As the shadows of Thanksgiving loomed large, a federal judge in Manhattan issued a fateful ruling late in the day, determining the fate of rap tycoon Sean Combs's third bid for bail amid sex trafficking and racketeering charges awaiting trial. The judge, Arun Subramanian, issued a stark, capitalized declaration: "DENIED." This solitary word effectively canceled Combs's anticipated Thanksgiving reunion with his family in their lavishly secured Manhattan apartment, a three-bedroom sanctuary equipped with surveillance cameras and round-the-clock armed guards, all part of a $50 million bail arrangement meticulously orchestrated by his legal team.
Instead, Combs found himself confined within the unforgiving walls of the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where the holiday's traditional turkey dinner was a meager midday solace. The judge's comprehensive order laid bare the grim reality: Combs's release on bail was never a plausible option. "No Condition or Combination of Conditions Will Reasonably Assure the Safety of the Community," the ruling stated unequivocally.
During a bail hearing held on Friday, the judge instructed both parties to submit their legal briefs by Monday, promising a decision later in the week. While he failed to mention the impending Thanksgiving holiday, the significance of the day couldn't have escaped the minds of Combs's family members present in the courtroom, including his twin 17-year-old daughters, Jessie and D'Lila.
The twins had shared last year's Thanksgiving with their father, who, in a prescient act of public relations, accompanied his then-girlfriend to serve turkey dinners to homeless individuals at The Caring Place in Miami, Florida. Little did his daughters know that that very Thanksgiving day in 2022 also marked the opening of a one-year window under the Adult Survivors Act, empowering alleged victims of sex crimes to seek civil justice for offenses that would otherwise be beyond the statute of limitations.
As that deadline approached, R&B singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura filed a lawsuit against her former lover, Combs, accusing him of raping her and subjecting her to years of sexual and emotional abuse. Combs settled the suit the day after it was filed. Yet, on Thanksgiving itself, two other women, Joi Dickerson-Neal and Liza Gardner, filed separate suits against him. Both alleged that he raped them early in his career; Gardner in 1990 and Dickerson-Neal in the early days of the subsequent year.
Dickerson-Neal's lawsuit alleges that following the purported attack on January 3, 1991, she took actions that potentially could have shielded countless others from suffering similar fates at his hands. His burgeoning career might have been nipped in the bud before it truly took flight. However, the immediate aftermath mirrored a scenario that had become all too prevalent in the era preceding the #MeToo movement. According to Dickerson-Neal's suit, "The plaintiff filed police reports in both New York and New Jersey and engaged with several prosecutors, hoping to press charges. Law enforcement officials informed her that her claims would require corroboration from witnesses and others who had undergone similar ordeals."
Combs has steadfastly denied—and continues to deny—any allegations of sexual assault. As a billionaire, he would have had the financial wherewithal to contest or discreetly settle such cases. Yet, his actions involving Ventura and others recently caught the attention of federal prosecutors in New York this year. These actions encompassed "freak-offs" with paid escorts and drugs. Prosecutors also took into consideration a surveillance video obtained by CNN, depicting Combs kicking and dragging Ventura down a hallway at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016.
In September, Combs was indicted and subsequently remanded to the dreaded Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. His legal team made two attempts to secure his release pending trial with a multimillion-dollar bail package. However, his repeated violations of MDC's rules regarding telephone and text messaging use didn't bode well for him.
Undeterred, Combs' attorneys decided to make another bid with a bail package that only a billionaire could afford. The government argued that approving such an exorbitant bail would establish a "two-tier" justice system, favoring the ultra-wealthy. Furthermore, the government contended that Combs' behavior had proven him to be untrustworthy and dangerous for pretrial release, despite any assurances to the contrary.
The judge concurred, citing numerous excerpts from the indictment. The indictment charges that for decades, Combs "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others to satisfy his sexual desires, safeguard his reputation, and conceal his actions. To accomplish this, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of his multifaceted business empire, thereby creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, or attempted to engage in, crimes such as sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice."
The judge further quoted the indictment, alleging that Combs "himself carried or brandished firearms to intimidate and threaten others, including victims and witnesses of his abuse." The judge's order also noted that law enforcement had seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, along with a drum magazine. Additionally, Combs was accused of "engaging in acts of violence, threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse. These acts of violence encompassed kidnapping and arson."
In denying Combs bail, the judge's order served as a stark reminder of the gravity of the allegations against him. The order quoted a text message sent by Ventura to Combs following a 2016 incident captured on video in a hotel hallway, where he was seen kicking and dragging her: "I have a black eye and a fat lip. You are sick for thinking it's okay to do what you've done...I still have crazy bruising." This is the same individual who beamed brightly at his twin daughters as he entered the courtroom for Friday's bail hearing. Combs will likely remain incarcerated until his trial. And, if convicted, he may spend many Thanksgivings behind bars.
