Wednesday, January 15, 2025 -Music mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs has claimed that several videos at the center of his federal racketeering and s£x trafficking indictment show “fully consenting adults” engaged in the s£xual encounters known as “Freak Offs.”
Combs’
attorneys claim the videos confirm his “innocence” and must be turned over to
his defense for independent analysis.
In a
letter to Judge Arun Subramanian filed in New York federal court on Tuesday,
Combs' attorneys said "freak off" videos obtained by U.S. attorneys
make "abundantly clear that they confirm Mr. Combs's innocence" and
asked the judge to order the government to create electronic copies of videos
for Combs' team's use during the upcoming trial.
Combs'
attorneys viewed the evidence under the supervision of law enforcement on Nov.
20 and Dec. 13, per the filing. They described the evidence as "nine
videos depicting six unambiguously consensual sexual encounters" with
"Victim-1," who has been identified from previous filings as Combs'
ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The
filing also claimed Cassie's lawyers handed the videos to the government.
Prosecutors
had previously negotiated the strict conditions – allegedly requested by Cassie
"to protect her privacy" –under which the videos could be viewed.
However, Combs' team says these terms cause a "real and substantial risk
that Mr. Combs's defense will be hampered by limited access to the
videos."
They are
requesting for the judge to amend the protective order so the U.S. Attorney's
Office can "electronically produce the videos" to Combs' attorneys.
In their
Tuesday filing, Combs' legal team blasted the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York for their "paternalistic,"
"sexist" and "puritanical" views perpetuating
"stereotypes of female victimhood and lack of agency."
"The
videos do not depict sex parties. There are no secret cameras, no orgies, no
other celebrities involved, no underground tunnels, no minors, and not so much
as a hint of coercion or violence. Far from the government's lurid
descriptions, the videos show adults having consensual s£x, plain and
simple," the filing said.
In the
2024 grand jury indictment that charges Combs with racketeering, s£x
trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, federal prosecutors
claim the rapper “used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims
to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs
referred to as, among other things, 'Freak Offs.'”
He
"arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically
recorded" these "elaborate and produced sex performances," U.S.
attorneys alleged.
Combs also "threatened victims' careers and livelihoods, including if they resisted participating in Freak Offs" and "used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims," prosecutors claimed.
In
previous filings, prosecutors claimed among the evidence in their possession
are "dozens of video recordings created by (Combs) of Freak Offs with
victims." Following raids on his Los Angeles and Miami
homes last March, investigators allegedly seized more than 90 cellphones,
laptops, cloud storage accounts, and at least 30 storage devices.
However,
Combs' attorneys claim the "freak off" videos reveal "there is
no evidence of any violence, coercion, threats, or manipulation whatsoever.
There is no evidence that anyone is incapacitated or under the influence of
drugs or excessive alcohol consumption. There is certainly no evidence of s£x
trafficking."
For his
trial, Combs would hire experts to enhance the poor audio and video quality and
analyze their metadata, the filing stated.
Combs is currently in jail after being denied bond multiple times and has a trial start date of May 5.
0 Comments