The Atlanta-based attorney who represented Young Thug during his high-profile RICO trial is joining Sean Combs’ defense team, according to a new court filing.
Brian Steel on Tuesday applied for admission to practice in Manhattan federal court, where Combs is scheduled to go on trial in May.
Steel joins Marc Agnifilo, Teny Geragos and Alexandra Shapiro in representing Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and prostitution charges.
During a hearing Monday afternoon, Combs told U.S District Court Judge Arun Subramanian he had seen the new indictment and discussed it with his attorney. He waived a public reading of the document.
Attorneys for Combs raised what they called issues with getting evidence from the government. They accused prosecutors of intentionally not taking possession of hundreds of thousands of emails and messages from a “Victim 4,” who they describe as a key witness in the case, so they wouldn’t have to share them with the defense. Prosecutors said they haven’t taken possession of all of the messages due to the sheer volume of emails, as well as resource and efficiency concerns.
Subramanian suggested to defense attorneys that they be more specific in their request for emails and messages to help facilitate getting that martial. He also said, “We are a freight train moving towards trial,” telling defense lawyers that if they plan to request a two-week adjournment based on their access to discovery, they needed to do it within 48 hours.
Prosecutors also acknowledged that the deadline to produce a witness list was delayed until Wednesday but questioned the need to produce that list if the defense is planning to request a two-week adjournment.
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