Federal prosecutors denied leaking a “damning” piece of evidence against Sean “Diddy” Combs ahead of his sex trafficking trial. The evidence in question is surveillance video of Combs appearing to attack his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The defense wants it excluded from trial.
In a motion filed Wednesday, the government asked a judge to deny Combs’s request for an evidentiary hearing about the video, claiming the defense is trying “to suppress a damning piece of evidence against him.” They write that the video shows Combs “violently beating a victim at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles in March 2016.”
In May, CNN published surveillance video of the alleged attack in which Combs appeared to kick, hit and drag the singer outside their hotel room. The incident mirrored one of Ventura’s claims she made against her ex-boyfriend in November 2023 when she sued Combs and accused him of rape, abuse and sex trafficking. The lawsuit was quickly settled.
Combs issued a public apology after the video surfaced and took “full responsibility,” calling his behavior “inexcusable.” It’s the only thing he has apologized for, as he’s been sued by dozens of men and women for alleged sexual assault. Combs has maintained his innocence through lawyers.
“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,” prosecutors wrote in the filing, which was obtained by Yahoo Entertainment.
Prosecutors also denied claims made by the defense that “law enforcement sources” are “leaking other alleged grand jury material to the media.” Combs’s attorneys are seeking a gag order claiming the purported “leaks” will prohibit him from having a fair trial. Prosecutors wrote “the defendant is grasping at straws” with the accusations.
Diddy is facing federal racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. He pleaded not guilty and is still behind bars at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. A hearing is set for Monday as the music mogul’s attorneys try to get him released on bond for a third time.
In the same motion, prosecutors also urged the judge to reject the defense’s request to compel them to reveal the identity of his accusers and claim he would not be “surprised” by their identities.
“The victims are individuals whom the defendant is alleged to have trafficked, violently assaulted and transported across state lines for commercial sex, among other criminal acts in which the defendant directly participated,” they wrote.
In a separate civil case, Combs scored a victory as a federal judge ruled a Tennessee woman who is suing Combs for sexual assault under the name Jane Doe cannot do so under a pseudonym. She claimed he raped her in 2004 when she was 19 years old.
“Defendants have a right to defend themselves, including by investigating plaintiff, and the people have a right to know who is using their courts,” the judge wrote.
Civil lawsuits are piling up against Combs with horrific allegations coming out almost daily. The latest is from a male who alleges he was sexually assaulted by the Bad Boy Records founder at age 10.
