Combs arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

D'Lila Combs and Jessie Combs, center, twin daughters of Sean "Diddy Combs, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Gloria Allred arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Attorney Marc Agnifilo, center, and Teny Geragos, right, for Sean "Diddy Combs, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, and Teny Geragos, right, for Sean "Diddy Combs, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Janice Combs, right, mother of Sean "Diddy Combs, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

King Combs, center, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Janice Combs, right, mother of Sean "Diddy Combs, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Oct. 10 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted former presidential candidate and Taiwan People's Party founder Ko Wen-je on corruption charges Thursday, accusing him of taking bribes during his time as mayor of the island's capital.

Ko, a former mayor of Taipei, is accused of accepting bribes related to a real estate development during his time in office, according to the prosecutors' statement. He's also accused of embezzling political donations.

If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible 28.5 years in jail.

Core to the case is a development owned by Core Pacific City group in Taipei. Prosecutors say Ko allowed the company to evade city building regulations in exchange for bribes.

“The defendant, Ko, violated his vow as a mayor to not accept bribes, and abide by our national laws. Instead, Ko intended to help the group obtain billions of dollars in illegal benefits, while collecting millions in bribes,” said Kao Yi-shu, the lead prosecutor, while unveiling the charges Thursday.

While Ko could not be reached, he has previously denied the allegations of bribery and corruption. His party said the charges were a case of political persecution.

"With this kind of abuse of power, the government is being reduced to a political thug,” said Lin Fu-nan, a member of the TPP’s central committee. “We call on the black hand of politics not to reach into the judiciary."

Ko, a former doctor, burst onto the political scene to win Taipei's 2014 mayoral race. He served two terms from 2014 to 2022.

Ko founded the TPP in 2019 as an alternative to the two-party system, promising a break from politics as usual.

He ran for President this year. Despite finishing third, he attracted attention for his appeal to young voters. Taiwan's politics is mostly dominated by two main political parties, the Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) and the Democratic Progressive Party.

Ko's Taiwan People's Party, while small, is allied with the Kuomingtang in Taiwan's legislature and helped it pass three laws last week that critics say have paralyzed the Constitutional Court and will weaken Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's ability to carry out his political agenda.

Wu reported from Bangkok.

FILE - Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je speaks at the presidential debates at Taiwan Public Television Service in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Pei Chen, Pool, File)