Sean Diddy Combs is looking for two-month delay of 5 May trial

New York (AP) attorneys from hip-hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs on Wednesday asked a federal judge in New York to postpone his trial on May 5 with two months so they could better prepare a defense. The advocates said in a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian that prosecutors were slow to surrender possible evidence for review, making it difficult to be ready within three weeks. Prosecutors are against the request, the lawyers said. A spokesman for prosecutors commented. Subramanian wrote in an order responding to the delayed trial that he would address the issue during a hearing scheduled for Friday. In anticipation of the conference, the judge wrote, both parties must continue as if the early May trial remains in place. Combs, 55, has been held without bail since his arrest in September. He pleaded not guilty to multiple crimes that, according to prosecutors, took place over a period of two decades. In their letter, defense lawyers cited a failure by prosecutors to surrender possible testimony of trial in time, including material related to a replacement indictment that was returned by a large jury earlier this month. For example, the advocates wrote, prosecutors said they would not comply with a deadline of Wednesday to surrender exhibitions and a testimony list. Some evidence that still needs to be turned includes materials related to a score in the indictment that has a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 15 years if a conviction is assured, the advocates said. As a result, they wrote: “We cannot be heard on the scheduled date.” They added: “This is a problem that the government has created, but it is our reasonable request.” Prosecutors say Combs forced and abused women for years when he used his ‘Power and Prestige’ as a music star to raise a network of associates and employees to help him while silent by extortion and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beats. First published: 17 Apr 2025, 02:38 AM IST