Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request for a gag order aimed at preventing the alleged release of sensitive information by government sources has been rejected by a judge.
The music mogul tried to secure a gag order after his team accused the government of leaking the 2016 hotel surveillance video where he was seen assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team alleged that it was done to tarnish the embattled rapper’s reputation and forestall his efforts to defend himself against the allegations.
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Why Diddy’s Gag Order Request Has Been Denied By A Judge
The “Finna Get Loose” rapper has seen his bid for a gag order against the government fall flat in his sex crime charges.
Diddy has been behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits trial for sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
According to Page Six, New York Judge Arun Subramanian denied Diddy’s request but insisted that all parties involved must follow the laws forbidding them from leaking grand jury proceedings that can interfere with a fair trial.
“To be clear, this order isn’t based on a finding that there has been any wrongdoing thus far, as the Court has made no findings at this juncture relating to defendant’s allegations that information related to the case has been leaked,” court documents read.
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It continued, “The point of this order is to help ensure that nothing happens from now on that would interfere with a fair trial.”
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Diddy’s Team Accused The Government Of Leaking Information
The recent judgment comes after Diddy’s team accused the government of leaking a 2016 hotel surveillance footage where he was seen hitting, kicking, and stomping on his ex-girlfriend Cassie.
Court documents showed that his attorneys alleged that the government agents gave the video to CNN in May in a bid to “mortally wound the reputation and the prospect of Sean Combs successfully defending himself against these allegations.”
“Rather than using the videotape as trial evidence, alongside other evidence that gives it context and meaning, the agents misused it in the most prejudicial and damaging way possible,” they added, per Page Six.
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In the video, Diddy, wearing a white towel, could be seen running down the alley of the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, California, to catch up with Cassie, whom he dated on and off from 2007 to 2018. The rapper then proceeded to kick, hit, and drag the singer.
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Feds Deny Leaking Allegations
Meanwhile, federal agents have since denied that they played a part in making the footage available to CNN.
In a letter to the judge, they claimed that “The Government was not in possession of the video before its publication by CNN.”
“There is thus no colorable factual basis for the defendant’s claim that the Government leaked the video to CNN, let alone that it was leaked ‘in violation of grand jury secrecy,'” the letter continued.
Diddy’s Legal Trouble Worsens
Diddy has been hit with more sexual assault lawsuits since his September 16 arrest just outside the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan, New York.
A recent lawsuit was made by a person identified as Jane Doe, who accused the rapper of raping and threatening to kill her when she was 19 years old.
According to US Weekly, the alleged victim claimed that while she was attending a college in Brooklyn, New York, she was invited to a photo shoot with Diddy and her roommate.
She added in the filing that she was “flattered and excited to receive an invitation from an individual of Combs’ celebrity and stature.”
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After attending the photoshoot promoting Da Band, a band signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment Record Label, Doe and her roommate were invited for an afterparty and were about to set out before Diddy allegedly told them to come to his hotel “for a more exclusive party.”
Shortly after arriving at a Marriott Hotel suite, where some people were allegedly “having drinks and listening to music,” Doe claimed she and the other student were “suddenly grabbed and taken into a separate room.”
She asked the man who grabbed her where he was taking her, but he replied, “You know what you are here for,” and threw them into a room and locked the door.
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The Rapper Allegedly Forced The 19-Year-Old To ‘Perform Oral Sex On Him’
The accuser recalled being alone with Diddy and her friend in the room before the rapper allegedly “instructed” them to do drugs and take more drinks.
“Combs continued getting gradually more aggressive with the two women and eventually began forcibly [touching] them without consent,” Doe alleged, claiming that when they resisted, Diddy “ordered” her friend to “perform oral sex on him or else he would have them both killed.”
Doe claims that even after her friend “complied,” Diddy told her to undress “under the threat of violence” and then “forced himself on her and began to sexually assault her.”
The lawsuit states that he “fondled, molested, and ultimately raped Ms. Doe, all while she was begging him to stop.”
She is asking a judge to award “compensatory damages” for her “physical injuries, emotional distress” as well as “psychological harm, anxiety, humiliation, physical and emotional pain and suffering” during a trial.