The seemingly sweet video of accused sex predator Sean “Diddy” Combs’ children lovingly wishing their father a happy birthday behind bars was nothing more than a plot to tug on juror heartstrings, prosecutors contend.
The disgraced music mogul has been accused of obstructing justice by ordering his kids to execute a social media campaign around his 55th birthday, in hopes of swaying a potential jury in his favor, according to court documents.
“While attempting to evade law enforcement monitoring, the defendant has, among other things, orchestrated social media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool; made efforts to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case; and contacted witnesses through third parties,” prosecutors said in Manhattan Federal Court papers filed Friday opposing Combs’ bid for bail.
The video in question showed Combs’ seven children calling their jailbird dad Nov. 4 — with the family seemingly gushing in sincerity about how much they love one another.
But the entire celebration was staged at Combs’ “carefully curated direction,” and part of the plan was each of the children sharing the footage to their respective Instagram accounts, prosecutors alleged.
The “I’ll Be Missing You” crooner has been allegedly monitoring social media engagement from within the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — and even “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in the case.”
The original post was flooded with comments supportive of Combs and his family, including some expressing sadness for what his children are going through.
The clip showed Quincy, 33; Justin, 30; Christian, 26; Chance, 18; twins D’Lila and Jessie, 17; and Love, 1, serenading their father over the phone with a birthday cake in front of them.
“I can’t wait to see y’all, and I just want to say I’m proud of y’all — especially the girls,” Combs can be heard saying on the other side of the line.
“I mean, all y’all for being strong. Thank y’all for being strong and being by my side,” he continued, adding he has the “best family in the world.”
The new allegations were first reported by TMZ.
The document was submitted by prosecutors in an attempt to dismiss Combs’ latest attempt at posting bail, with the attorneys urging the judge in the case to keep the singer locked up as he awaits trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The singer is a flight risk because of his unlimited resources, is a danger to the public because of his alleged history of violence and his efforts to contact possible witnesses and victims who could provide critical testimony against him, prosecutors contend.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to the case, is seeking bail despite being rejected twice since his September arrest.