Lawyer breaks down Diddy's 'only real chance' in sex crimes trial after feds obtain jailhouse notes

Combs' legal team is accusing the prosecution of improperly obtaining at least 19 pages of notes from his locker in the federal detention center in Brooklyn - including "intact pages from two different legal pads," pages from an address book, and torn-out pages from three other legal pads.

However, according to Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who runs a private practice in Los Angeles, anything taken from Combs by federal investigators that they turned over to prosecutors was likely vetted by a third-party team and found not to include any privileged material.

"Diddy's only real chance at an acquittal is pay off, threaten, or blackmail the victims to change their stories," Rahmani said. "And prosecutors want to make sure that doesn't happen."

Combs pleaded not guilty in September to federal sex trafficking, racketeering and other charges.

His defense team is asserting that some of the material is protected by attorney-client privilege. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, and his lawyers separately asked the judge to let him appear without shackles moving forward.

The items were taken during a federal search of the jail that authorities previously said was pre-planned and not connected to Combs' case.

Rahmani downplayed the claims from Combs' high-powered legal team, which experts say faces an uphill battle given the gravity of the case and the resources of the Justice Department.

"Inmates don't have a Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy in prison, so that argument is weak," he told Fox News Digital. "Guards can search his cell without probable cause or a warrant."

Potentially privileged documents typically undergo special treatment, he said.

"The feds usually use a 'taint' or 'dirty' team of agents that aren't working on the case to conduct these searches," he said. "That way, if they see privileged materials, the 'clean' team won't be disqualified from the case."

"Prosecutors have reason to believe Diddy is obstructing justice from prison, by contacting witnesses through intermediaries," Rahmani said. "This is the same argument they made during his bail hearing, and I think they have the evidence to back it up."

In court documents, his lawyers argued that the brutal assault of former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel, preserved on video, was part of "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship between Mr. Combs and Victim-1."

WATCH: Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly pummels woman in 2016 hotel video

"Combs's authorities don't support a gag order applicable not only to trial participants, but also to any alleged victim and their lawyer," Judge Arun Subramanian wrote. "Local Rule 23.1 doesn't authorize this kind of relief. The limitations of that rule don't even apply to witnesses, let alone prospective ones that haven't yet been identified."

Combs has been held without bail at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest on federal sex trafficking, forced prostitution and racketeering charges.

A trial is scheduled for May 5 of next year. By then, the U.S. attorney overseeing his case could be replaced by President-elect Trump's nominee, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton.

The feds opened their investigation in November 2023, around the time Ventura sued Combs alleging physical and sexual abuse. They settled out of court a day after she filed it.

The video appeared to corroborate at least one claim in Ventura's lawsuit - that Combs assaulted her in the hotel in 2016.

He was drunk, according to the lawsuit, and when he passed out she tried to sneak out. But he allegedly woke up and resumed screaming at her, followed her into the hallway and threw her on the ground.

Over the past year, new accusers have continued to come forward, and Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said in October he now represents more than 100 people looking to sue the rapper.

He has been accused of doling out date rape drugs and victimizing adults and children at parties, some of which allegedly involved unnamed "celebrity" accomplices.