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As you’ve likely heard by now, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found not guilty on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Courtroom witnesses say the disgraced mogul fell to his knees in prayer as the verdict was read, and his family loudly cheered from the gallery.
But while legal analysts have described today’s outcome as a “massive victory” for Combs and his legal team, Diddy still has some major challenges ahead of him, including, most likely, some years behind bars.
Trouble ahead for Diddy, in spite of acquittals
Diddy has been locked up since September of last year, when he was arrested in New York.
He was denied bail as he awaited trial, and it’s still not clear if he’ll be released today.
Despite being acquitted on the two biggest charges against him, Diddy has been convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Prosecutor Maurene Comey stated that the government will seek a 20-year maximum sentence.
Judge Arun Subraimian has now cleared the courtroom as he awaits submissions from both prosecutors and defense on the question of whether to release Combs on bail until his sentencing.
The judge is expected to make a determination on the matter sometime this afternoon.
Despite the fact that Combs is still facing the possibility of decades behind bars, NBC legal analyst Kristen Gibbons Feden things he no longer presents much of a flight risk and will therefore be released on bail.
“I think there’s a high likelihood that he walks today,” said Feden.
“Keep in mind what the jury found. So they really ripped out the threat element. They ripped out the violent element. They ripped out the violent parts of what the prosecution used as the main thing to keep them in bail,” she further explained, adding:
“With his plane sequestered with him and being Miami, and the fact that he is a celebrity, where he can’t really go unnoticed, there is a high likelihood that the judge may release him on bail today,” she added.
A 20-year sentence would be extreme in a case such as this one. But the prosecution’s request gives you an idea of how serious the remaining charges are.
The defense might swing for the fences and ask that their client receive time served, but that also seems highly unlikely.
Combs, his family, and his supporters are in a celebratory mood today. And with good reason:
If he’d been convicted on all charges, Diddy almost certainly would have spent the rest of his life behind bars.
But for members of Team Diddy, today’s win is tempered by the knowledge that Combs likely has some hard years ahead of him.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.