By Matthew Swigonski
| Published
It’s no secret that Sean “Diddy” Combs has had a tumultuous year in the courtroom, with new lawsuits coming in weekly and a criminal case that could possibly lead to him being behind bars for the rest of his life, but that hasn’t stopped the disgraced music mogul from trying every trick in the book to plead his innocence. In early October, Diddy and his legal team accused federal prosecutors of leaking footage of Diddy physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, to news outlets. However, on October 30, prosecutors firmly denied the allegations, claiming that Combs’ defense lawyers did not provide evidence that proves that any information or video of the assault was leaked.
In May 2024, CNN released footage of Diddy’s 2016 assault of Cassie inside the hallway of the now-closed Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. In the video, Cassie can be seen as she exits a hotel room and walks toward a bank of elevators before Diddy, holding up a towel around his waist, sprints down a hall after her. He can then be seen forcibly grabbing her by the back of the neck and throwing her to the floor.
The assault continues as Diddy turns around and kicks Cassie several times as she lies motionless on the floor, before briefly dragging her by her sweatshirt toward a room before eventually walking away. It is not clear how the copy of the video managed to go undetected until it was acquired by CNN. According to federal prosecutors, they “had been unsuccessful in obtaining any video of the assault,” and investigators were unable to obtain footage of the 2016 hotel attack until CNN aired the Diddy assault video.
Various People Could’ve Had Copies
Federal prosecutors claim that Intercontinental Hotel’s server had been wiped clean during their investigation, offering them little hope of acquiring the Diddy assault video. In their response to Diddy’s legal team and their allegations, prosecutors pointed to the fact that a number of individuals had direct access to the security video, including hotel employees, security personnel, and members of Diddy’s staff, all of whom could have been the source of the leak.
On October 9, Diddy’s defense team, led by attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, accused the government of perpetuating a series of unlawful leaks. In their filing, Agnifilo and Geragos argued that the leaks, including the publishing of the Diddy assault video, “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.” On October 25, Diddy and his legal team were unsuccessful when attempting to compel Judge Arun Subramanian to impose a gag order prohibiting federal employees from disclosing evidence to the media.
In November 2023, Cassie filed a lawsuit against Diddy in the United States District Court Southern District of New York, alleging that her ex-boyfriend had been responsible for over a decade of violent behavior and disturbed demands, which resulted in a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking.
Just one day later, Diddy and Cassie reached a settlement, with Cassie stating that she wanted to “resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control.” In her initial filing, Cassie and her legal team made a reference to the 2016 Diddy assault at the Intercontinental Hotel, where she claimed that Diddy then paid $50,000 for the hallway security footage.
Source: USA Today
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