The defence has filed a second letter to the judge, arguing for the release of Sean Combs on bail.

In it, his lawyers write the jury "rejected the government's depiction" of Combs, which he says was as "a monster".

The offences he has been found guilty of are "no longer even prosecuted as a matter of policy in the Manhattan DA's office," they write.

Therefore, his legal team argues, "it would be unjust" to detain Combs "even one day longer".

They also say he has not been convicted of a violent crime, and argue exceptional circumstances apply.

The exceptional circumstances they list are that he is the only living parent of three of his children, his mother is old and unwell, and the prison he is in has "notoriously problematic conditions".

As a reminder, we are waiting to hear the decision from the judge over Combs' possible release today. The prosecution has submitted agreements against his release.

Attached to the prosecution's submission to the judge arguing for Combs to be kept in detention until the sentencing hearing is a letter from one of their witnesses - celebrity stylist Deonte Nash.

In it, he tells the judge that Combs "is a serious and immediate threat to victims, witnesses, and the broader community".

"Mr Combs has a long, well-documented history of violent, coercive, and retaliatory behaviour," Nash writes, adding that the mogul's release on bail would "send a dangerous message: that wealth and influence can shield someone indefinitely from accountability".

Another letter has come in for the judge, this time from the lawyers representing Casandra Ventura, Combs' ex-partner and key witness in the prosecution's case.

Lawyer Douglas Wigdor requests that bail is denied for Combs.

He writes that Ventura "believes that Mr Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as the community".

Image source, Reuters

We're now getting further sketches from court, that depict the moment the verdicts were read out.

As you can see, and as our reporters told us earlier, Combs was happy with the news.

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

Today's mixed verdict is a "measure of justice" for Combs' accusers and "a complex reflection" of how survivors of sexual violence can find justice, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) says in a statement.

Reacting to the verdict, it said "the details of Combs' crimes were shocking and, in many ways, uncommon", but that the experiences and courage of his victims "are familiar to millions of survivors".

"If you look past the 'freak-offs' you’ll see the reality that this case is like every other case of sexual violence: real harm was done to real humans, and justice demands real consequences for the offender," it says in the statement.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani says today’s verdict is "a complete and total failure by the prosecution".

The flaws in their case, he says, centre around relying on the testimonies of Cassie Ventura, "Mia" and "Jane", all of whom were in a relationship with Combs, rather than calling on other alleged victims who have brought civil cases against him.

Cassie's testimony introduced doubt because of her emails and text messages saying she enjoyed the so-called "freak offs", Mia because she posted on social media that she loved Combs and Jane for accepting money and gifts, Rahmani says.

"The big question in the case was why did the victims stay if they were abused? The prosecution failed to answer that question," he says, adding: "And the prosecution in the Harvey Weinstein retrial also failed to answer that question."

In the future, the government may have second thoughts about charging a case like this as a racketeering conspiracy, former federal prosecutor Mark Chutkow says.

He says that even though the charge allows the government to introduce more evidence of bad conduct, the jury "may have concluded that labelling Diddy’s vast business enterprises as a “criminal organisation” was "one step too far".

The jury may have also questioned the racketeering enterprise conspiracy on the basis that most of the other alleged co-conspirators were his employees and no one but Diddy was charged with it, Chutkow says.

Combs's defence "was astute to concede that Diddy engaged in domestic violence but then to argue that the prosecutors did not bring a domestic violence case, they brought a sex trafficking case," he adds.

We can now bring you scenes from outside the courthouse where Diddy's children have just been spotted leaving.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Let's take a closer look at one of the elements in the prosecution's letter to the judge.

In it, prosecutors say that Combs faces "a guidelines range of 51 to 63 months’ imprisonment".

While they will have the opportunity at the sentencing hearing to argue before the judge for a higher sentence, this suggests they might be asking for four to five years. It will be up to the judge, however, to decide exactly how long Combs will spend behind bars.

He has already been in detention since September 2024.

We've just heard that the letters from the defence and prosecution teams have now been handed in to the judge.

The judge says court will resume at 17:00 local time (22:00 BST).

They had a deadline for handing in letters at 13:00 (18:00 BST), but it appears the prosecution was late. As a reminder, both are trying to argue their cases over whether or not Combs should be released on bail.

We've also now seen the letter that the prosecution has written to the judge to argue for Combs to go back to detention until his sentencing hearing another day.

It argues that the law states that the charges he was found guilty of are crimes of violence and therefore "mandate detention following the defendant’s conviction".

It says that there is no precedent for a defendant being released on bail following conviction in a Mann Act offence (the law which prohibits the transportation of women and girls for prostitution).

