Thursday, October 10, 2024 -Embattled music executive, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ has accused the US government of leaking the explosive 2016 footage that showed him brutally beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway.
Combs’ lawyers claimed in a new filing that
Department of Homeland Security agents undermined the Bad Boy Records founder
for seven months leading up to his indictment on sex trafficking and
racketeering charges asking a federal judge to take action.
The footage of Combs, with a towel wrapped
around his waist attacking Ventura inside the InterContinental Hotel in Century
City, Los Angeles was obtained by CNN in May, resulting in public outrage
against the music star.
His Defense lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos allege the government
was the only entity that could have revealed the damning disclosure.
“The videotape was leaked to CNN for one
reason alone: to mortally wound the reputation and the prospect of Sean Combs
successfully defending himself against these allegations,” they wrote.
Ventura sued Combs last November before the
pair settled a day later.
Combs is facing accusations he used his
record label as a “criminal enterprise” for more than a decade while abusing
women and bullying witnesses to cover up alleged crimes.
He’s pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Combs is currently in prison, but his lawyers are also fighting to get him out
of jail leading up to his high-profile trial.
Combs’ legal team cautioned it was
blaming DHS for the alleged leaks and was not pointing the finger at the
Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
His lawyers also allege Federal authorities
also allegedly provided news outlets with false and prejudicial statements, and
illegally disseminated grand jury information, including the 2016 videotape.
Combs’ lawyers also complained in the new
filing that DHS agents “engaged in a particularly brutal and public search of
Mr. Combs's homes” that included slapping handcuffs on two of his sons in front
of the press.
The raid on Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles
and Miami received widespread media attention in March and turned up troves of
evidence against the embattled singer.
Agnifilo and Geragos want the federal
court to set an evidentiary hearing over the alleged misconduct and ensure that
government attorneys and agents won’t divulge further information to the press.
The lawyers also called on the court
to potentially suppress evidence, including the 2016 tape, or even dismiss the
case, according to the legal briefing.
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