Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team is now accusing the feds of leaking the infamous video of him assaulting ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to the media among other items as his legal battle continues.
Surveillance video, which showed the disgraced music mogul involved in a heated physical altercation with Ventura, was released in May and has since become a major focal point of the prosecution’s case against Combs, who faces racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges.
According to his latest legal filing obtained by Page Six, Combs’ counsel claims a government agent released the video to CNN with the intent 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,” reads the legal docs.
“The government knew what it had: a frankly deplorable video recording of Sean Combs in a towel hitting, kicking and dragging a woman in full view of a camera in the hallway of the hotel.”
Shortly after the 2016 video’s release, Combs addressed his assault on his ex-girlfriend, saying he “was f—ked up” and had “hit rock bottom” at the time.
His attorneys, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, are asking that the video be suppressed, if the court finds that a government agent was behind the video’s leak.
The attorneys also called out the Department of Homeland Security twice in the legal documents, saying the government agency’s March 25 search of his property was a move by DHS “to garner sensational media coverage.”
The legal team goes on to claim that government officials within the Department of Homeland Security made “inflammatory” statements to the press which has “all but ensured” the possibility of a tainted grand jury and general public.
“The government’s scheme to undermine Mr. Combs’ rights to a fair proceeding has several methods and means. First, there has been a steady stream of false and prejudicial statements made by DHS agents to various press outlets over the last seven months. Second, the agents engaged in a particularly brutal and public search of Mr. Combs’ homes, during which they handcuffed Mr. Combs’ innocent sons and then marched them before a news helicopter and the press,” said Combs’ attorneys in a press release on Wednesday.
“This was an apparent effort to convey that they had overwhelming evidence against Mr. Combs, justifying the public and brutal treatment of even his children, who were handcuffed and manhandled by federal agents armed with assault rifles,” the statement continued.
In addition to the leaked video shared with CNN, Combs’ legal team doubled down on their notion that the moves are an attempt to “savage” Combs’ reputation ahead of his pending trial.
“While the government’s misconduct in this case is particularly egregious, it is unfortunately part of a trend in this District—the government has learned that it can strategically leak information with impunity. This Court should exercise its authority to prohibit these underhanded tactics, which severely undermine a criminal defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
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