A federal judge presiding over the sex-trafficking trial of rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs lost his cool after a family lawyer described the prosecution team as “a six-pack of white women.”
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian exploded at veteran attorney Mark Geragos for his comments about the all-female prosecution team on the Friday episode of the 2 Angry Men podcast he co-hosts with TMZ founder Harvey Levin.
Geragos—whose client list has included Michael Jackson, Hunter Biden, Chris Brown, and the Menendez brothers—isn’t listed as part of Combs’ legal team, but he’s said he is working for Combs’ mother, Janice, in an undisclosed matter.
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He has been attending the first two days of jury selection from the section of the Manhattan federal courtroom designated for Combs’ friends and family.
While discussing the case on the podcast, Geragos described the team as “six women, all white... a six-pack of white women.”
“This is ridiculous,” the judge fumed at Geragos, according to a transcript of the discussion obtained by the New York Post. “I think referring to the prosecution in this case as a six-pack of white women is outrageous.”
“This would not be tolerated in any court from any lawyer anywhere across the nation,” the judge added.
“When you say things on a podcast like ‘six women, all white, my understanding is you’ve got a six-pack of white women,’” Subramanian told Geragos, according to the Business Insider, which also reviewed the transcript. “Like that’s not—that’s something that you shouldn’t—that no one should be saying as an officer of the Court and a member of the bar, right?”
During the meeting, Geragos said Combs believes he’s being “targeted” because he’s Black.
Attempting to defend his remarks about the prosecution team, Geragos said: “I think when you’ve got a Black man who’s being prosecuted and the client feels like he’s being targeted, it’s a—it’s an observation.”
Combs, 55, faces life in prison on charges including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He was arrested in September and has since remained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Jury selection resumes on Wednesday, and attorneys on both sides are expected to deliver their opening statements on May 12. The trial is being held at the Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan could last around eight weeks, according to Subramanian.
Combs’ lawyer told the BBC about the federal criminal charges: “Mr Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.
“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”
