Sean Combs ‘ lawyers have accused the U.S. government of leaking evidence of the racketeering and sex trafficking case to the media, including a 2016 hotel surveillance video showing the disgraced mogul physically attacking the singer Cassie Ventura.
Per a court filing Wednesday obtained by Rolling Stone , Combs’ legal team is demanding an evidentiary hearing to investigate “government misconduct in connection with the leaks.” His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, claims that the alleged government leaks “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.
” Agnifilo called the video from the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles the most “egregious example” of the alleged misconduct, but said it was “one of a long and documented history of leaks and false statements made with one purpose: to savage Mr. Combs’ reputation prior to trial.” In May, CNN unearthed footage of Combs chasing his then-girlfriend Ventura down a hotel hallway, where he proceeded to throw, kick, stomp, and drag her.
The brutal video was dated March 5, 2016, and appeared to correspond to an alleged incident from a sex-trafficking lawsuit filed by Ventura last November. The surveillance footage prompted Combs to post an apology video two days later to social media. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said at the time.
“I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it.