Diddy’s legal team demands court throw out damning Cassie assault footage before sex trial begins.
The disgraced music mogul’s legal team has filed a motion to exclude a now-infamous surveillance video from his looming federal trial, arguing that the footage is unreliable, manipulated, and inadmissible in court. The footage in question—first aired by CNN in May 2024—shows Diddy allegedly attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel corridor back in 2016.
Cassie, now 38, is expected to testify as a witness in the federal case. The charges against Diddy include sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting individuals to engage in prostitution. The video has been cited by prosecutors as powerful visual confirmation of Combs’ alleged predatory pattern of behaviour. But Diddy’s lawyers insist it has no place in court.
In a motion filed Friday, the team called the footage “wholly inaccurate,” claiming it had been “altered, manipulated, sped-up, and edited to be out of sequence.” The document, obtained by People, further alleges that the original tape was destroyed—leaving behind only a misleading edited version.
Embed from Getty Images“Accordingly, all the footage from CNN is inaccurate and inadmissible,” the motion states. “As for the two items of footage filmed by an iPhone 6, those pieces of footage are inaccurate and inadmissible as well.”
Combs’ legal strategy rests on questioning the authenticity of any visual evidence. They argue that the U.S. government has failed to provide proper verification of the video’s origin and editing timeline, rendering it unfit for a courtroom.
“Relevant evidence must be authenticated before it can be admitted,” the filing adds. “The government has not proffered any competent evidence through which it could authenticate these videos.”
CNN has strongly refuted the allegations. In a public statement, the outlet denied altering the video in any way. “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source,” the statement reads. “CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested.”
The footage has caused an uproar since its release, showing what appears to be a violent assault by Combs against Ventura, with chilling clarity. The stark video reignited public outrage and heightened pressure on federal investigators.
The federal trial, set to begin on May 5, is already one of the most anticipated celebrity court cases in recent history. Cassie Ventura’s upcoming testimony, combined with the mounting pile of civil lawsuits against Combs—including allegations from multiple women and men—paints a grim picture for the once-celebrated Bad Boy Records founder.
Legal experts suggest that if the video is barred from court, it could weaken the government’s efforts to establish a pattern of abuse and control. But prosecutors remain tight-lipped on their next move.
Diddy has denied all allegations against him. But with mounting lawsuits, public scrutiny, and now a courtroom battle over one of the most graphic pieces of evidence, the empire he built stands on increasingly shaky ground.
What remains certain is this: whether or not the video makes it into court, the spotlight on Diddy’s alleged crimes will not dim anytime soon.
