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Federal Judge Rejects Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Request for Hearing on Alleged Government Leak of Cassie Ventura Assault Tape: Details
A federal judge has dismissed Sean 'Diddy' Combs' claim that prosecutors leaked surveillance footage of his alleged assault on Cassie Ventura.
Disclaimer: This article contains mention of assault and abuse
A federal judge has rejected Sean 'Diddy' Combs' request for an evidentiary hearing into claims that the government leaked tapes of him allegedly assaulting his former protégé and girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, to harm his reputation.
On Monday, December 16, in an opinion obtained by People, Judge Arun Subramanian noted that Combs failed to prove his claims that the government had been leaking sensitive materials to the press, including 2016 hotel surveillance footage of his alleged physical assault against Ventura at the Intercontinental Hotel.
"As to the Intercontinental Hotel video, Combs has not carried his burden to show that the government leaked it to CNN," Subramanian wrote. "Combs argues that ‘the most likely source of the leak is the government,’ but he doesn’t point to any sound basis for this conclusion."
The clip, released by CNN five months before Combs' September 16 detention on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution, shows the disgraced music mogul grabbing Ventura by the neck, throwing her to the ground, and then kicking and dragging her down a hallway.
Combs’ team accused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which conducted raids on his multiple properties earlier this year, of leaking the video to tarnish his reputation in an October filing. According to People's review of the documents, Combs’ defense accused DHS of launching a seven-month-long smear campaign against him to “undermine” his right to a “fair trial” by leaking confidential grand jury materials.
The leaks, the filing asserts, have resulted in highly prejudicial and sensationalized media coverage in Combs’ case.
The prosecution denied the claims, stating in a letter to the court that they were not in possession of the video before it aired on CNN.
Subramanian, in his ruling, affirmed that the court will only consider the material presented in court when Combs takes the trial stand in May 2025. The court’s ruling, he emphasized, will in no manner be swayed by what the newspapers present.
He also warned the government and its agents of possible action if the court finds any prohibited data leaked to the media before being presented in court.
Combs is currently being held in Brooklyn's infamous Metropolitan Detention Center. He has been denied bail three times by three separate judges, despite pleading not guilty and offering lucrative bail bonds in his aforementioned sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution cases.
If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence, assault, or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO, or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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