Sean “Diddy” Combs Moves to Suppress Evidence of Cassie Assault Video

Sean Combs, who is accused of racketeering and sex trafficking, is suing the government for alleged widespread misconduct in relation to the disclosure of evidence to the media, which he claims prevents him from receiving a fair trial.

In a request to have a hearing on the matter filed on Wednesday, Combs' lawyers ask for a court order that would prevent a potential jury from considering such evidence as hotel surveillance footage of him violently assaulting Cassie or the dismissal of all charges if it is demonstrated that the government was the source of the leak. They claim that prosecutors and federal law enforcement agents launched a seven-month campaign to "raise public hostility against Mr. Combs in advance of trial" before CNN published the video.

Following Combs' second Tuesday appeal of a court order denying him bail, also known as "Diddy," the motion was filed. At the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, he is currently incarcerated.

In September, federal prosecutors filed a three-count indictment against Combs, claiming that he was responsible for crimes connected to an alleged decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against people in his circle. Since at least 2008, he is accused by the government of overseeing a vast criminal enterprise in which, with the assistance of his various business associates, he assaulted and trafficked women.

Combs has asserted that the sexual encounters he had with his accusers were voluntary.

One of the most important pieces of evidence in the case is the video of Combs hitting, kicking, and dragging Ventura while she tries to escape while covered in a towel. Prosecutors argued that it demonstrates his tendency toward violence during the bail hearing. Prosecutors are expected to use it to argue that he broke sex trafficking laws, which say that a "commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion" must be shown.

According to Combs' legal team, the video was leaked to CNN by the Department of Homeland Security as part of a plan to avoid a fair trial and secure an indictment from the grand jury. They argue that due to her eight-figure settlement, Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, is probably not the source.

CNN received the videotape for only one reason: Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, Sean Combs' attorneys, write in the filing, "to fatally wound the reputation and the prospect of Sean Combs successfully defending himself against these allegations."

If the hearing is granted, it will determine whether grand jury proceedings and materials were kept secret by federal prosecutors. The government is prohibited from disclosing "anything that will reveal what transpired" under a federal rule of criminal procedure.

Before the possible hearing, Combs' legal team asks the court to order the government attorneys' or law enforcement agents' emails or texts about the investigation to be discovered.

According to the filing, "Mr. Combs will submit requests for any additional appropriate remedies, including disqualification of witnesses, suppression of evidence including the 2016 video, or dismissal of all charges in the indictment" after the evidentiary hearing and the extent and nature of the misconduct have been clarified.