Mark Geragos, a nationally known attorney who represented the mother of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Most recently, he came under fire for referring to people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in derogatory terms on a podcast. As one of her defense attorneys remarked, the prosecution team was referred to as “a six-pack of white women” in the comments. This occasioned a sharp admonition by Judge Arun Subramanian in an unsealed chambers conference.
Geragos has been largely focused on the rapper’s legal affairs in Combs’ case, often spotted consulting with the defense team. His extraordinary comments came during an episode of his Daily Podcast, which he cohosts with the founder of right-wing media outlet and GOP megaphone TMZ, Harvey Levin. During the podcast, Geragos expressed his opinion that Combs is “being targeted” because he is Black. He underscored all those points in passing yesterday with Judge Subramanian.
The criticism from Subramanian was pointed. He stated, “I think referring to the prosecution in this case as a six-pack of white women is outrageous.” This kind of comment, he asserted, wouldn’t have passed muster in any courtroom in the country. Keeping order and civility in our courtrooms is a sacred responsibility to protect the integrity of the court and its proceedings.
On the first day of jury selection, Geragos stood confidently at his place in the Manhattan federal courtroom. From his seat, in the family and friends’ section reserved for Combs’ people. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York took full advantage of the opportunity to speak about Judge Subramanian. They called on him to remind both Geragos and Combs’ defense team of their obligation to refrain from making prejudicial public statements potentially influencing the jury pool.
In response to the judge’s admonition, Geragos remarked, “As long as you subscribe, I’m all for it,” indicating a lighthearted approach to the serious nature of the situation. Regardless, Judge Subramanian took a firm stand on the record that he would be keeping a close eye on upcoming podcast installments. “I’m going to be watching and I’m going to be listening. All right? You have one more listener for your podcast,” he stated.
Geragos, of course, has extensive experience representing high-profile clients, including Michael Jackson and more recently Hunter Biden. In each of his conversations with Judge Subramanian, he made the same argument that Combs had—that this was a racially motivated prosecution. “I think when you’ve got a black man who’s being prosecuted and the client feels like he’s being targeted, it’s an observation,” Geragos explained.
Leave a Reply