Sean “Diddy” Combs gets a new judge in sex trafficking case

• A new U.S. District Judge was announced Thursday in the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking case.
• Judge Arun Subramanian is now in charge of Combs’ case and a potential third bail application.
• Subramanian is the same Manhattan federal judge overseeing the DOJ’s Ticketmaster antitrust action.

A new federal judge has been assigned to the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex-trafficking case, and he’s the same judge currently overseeing the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Ticketmaster.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian has been arbitrating the Ticketmaster civil suit since the DOJ first sued to break up the concert giant in May. Subramanian was reassigned to the Combs case Thursday, according to court documents.

Having a new judge may help Combs, at least in the short term, as he remains incarcerated in a notorious Brooklyn jail and continues to apply for bail.

In the nearly three weeks since his arrest in mid-September, Combs has remained in custody and has twice been denied bail on the charges, which allege he used violence, threats and drugs to coerce women into performing sex acts in the last decade.

With Subramanian now leading the case, Combs’ lawyers can argue a third time for bail ahead of a new set of ears and gowns.

In his two previous bail offers, Combs offered his Miami mansion as collateral for $50 million bail.

A magistrate judge said no to bail during a court hearing the day after Combs’ arrest.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. denied Combs his second court appearance. Both judges cited what federal prosecutors described as a serious risk that Combs would intimidate witnesses.

Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is already appealing those bail denials. Court records do not give a reason for the judge change.

An attorney for Combs, Anthony Ricco, declined to comment on whether the defense team will make a third attempt at bail when it addresses Subramian at a court hearing scheduled for next week. The parties will be in court Thursday afternoon, Ricco said.

Subramanian is already a busy judge. The Ticketmaster case isn’t expected to go to trial until sometime in 2026, but between now and then, the judge is presiding over a complex preliminary hearing.

A total of 29 state attorneys general have joined the DOJ as plaintiffs in the case, and federal prosecutors said at a hearing this summer that they hope to take pretrial depositions from 80 witnesses.