Sean “Diddy Combs and his legal team are accusing the federal government of “leaking” the 2016 video of his assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura to CNN during a “slow news day” for former President Donald Trump.
In court documents obtained by Newsweek, Combs’s attorneys suggest several reasons why the government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, is “most likely” to have given the shocking video to the media. They pointed to the DHS often being quoted in news stories about the raids on Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami mansion completed as part of his sex trafficking case.
Donald Trump and Sean “Diddy” Combs pictured both times in 1997.
AP Photo
A footnote in the memo states that federal prosecutors deny the allegation and claim that DHS “did not have possession of the videotape prior to CNN’s publication of it.”
Diddy’s attorneys, after being contacted by CNN, emailed the prosecutors on his case to inform them that CNN planned to publish the video from the Intercontinental Hotel.
“My concern is that someone (not any of you and not the lead case agents) provided this footage to CNN. I bring this to your attention solely because I imagine you didn’t want this to happen any more than I do,” the email read.
After CNN released the video on May 17, an assistant U.S. attorney thanked Diddy’s legal team for the heads-up and confirmed they had seen the video.
Combs’ attorneys claim Ventura is “not likely a source of the leak” because neither she nor her lawyers possessed the tape. They also claim an unrelated third party would have sold the footage to a high-paying tabloid like TMZ, not CNN.
“If a person not in law enforcement were to leak the videotape to a news source, that person likely would have sold the tape rather than simply give it to CNN. Outlets such as TMZ are known to pay tens of thousands of dollars for such footage. That it was leaked instead to CNN shows a motive other than financial profit. It shows a motive to damage Mr. Combs’ reputation without remuneration—a motive held by federal agents,” the lawyers wrote.
The fourth reason for the “leak” listed by Combs’ defense mentions Trump.
“Fourth, the timing of the leak suggests government involvement. The tape was leaked on one of the few days the Trump trial was not being held as Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s youngest son, graduated that day from High School in Florida with his father in attendance. One of the more contentious issues in the Trump trial was whether trial would be stayed so Trump could attend his son’s graduation.”
The documents continued, “Eventually, the court announced that May 17 would not be a trial day. This was a fact that would have been known to federal agents—and they also would have known that May 17 was thus a perfect time, as it was a slow news day given the break in the Trump trial.”
Trump did attend Barron’s graduation at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach on May 17 after the judge allowed him to do so. He sat next to Barron’s mother, former First Lady Melania Trump, and her father Viktor Knavs on outdoor bleachers for the ceremony.
Nearly two weeks later, Donald Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump will be sentenced on November 26, which comes weeks after the 2024 presidential election.
Combs was arrested and charged on September 16 in a three-count Indictment with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Trump has not publically discussed Combs’ case.
Combs is set to return to Manhattan federal court on Thursday. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in his sex tracking case. His lawyers have requested a trial date of spring 2025.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
