Diddy Prosecutors Accuse Mogul Of "Hijacking" Criminal Case To Quell Civil Lawsuits

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1499 Views
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NBA: All Star Game
February 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Recording artist Puff Daddy (Sean Combs a.k.a. Diddy, P. Diddy) during halftime of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The West defeated the East 163-158. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
It's not looking good for Diddy...

The prosecution in the Diddy case issued a scathing response to various of the defense's motions on Wednesday (October 30), according to court documents reportedly obtained by AllHipHop. They sought to convince a judge that Sean Combs' requests for a gag order, an investigation into alleged leaks, and revealing alleged victim and witness names are misguided efforts that seek to conflate his responses to his various civil lawsuits with evidence suppression and a "hijacking" of his criminal case. As such, the feds urged the judge in this case to deny these motions. One of the feds' first clap-backs concerned allegations that they leaked the Cassie video as grand jury information to the press.

However, federal prosecutors claim that Diddy's team failed to show evidence of the leak of any grand jury material in the criminal case for alleged sex trafficking and racketeering. They claim that the leak motion aims to "suppress highly probative evidence" such as the Cassie video. Furthermore, the feds alleged that the Bad Boy mogul's team is well-aware that the government never had access to that video at the time of its release and that they never got it through a grand jury process. As for other alleged grand jury information leaks alleged by the defense, the prosecution alleges they "grasped at straws" in other accusations about supposed "law enforcement sources" leaking to the press.

Diddy At Super Bowl LII

Feb 4, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Recording artist Diddy at Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images

"The defendant cannot credibly claim that he will suffer unfair surprise at trial," Diddy's prosecutors claimed. "Rather, it is plain that the defendant’s request for a bill of particulars containing victim names is merely a vehicle to attempt to prematurely restrict the Government’s proof at trial and use these criminal proceedings to defend himself in the press against complainants in separate civil litigation. This improper request should be denied in its entirety, particularly here, where there are serious and ongoing concerns of victim and witness safety, tampering and intimidation." The feds believe Combs tried to "hijack the criminal proceeding" to deal with his civil lawsuits, and that he doesn't need a witness list six months before his trial begins.

In addition, they characterized Diddy's motion as either a "blanket [gag] order" for all accusers or a "limited order" that would reveal witnesses months before trial. In both cases, they alleged this is an unprecedented and hostile use of local criminal law to "gag civil claimants whether or not their statements [connect] to this criminal proceeding." While prosecutors denied any grand jury press leak, they identified only one alleged source – a supposed Homeland Security officer – in the news articles cited by Puff as a "plausible connection" to the investigation. They made it clear that the information in the alleged source's discussion was mostly already public record. Even though they agreed with the defense that "extrajudicial commentary by [involved] law enforcement officers" is unacceptable, this source from a search is in no way a part of the prosecution.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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