Diddy’s legal team file motion to exclude Cassie Ventura assault video from trial

Attorneys for Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs have filed a motion to exclude video footage showing him violently attack ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura from his upcoming federal trial.

Over a year ago, Ventura – Diddy’s ex-partner and former signee – filed a lawsuit against the Bad Boy Records founder for physical assault and rape, and the case was settled the following day despite Diddy denying the claims.

Months later, CNN obtained CCTV footage of Diddy dragging, kicking and hitting Ventura in an LA hotel, lending credence to Ventura’s allegations. Diddy later apologised for his “inexcusable” behaviour in a video Ventura’s lawyers called “disingenuous”.

Diddy was later arrested and charged with crimes including sexual trafficking and racketeering. He has since been held in a federal jail in his hometown awaiting trial, which is set to begin in May 5 – although there remains dispute about the official start date, with his attorneys asking to delay the trial by two months so they can better prepare a defense (per The Independent).

His legal team have continued to deny all allegations levelled against him.

Per Variety, lawyers for the disgraced rap mogul entered the motion on Thursday (April 17), asking the court to either exclude the video or, “in the alternative, to permit Mr. Combs to present evidence at a pre-trial hearing regarding the unreliability of the existing and available video evidence.”

Last month, Combs’ defence team also brought up their issue of the hotel security footage aired by CNN, and, in a previous pre-trial hearing, alleged they had “substantially altered” the video.

The publication later shared a statement with TMZ strongly denying Combs’ claims. “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source,” a spokesperson for the outlet said. “CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested.”

The new filing claimed the CNN video should be excluded because the government did not provide sufficient evidence of its authenticity. Because the evidence has a “dramatic impact” on the jury, they said it should not be admitted. Combs’ counsel also said the government had not made competent efforts to locate the original version of the hotel video, and therefore it must be excluded under the “best evidence” rule.

Ventura is expected to testify under her own name at Combs’ trial, which was initially scheduled to begin on May 5 pending a hearing set to take place today (April 18). Combs, who is incarcerated in Brooklyn on the federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, was recently hit with an updated superseding indictment, with two charges added to the case.

Per Rolling Stone, the two new superseding indictments have broadened the scope of prosecutors’ investigation, moving the timeframe Diddy was alleged to have used his various businesses to abuse women back to at least 2004, whereas the previous start date was 2008.

Prosecutors have accused Combs of using his billion-dollar empire as a “criminal enterprise”, citing a range of alleged offences including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice” from 2004 to last year.

“Mr. Combs has said it before and will say it again: he vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY [United States District Court for the Southern District of New York],” Combs’ lead defence attorney Marc Agnifilo told Rolling Stone in a previous statement.

“He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will.”

Elsewhere, a new lawsuit was filed against Diddy earlier this month, accusing him of human trafficking. The allegations were put forward by a Florida man called Joseph Manzaro, who alleges that the rapper assaulted and humiliated him at an event in 2015, and that he was seen on the night by Beyoncé, Jay-Z and LeBron James.

According to the filing, the alleged incident took place during a birthday party held by Diddy for his son Christian Combs. Manzaro claims he was drugged and transported to Star Island in Miami for the party, before being involved in a “freak-off”.

Combs’ legal team denied the claims in a statement to TMZ. “This complaint demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday,” it read. “No sane person reading this complaint could credit this story. Mr. Combs looks forward to having his day in court where these lies — and the perverse motives of those who told them — will be revealed.”

News of the accusations came just days after a separate one of Diddy’s sexual assault lawsuits was dismissed last month.

Claims of sex trafficking against Combs and former chief of staff Kristina Khorramm, as well as sexual assault and premises liability claims against Combs, have been upheld, however.

An attorney for Combs said Jones’ “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines”, whilst Khorram denied all allegations.

In other news, one of Combs’ lawyers recently quit the rapper’s forthcoming criminal sex trafficking case, writing: “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.”

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