by Jeroslyn JoVonn
December 17, 2024
Diddy was denied a motion for an evidentiary hearing on claims of government leaks.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been dealt another legal blow as a judge denied his latest motion for an evidentiary hearing.
On Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian rejected the disgraced music mogul’s request for additional discovery and an evidentiary hearing, according to The Wrap. The judge criticized Combs’ legal team for failing to provide evidence that the U.S. government had leaked sensitive information to the media, including the 2016 hotel surveillance video of his violent assault on ex-girlfriend AND R&B singer Cassie, which was obtained by CNN, or notifying the press about the April raids on his properties in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.
The ruling comes in response to the rapper/entrepreneur previously alleging that the “government, primarily through [the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)], has engaged in a seven-month campaign” against him.
The Bad Boy founder believes the timing of the leaked hotel video could only be the decision of a government insider.
“Combs suggests that the ‘timing of the leak’ points to a government source because federal agents ‘would have known that May 17 was … a perfect time’ due to the ‘break in the Trump trial’ for Barron Trump’s high school graduation,” his filing states.
However, according to Judge Subramanian, “Combs has not carried his burden to show that the government leaked it to CNN. 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 court reminds the public that whether the government can prove Combs’ guilt in this case will turn on the evidence presented at trial, not in a ‘trial by newspapers,’” the judge added.
Federal authorities are denying any involvement in the information that has been revealed to the press. Combs remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transporting individuals for prostitution. His multiple requests for bail have been denied ahead of his federal trial scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
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