Federal judge weighs Sean 'Diddy' Combs' allegations of government leaking Cassie Venture assault footage

A federal judge has recently rejected Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs' request for an evidentiary hearing regarding allegations that the government leaked tapes of him allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend. The mogul claimed that releasing these tapes was intended to damage his reputation, but the judge determined that there were insufficient grounds to hold a hearing on the matter.

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Judge rules Diddy’s claims leaked video claims

On Monday, December 16, Judge Arun Subramanian stated that Sean "Diddy" Combs had not met the legal standard to prove that the government had been leaking sensitive materials to the press in an opinion, as reported by People Magazine. This includes the controversial 2016 hotel surveillance footage, which allegedly shows Combs assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Subramaniam wrote, “As to the Intercontinental Hotel video, 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 video which was released five months before the disgraced mogul’s arrest in September displayed Diddy grabbing his ex-girlfriend Ventura by her neck and then pushing her to the ground followed by kicking her and then dragging her in the hallway.

In his ruling’s conclusion, the judge wrote, “The court once again reminds the government and its agents that if specific information comes to light that they leaked prohibited information, action will be taken." Subramaniam added, “And the court reminds the public that whether the government can prove Comb's guilty in this case will turn on the evidence presented at trial, not in a 'trial by newspapers.'"

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Diddy’s case lawsuit against the government

The lawsuit filed in October by Diddy’s legal team accused the Department of Homeland Security of leaking the video featuring him and Ventura in an attempt to ruin the rapper’s reputation. They stated that the DHS organised a seven-month smear campaign against Diddy to “undermine” the mogul’s “right to a fair trial” by “leaking confidential grand jury material” in the court filing.

The documents also stated, “The leaks have resulted in damaging and highly prejudicial media coverage, particularly sensationalizing the investigation and the involvement of Mr Combs’ family,” as reported by People Magazine.

In a letter to the court, the federals denied the accusations as they stated that they were “not in possession of the video before its publication by CNN. Indeed, at the time of CNN's publication, the Government did not possess any video of the March 2016 incident."