A hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to hear reasons for Sean “Diddy” Combs to be sentenced early was adjourned without any arguments or a new date established.
According to a joint letter filed Tuesday, defense attorneys and federal prosecutors initially agreed on a Sept. 22 sentencing date for Combs, ahead of a remote hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Then, soon before the hearing, counsel for both parties filed another joint letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, stating that they had agreed on the judge’s initial scheduled sentencing date of October 3.
The arranged teleconference between defense attorney Marc Agnifilo and prosecutor Christy Slavik was interrupted by a courtroom deputy who asked whether the attorneys had anything else to discuss except the sentencing date.
When Agnifilo and Slavik stated that they had nothing further to say, the deputy adjourned the conference and informed them that Subramanian would respond to the parties in writing.
According to a post on the court docket, Subramanian has scheduled Sean Combs’ sentence for Oct. 3. It was unclear why the defense seemed to have abandoned its bid to seek Combs’ speedy sentencing, at least for the time being.
Subramanian agreed to hear arguments for expedited sentencing following a split decision on July 2 that acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but convicted him of the two prostitution-related offenses he faced.
Last Monday, the defense claimed in court that “exceptional circumstances,” such as Combs’ intimate partner Kim Porter’s death in 2018, deserved an expedited sentence.
“The mother of several of his children died many years ago. “These children, the two daughters sitting in the middle of your honor’s second row, don’t have a parent,” defense counsel Marc Agnifilo stated in court last week59.
Federal prosecutors looked to be opposed to anything other than the standard procedure, including a pre-sentence report from probation officials that would force Combs to attend for an interview.
“The only things exceptional about this defendant are his wealth, violence, and brazenness,” prosecutor Maurene Comey stated. She also stated that the government intends to seek “significant incarceration” for Combs on prostitution allegations.
Combs faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail on the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, though he may receive less for a first offense. Any sentence would include credit for time served, which now totals approximately 10 months.
Combs’ split verdict last week came after six weeks of testimony in which the prosecution had 34 witnesses and the defense presented none. The panel of eight men and four women deliberated for slightly over two days before making their judgment.