Prosecutors Deny Leaking Video of Sean "Diddy" Combs Assaulting His Ex Cassie

U.S. prosecutors are pushing back on claims they leaked the now-infamous video of Sean "Diddy" Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

Weeks after the rap mogul's attorneys said in a filing that the release of the 2016 clip on CNN in May was the result of "a series of unlawful government leaks,” prosecutors in the case have filed a motion refuting the allegation.

In the Oct. 30 filing obtained by E! News, prosecutors state that the video, which was recorded in the hallway of the since-closed Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles, "was not in the Government's possession at the time of CNN’s publication and the Government has never, at any point, obtained the video through grand jury process."

The documents add, "Without any factual basis, the Leak Motion seeks to suppress highly probative evidence—a video of Combs brutally physically assaulting a victim in March 2016 that was published by a media outlet in May 2024—by claiming that it was grand jury material leaked by Government agents to CNN."

The prosecutors instead clarified when they had access to the video. They said the U.S. government "ultimately obtained the Intercontinental Video at the same time as the general public on May 17, 2024, when CNN publicly released the footage."

They also allege that Combs "refuses to acknowledge that multiple individuals other than Government agents—including some of his own employees—may have had access to the Intercontinental video."

In their Oct. 9 motion, filed weeks after Combs was arrested in New York and more than six months after Department of Homeland Security agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami, Combs' legal team wrote that it "seems entirely reasonable that the video was leaked by one or more DHS agents" and called for a "full suppression of the videotape."

The "unlawful government leaks," they alleged, have "led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial."

CNN declined to comment on the allegations by the 54-year-old's legal team, which come more than a month after he pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs is accused of using his companies to transport women and male sex workers to participate in recorded sex performances, or "Freak Offs."

In a federal criminal indictment filed against him in September, the 2016 assault video is mentioned, without naming Ventura, as an example of his alleged recurrent physical abuse of women.

The singer, who dated Combs on and off for 10 years until 2018, had accused the music producer of rape and abuse in a November 2023 civil lawsuit that the two settled one day after it was filed, without an admission of wrongdoing from her ex.

Combs had commented on the surveillance video, which shows him grabbing, shoving, dragging and kicking Ventura in a hallway, two days after it was posted.

"It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that," Combs said in an Instagram video shared May 19. "I was f--ked up. I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video."

Ventura is one of more than two dozen people who have filed civil lawsuits against Combs over the past year for alleged sexual misconduct. The producer, who has for decades been known for throwing large, star-studded parties, has denied any wrongdoing.

Combs is currently in jail, awaiting a May 2025 trial for his federal case. Read on for more information about the matter...

After Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges on Sept. 17, his legal team proposed a $50 million bond package that included equity in his Miami home and his mother's house, as well as limited his travel to within certain parts of Florida, New York and New Jersey.

The defense also offered, per a letter obtained by E! News, to "walk the Court through a series of actions taken by Mr. Combs over the past six months that prove that he is not a risk of flight or a danger to anyone in the community."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky rejected the package and ordered that Combs be remanded without bail. He remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

"He is not a perfect person," Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo told the court, per NBC New York. "There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships."

Therefore, he added, his client was getting "treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for."

Overall, though, Combs' "spirits are good," the lawyer told reporters after court Sept. 17. "He's confident."

More than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant were seized during the March 2024 raids on Combs' L.A. and Miami homes, according to the 14-page indictment unsealed Sept. 17.

Per the indictment, the oil and lube were stockpiled for use in so-called "freak-offs," the term Combs used for gatherings in which he allegedly orchestrated sexual encounters between women he coerced and threatened into doing his bidding and male sex workers.

"I don't know where the number 1,000 came," his attorney Agnifilo said in the TMZ documentary The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment, which premiered Sept. 27. Pondering out loud why anyone would need so much, the lawyer added, "He has a big house, he buys in bulk. I think they have Costcos in every place where he has a home."

Costco, meanwhile, wanted no part of it, telling TMZ in a statement that "none" of its U.S. stores carry baby oil.

In May 2024, CNN published a clip of hotel surveillance video from 2016 that appeared to show Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie, born Cassandra Ventura. (The assault matched up with an alleged incident detailed in the lawsuit she filed against Combs on Nov. 16, 2023; both parties announced a settlement the next day.)

"I was f--ked up. I hit rock bottom," Combs said in a video posted to Instagram in response to the footage. "But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video." He had gone to therapy and rehab since, he added, and was "committed to be a better man each and every day."

During a Sept. 18 hearing on Combs' second request for bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said, per NBC News, that Combs allegedly sent a text in the days following the assault that read, "Call me, the cops are here." Another read, "I have six kids. Call, I’m surrounded."

Johnson did not say Cassie's name in court. She said that Combs' victim replied via text, "Sick you think it’s OK to do what you've done."

Bail was once again denied, this time by U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr.

On Oct. 3, the Combs case was reassigned to Judge Arun Subramanian because Carter was unable to accommodate a trial date.

During an Oct. 10 status hearing, Subramanian set a trial date of May 5, 2025.

Prosecutor Johnson told the judge she expected the trial to last roughly three weeks, but said there was still the possibility that a superseding indictment could lead to more charges against Combs.

Agnifilo said in court they'd need about a week to put on their case.

Meanwhile, the attorney said in the TMZ doc that Combs was looking forward to testifying in his own defense.

“I don’t know that I could keep him off the stand," Agnifilo said. "I think he is very eager to tell his story."

For free, confidential help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org.

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