Judge at Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial scolds lawyer for calling prosecutors 'six pack of white women'
Entertainment
Meanwhile, the judge on Wednesday said he will finish seating a jury on Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has warned a lawyer for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs to tame his public comments now that the rapper’s sex trafficking trial is underway, saying it was “outrageous” that he referred to prosecutors during a podcast as a “six-pack of white women.”
A transcript of a robing room meeting on Tuesday contained the conversation between Judge Arun Subramanian and attorney Mark Geragos.
Meanwhile, the judge on Wednesday said he will finish seating a jury on Friday. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday.
The trial in Manhattan federal court comes after the 55-year-old hip-hop promoter pleaded not guilty to racketeering and sex trafficking charges after his September arrest. He has remained jailed without bail since then.
On Tuesday, prosecutors asked the judge to instruct Geragos to follow local rules limiting what attorneys say about the case while the trial is proceeding. They noted that Geragos had not filed a “notice of appearance” to represent him in court during the trial, but a jury consultant and the defense team seemed to consult with him.
Later in the day, the judge asked in the robing room meeting if Geragos — whose high-profile clients have included Michael Jackson and the Menendez brothers — was advising Combs “in any way, shape or form?”
Geragos responded that he represents the entertainer’s mother in a matter and has represented Combs and “I do talk with him with great -- with great frequency.” The lawyer’s daughter, Teny Geragos, is a key member of Combs’ legal team.
When it seemed that Geragos was about to criticize prosecutors over the issue of pretrial publicity, the judge cut him off, saying: “Let’s just have some real talk.”
Then, the judge noted that Geragos had said on a recent “2 Angry Men” podcast he hosts with TMZ founder Mark Levin that the prosecution team was made up of six white women and he had referred to them as a “six-pack of white women.”
