Judge in Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial admonishes lawyer for racial remarks

By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The judge overseeing Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial admonished a lawyer close to the hip-hop mogul's defense team for referring to the prosecutors in the case as a "six-pack of white women" in comments on a podcast.

The lawyer, Mark Geragos, said in a May 2 episode of "Two Angry Men," a podcast he co-hosts with celebrity news website TMZ's founder Harvey Levin, that the racial and gender composition of the six-member prosecution team was "interesting."

Geragos said race may be an "undercurrent" at the trial, but would not be a focus of Combs' defense.

"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," U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian told Geragos in a private conversation in his robing room on Tuesday before jury selection resumed, according to a trial transcript.

"Referring to the prosecution in this case as a six-pack of white women is outrageous," said the judge, who is of South Asian descent.

Combs, who is Black, has pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prosecution. Jury selection is expected to finish on Friday, with opening statements scheduled for Monday.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office say Combs used his business empire to coerce women into taking part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties known as freak offs. His defense will argue that the sex acts prosecutors described were consensual and that the alleged victims expected to testify against him cannot be trusted. 

Combs' lawyers have said in court papers that he is being unfairly targeted for prosecution because of his race, but will not make that argument at trial.

LAWYER HAS REPRESENTED HUNTER BIDEN, MENENDEZ BROTHERS

Geragos, who is white, is a well-known Los Angeles-based lawyer who has represented President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden as well as Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1989. 

He is not representing Combs in his criminal case, but told Subramanian he speaks with the rapper frequently and represents his mother in a matter which he did not describe in detail. Geragos' daughter, Teny Geragos, is one of Combs' defense lawyers at trial. 

Mark Geragos told the judge that he was not trying to interfere with either side's right to a fair trial but that defendants had the right to respond to negative pre-trial publicity. 

"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," Geragos said, according to the transcript. 

Geragos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, declined to comment. 

Prosecutor Christy Slavik told the judge the TMZ podcast had millions of subscribers. 

"The danger of Mr. Geragos' statements infecting the jury pool I think is very serious," Slavik said in Subramanian's robing room, according to the transcript.  

Subramanian told Geragos he would be monitoring his comments. 

"You have one more listener for your podcast," the judge said. 

"As long as you subscribe," Geragos replied, "I'm all for it."

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Howard Goller)