Source: Christopher Polk/Getty
Lawyers for Didi they accused the government of deliberately leaking information to deny him a fair trial.
A new legal move filed by lawyers representing Diddy alleges the federal government is colluding with the media to spoil their client's chance for a fair trial. The filing, made Wednesday (Oct. 9), asks the court to take the “government plan” seriously and asks that all appropriate remedies be considered, including a permanent dismissal of the case and the exclusion of witnesses. The legal team cites a hotel surveillance video from 2016 — which shows Diddy, aka Sean Combs, assaulting singer Cassie Ventura — as evidence of collusion. The video aired on CNN in May, prompting Diddy to issue a public apology. It's unclear how the network was able to obtain the video.
“The videotape was leaked to CNN for one reason only: to mortally injure Sean Combs' reputation and prospects of successfully defending himself against these allegations,” attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos wrote. The rationale they presented the government as a possible suspect says Ventura made no mention of the assault in her lawsuit against Didi last November and “received a substantial eight-figure settlement” and a third party would sell the footage.
The lawyers was named the Department of Homeland Security as the group behind the leak, claiming that the raids they conducted on Diddy's Los Angeles and Miami homes were done in broad daylight for full media exposure, stating that the media was present at the Los Angeles residence Angeles “before crime scene tape was released” and showed DHS agents walking Diddy's children through a public area during the raid. They also claim that a DHS agent was behind anonymous leaks to the press.
Prosecutors cited the hotel video as the core of their argument that Didi engaged in sex trafficking and intimidation, alleging that he assaulted Cassie Ventura because she refused to participate in one of his alleged “surrenders.” The motion came with another request by Didi's lawyers for the trial to begin in April or May next year. The embattled music mogul is currently in federal custody in Brooklyn. The court rejected another bail appeal on Tuesday (October 8), while a procedural hearing was set for the early hours of Thursday (October 10).
