By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-01 12:17:26 | Updated at 2024-11-01 14:37:56
2 hours ago
A video showing Sean 'Diddy' Combs violently assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura was not illegally leaked to CNN by prosecutors because they did not have it at the time, attorneys insisted last night.
Federal prosecutors made the claim in a new filing, which accuses the rapper's lawyers of trying to 'suppress a damning piece of evidence' and prevent jurors from seeing Combs 'brutally assaulting a victim'.
Combs' lawyers made the leak claims earlier this month, but government attorneys responded by urging the judge overseeing the case to reject their request for an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.
'Without any factual basis, the leak motion seeks to suppress highly probative evidence… by claiming that it was grand jury material leaked by government agents,' prosecutors wrote.
'But, as the defendant is fully aware, the video was not in the Government's possession at the time of CNN's publication and the Government has never, at any point, obtained the video through grand jury process.'
Sean 'Diddy' Combs', accompanied by attorney Anthony Ricco, attends a hearing in federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City last month
CNN in May aired a video that shows Combs attacking Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016
The disgraced star is behind bars in NYC ahead of a May 2025 trial
Cassie Ventura (L) and Sean Combs pictured together in New York City in May, 2015
The video, shared by CNN back in May, shows Combs attacking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Combs' attorneys have demanded an investigation into the alleged leaks, claiming they had 'led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr Combs of his right to a fair trial.'
They specifically pointed to the 2016 video, claiming it was 'leaked' to 'mortally wound the reputation and the prospect of Sean Combs successfully defending himself against these allegations.'
'Rather than using the videotape as trial evidence, alongside other evidence that gives it context and meaning, the agents misused it in the most prejudicial and damaging way possible,' his lawyers went on.
Wednesday's filing also responded to Combs' recent demand that the names of his alleged victims be revealed.
His lawyers claimed earlier this month that he cannot be fairly defended without access to this information.
The government said that such disclosures would result in 'serious risks' to the alleged victims' safety.
They cited Combs' 'significant history of violence and obstruction' and said they had 'serious concerns' about the possibility of witness tampering if he was provided with a list of names.
They added that the request should be denied as it is 'tantamount to a request for early disclosure of the Government's witness list, something he is clearly not entitled to at this extremely early stage of the proceedings.'
Music mogul Combs was previously one of the most powerful men in the music industry, but in September he was indicted on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. If convicted on all the charges, he could face life in jail.
The video shared by CNN closely mirrors an assault described by Ventura in her lawsuit against him, which said Combs had already punched her that night, and she was trying to leave the InterContinental Hotel when he woke and came after her.
This frame grab taken from hotel security camera video and aired by CNN shows Sean 'Diddy' Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in March 2016
This is the former InterContinental hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, where Diddy allegedly attacked then girlfriend Cassie Ventura
In the footage, a man who appears to be Combs, wearing only a towel, punches Ventura, kicks her, and throws her on to the floor.
The lawsuit alleged Combs paid $50,000 to take away the video at the time.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said it could not prosecute Combs for the attack shown in the video due to statute of limitation, noting that no case had been presented to prosecutors.
Two days after the footage was released, Combs posted a video on Instagram and Facebook apologizing for the assault on Ventura, in what was his first acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began.
