- A new US district judge was announced Thursday in the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex-trafficking case.
- Judge Arun Subramanian is now in charge of Combs’ case and a potential third bid for bail.
- Subramanian is the same Manhattan federal judge overseeing the DOJ’s Ticketmaster antitrust action.
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A new federal judge has been assigned to the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex-trafficking case, and it’s the same judge currently overseeing the Department of Justice antitrust case against Ticketmaster.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian has been refereeing the Ticketmaster civil lawsuit since the DOJ first sued to break up the concert giant in May. Subramanian was assigned to the Combs case on Thursday, according to court documents.
Having a new judge may help Combs, at least in the short term, as he remains held in a notorious Brooklyn jail and continues to seek bail.
In the nearly three weeks since his arrest in mid-September, Combs has remained in custody and has twice been denied bail on the charges, which allege he used violence, threats, and drugs to coerce women into sexual performances over the past decade.
With Subramanian now helming the case, Combs’ lawyers can argue for bail a third time, before a fresh set of ears and robes.
In his two previous bail bids, Combs offered his Miami mansion as collateral for a $50 million bail bond.
A magistrate judge said no to bail during a court hearing the day after Combs’ arrest.
US District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., turned Combs down on his second court appearance. Both judges cited what federal prosecutors described as a serious risk that Combs could intimidate witnesses.
Combs, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, is already appealing these bail denials. Court records do not offer a reason for the change in judge.
A Combs attorney, Anthony Ricco, declined to comment on whether the defense team would attempt a third try at bail when they address Subramian at a court hearing scheduled for next week. The parties will be in court on Thursday afternoon, Ricco said.
Subramanian is already a busy judge. The Ticketmaster case is not expected to go to trial until sometime in 2026, but between now and then, the judge is presiding over a complex pretrial process.
A total of 29 state attorneys general have joined the DOJ as plaintiffs in the case, and federal prosecutors said at a hearing over the summer that they hope to take pretrial depositions from as many as 80 witnesses.