Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Rehab Enrollment Is a ‘Calculated’ PR Move, Said Prosecutor: ‘Tale as Old as Time’

While Sean “Diddy” Combs awaits his sentencing, he has reportedly enrolled in a rehab program behind bars. Combs is still in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following the verdict in his trial. His enrollment in the program could be a necessary step towards self-improvement, but one former federal prosecutor is taking a more cynical view. Here’s why he thinks Combs enrolled in the program. 

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs enrolled in a rehab program in jail

As he waits for his sentencing date, Combs has reportedly enrolled in the STOP Program. This federal program offers inmates classes on preventing sexual assault, and domestic and dating violence. 

He has also reportedly enrolled in the Dr. Harry K. Wexler drug abuse program on top of attending therapy sessions. News of Combs’ drug use circulated after his arrest. Authorities found a drug called pink cocaine in his hotel room.

“I think the most dangerous aspect of it, is that you typically see stimulants, which might be methamphetamine or cocaine, mixed with other substances like ketamine that are sedating, meaning they have the opposite effect on the body,” Bridget Brennan, the special narcotics prosecutor for New York, told NBC News. “If you have a drug that’s telling your heart to speed up and another drug that’s telling your heart to slow down, that’s a problem.”

A prosecutor took a cynical view of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ participation in the rehab program

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani doesn’t think Combs’ involvement in these programs is a sign that he wants to improve himself. Instead, he believes that this is an attempt by Combs to get a more lenient sentence. 

“It’s a tale as old as time,” Rahmani told The New York Post.

He believes Combs’ lawyers are behind the move.

“I’m completely cynical. This is all gamesmanship,” he said. “Combs’ lawyers are doing their job. They are trying to minimize their client’s [sentencing] exposure.”

Rahmani believes Combs and his lawyers want to demonstrate that his crimes were a result of drug abuse and mental health problems.

“These are calculated legal and PR moves,” he said. 

When is Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sentencing?

Whether or not these programs will help Combs’ case remains to be seen. He will wait until Oct. 3 to learn his sentence. As a jury only found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, his potential sentence will be far less than originally believed. He faces up to 20 years behind bars, but it seems highly unlikely that this is the sentence he will receive.

“Even though the Mann Act carries a potential 10-year maximum sentence, Diddy is going to get time served or close to it,” Rahmani told Business Insider. “His sentencing guideline range may be as low as 15-21 months.”

He noted it’s difficult to say how Judge Arun Subramanian will rule.

“I don’t think there is a ton of sentencing history when it comes to this judge,” Rahmani said. “Some of these [former] civil judges tend to be softer.”