Combs is a flight risk, it further says, given how long the maximum sentence he faces is - each of the two counts he has been found guilty of carry a maximum of 10 years, so he could face up to 20 years in total.

We've just seen the letter from Combs's defence lawyers arguing for him to be released on bail today.

It argues that "given the jury's clear verdict" acquitting Combs of racketeering and sex trafficking, "continued detention of Mr Combs is inappropriate".

It says that Combs has "demonstrated that he is trustworthy and committed to respecting the legal process" since his arrest in September last year and "demonstrated model behaviour" while in detention during the trial.

It argues he presents no flight risk or danger, and recounts that he left his home in Miami to travel to New York when he learned he would be formally charged there.

The two guilty verdicts on the lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, his lawyers argue, means he faces a lower sentence than when the government initially sought his detention.

Our colleagues have been following the twists and turns of this case with BBC podcast Diddy on Trial.

They were in court during the verdict delivery today.

You can catch the latest episode on today's breaking news on BBC Sounds, and listen to previous ones right there.

John Sudworth
North America Correspondent

As the verdicts came over text, the vloggers on the court steps read the results into their mobile phones and Sean "Diddy" Combs's supporters erupted in joy over his acquittal on the most serious charges.

For a man once feted by American high society and showered with awards, the seven week trial revealed another side: controlling, violent and abusive.

Central to the case was the now infamous hotel security video showing him assaulting his then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, as she tried to leave one of the so called “freak offs" - hotel sex encounters involving multiple male escorts, large quantities of drugs and baby oil supplied by his assistants, which could last for days.

The question for the jury though was whether this was a criminal enterprise designed to force two alleged victims into sex against their will or whether, as Combs claimed, the women willingly took part.

Domestic abuse, his lawyers argued, is not the same as sex trafficking and racketeering and the jury agreed.

But for Cassie Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, the guilty verdicts on the lesser prostitution-related charges - which still carry a maximum of 10 years each - provide some vindication.

Comb’s lawyers have argued there are racist undertones to this case - the targeting of a black man for his sexual preferences and the use of prostitutes. They’ll now be pushing for as short a sentence as possible.

The judge earlier issued a 13:00 EDT (18:00 BST) deadline for both the defence and prosecution to submit letters arguing their cases over whether Combs should be released on bail.

It's now been over 30 minutes since the judge received these letters. We've seen Combs' family arrive back at court, and the surrounding streets are closed, but we are yet to hear of any movement in the courtroom.

It is likely the judge is now considering the arguments proposed. We'll bring you more from court when we have it, stay tuned.

Brandon Drenon
US reporter

The judge is very likely to allow Diddy to be released on bond, says Erica Hashimoto, Georgetown law professor and director of the law school’s litigation program.

“I would be a little surprised if he didn’t, given the amount of time that (Combs) was locked up pre-trial,” she says, adding that it will likely be another three months before sentencing.

Hashimoto says Judge Arun Subramanian is likely to release Diddy on bond as soon as today, but that his release could be slowed as the judge figures out the release conditions.

“They could release him to be at home. They could put him on home monitoring, so he he's got a bracelet or something on that keeps track of where he is, just to make sure he shows back up at sentencing,” she says.

Riding the lift down from the courtroom, Diddy's lawyer said how relieved he was after the verdicts.

Hear what else happened during that moment below.

Image source, Reuters

As a reminder, no media cameras are allowed in court for the duration of the trial. Instead, we rely on sketches by special artists to capture the proceedings.

We see a triumphant Diddy, who turns to face those behind him as the verdicts are read out.

Our reporters in court also told us earlier how the music mogul prayed and flung himself on the floor.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

This case has all come down to one man now - Judge Arun Subramanian.

He's been on the bench for around two years and was nominated by former President Joe Biden.

He is the first South Asian judge in the Southern District of New York, and the son of Indian immigrants.

Prior to his nomination, he had a private law practice, and had clerked for late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Earlier in court, he joked to Diddy about knowing the rapper doesn't want to return to the notorious MDC prison.

Soon, we will be hearing if he will choose to bail Diddy ahead of the sentencing, which will be at a future date.

Imogen James
Live reporter

It has been a chaotic morning in New York - and afternoon in the London newsroom - as the verdicts suddenly came in from the blockbuster trial of Sean Combs.

We aren't done quite yet though.

The judge will reconvene court at 13:00 local time (18:00 BST). There, we will hear if the judge has decided to grant Combs bail, or send him back to jail until sentencing.

Sentencing happens at a later date, which might be set later.

The sentence Combs ends up with is decided by the judge. Combs was found guilty on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. These carry a maximum of ten years each.

Legal experts we've spoken to suggest it's unlikely the rapper will get this long.