Diddy awaits judge's decision on $50M bail bid

Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody for at least several more days as a US judge considers his bid to be released on $50 million  bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks.

After a nearly two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on Combs' bid for home detention "promptly."

Combs' lawyers this month proposed a bail package backed by his $48 million Florida mansion. It also called for Combs to be monitored around the clock by security personnel and to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses.

Combs has been denied bail three times since his arrest, with multiple judges citing a risk he might tamper with witnesses. The rapper and producer pleaded not guilty on Sept 17 to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.

During the hearing, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo disputed prosecutors' contention that a 2016 hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, showed there was a risk he would act violently if released.

Combs apologized in May after the video showing him kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway. Agnifilo said he had never denied the incident, but said the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.

Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called "freak offs" with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines.

Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

Combs' lawyers questioned why jail was needed when federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month allowed the pretrial release on a $10-million bond of former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking.