John Jefferson
Federal prosecutors have “serious and ongoing concerns” for the safety of victims and witnesses connected to their case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul turned entertainment billionaire who they are accusing of sex crimes and are asking a judge to deny a defense request to identify them.
They’re also rejecting claims from Combs’ defense team that the government was behind the leak of a brutal video showing the star assaulting his ex, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
Lawyers for the 54-year-old Bad Boy Records founder have demanded an evidentiary hearing on leaks in the case and asserted that the damning video, which Combs apologized for, was improperly released by federal investigators in a grand jury leak.
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The Justice Department denied even having a copy of the video before CNN obtained and published it in May and said Combs’ filings are an attempt to suppress the “damning” video evidence in his trial.
“The defendant baselessly accuses ‘DHS’ agents — who have no authority to issue grand jury process — of secretly obtaining the Intercontinental Video unbeknownst to the prosecutors conducting the investigation and then leaking it to CNN,” prosecutors wrote. “No evidentiary hearing is necessary to reject these assertions as incredible.”
According to federal investigators, they wanted to find the video after learning about it but discovered it had “disappeared from the hotel’s server.”
What they did find, allegedly, was an attempt from Combs to bribe hotel security.
Interestingly, according to prosecutors, on the day the video went public, Combs’ defense wrote to them to express a “concern that someone (not any of you and not the lead case agents) provided this footage to CNN.”
Read the Justice Department filing:
The government said it learned of the video only after the leak and was looking into how it got out – floating the idea that Combs’ own employees could have made it public.
“The defendant refuses to acknowledge that multiple individuals other than Government agents — including some of his own employees — may have had access to the Intercontinental Video,” prosecutors wrote.
The government also opposes a defense request for a gag order that would restrict victims from speaking out on the case.
Homeland Security Investigations agents raided his mansions in Miami and Los Angeles in March. His arrest came in mid-September. The DOJ also asked a judge to deny Combs’ requests for a gag order.
Watch the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs 2016 Cassie assault video:
Combs is facing federal sex trafficking, prostitution and racketeering charges.
Federal prosecutors argued that he is simply “not entitled to the remedies he seeks” and asked the court to shut down his lawyers’ motions.
Separately, he faces more than a dozen civil lawsuits alleging sex abuse and other wrongdoing, and dozens more accusers are expected to come forward with litigation of their own.
In another case out of Louisiana, he’s also accused of ripping off a design firm that built him stage displays, and the plaintiff’s legal team in that case said more business-related lawsuits are likely.
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Because of crossover between the civil and criminal matters, federal prosecutors told the judge that Combs’ request to have his Jane Doe accusers publicly identified could place them at risk if granted.
“There are serious and ongoing concerns of victim and witness safety, tampering, and intimidation,” prosecutors wrote.
Combs’ criminal trial is scheduled for May 5.
The feds opened their investigation in November 2023, around the time Ventura sued Combs alleging physical and sexual abuse.
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Combs vehemently denied the allegations from Ventura and from all of the other accusers. Then the video leaked – showing the nearly naked billionaire brutally assaulting her in the hallway of Los Angeles’ Intercontinental Hotel.
The video appeared to corroborate at least one claim in Ventura’s lawsuit – that Combs punched her in the face in the hotel in 2016.
“Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye,” her lawyers alleged.
He was drunk, according to the lawsuit, and when he passed out she tried to sneak out. But he allegedly woke up and resumed screaming at her, followed her into the hallway and threw her on the ground.
He issued a teary video apology and said he would seek help. Now he’s being held without bail in a federal jail in Brooklyn.
Combs and Ventura settled out of court a day after she sued him, but his legal struggles have snowballed from there.
Over the past year, numerous new accusers have come forward, and Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said in October he now represents more than 100 people looking to sue the rapper.
He has been accused of doling out date rape drugs and victimizing adults and children at parties, some of which allegedly involved unnamed “celebrity” accomplices.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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