Lawyers for Sean Diddy Combs have questioned the authenticity of a hotel CCTV footage which captured the embattled music maker allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie’s Ventura.
Ahead of his pre-trial hearing, representatives of the Bad Boyz Records founder reportedly sent a joint letter claiming the footage obtained by CNN for a hotel was altered.
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“The defense has confirmed, through a forensic video analysis of the CNN footage that the government provided to this Court and of the footage provided by CNN in response to the defense subpoena, that all CNN video footage was substantially altered in significant respects,” the letter available to some outlets read.
“This includes covering the time stamp and then changing the video sequence…It also includes speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are. As a result, the CNN videos do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question,” it added.
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Diddy’s defense said it had “confirmed” that CNN bought the only known copy of the hotel’s surveillance footage, then “uploaded that footage into a free editing software, altered the video; and then destroyed the original footage even though it knew about and repeatedly reported about the federal investigation.”
Representatives for CNN stated that the claims made by Combs’ team.
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“CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source… CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested,” a spokesperson for the company was quoted.
Cassie Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, has indicated that Diddy was making “a disingenuous argument” regarding the video so it would be excluded from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial.
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“I am confident that the video fairly and accurately represents what happened, will be admitted into evidence, and that Combs will be held accountable for his depravity,” Cassie’s lawyer added.
Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend and former signee, had filed a lawsuit against the Bad Boy Records founder for physical assault and rape. The case was settled the following day despite Diddy denying the claims.
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Months later, CNN obtained CCTV footage of Diddy dragging, kicking and hitting Ventura in an LA hotel, lending credence to Ventura’s allegations. Diddy later apologised for his “inexcusable” behaviour in the video, which Ventura’s lawyers called “disingenuous”.
Diddy is awaiting trial for crimes including sexual trafficking and racketeering. His legal team has denied all allegations levelled against him.
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One of his attorneys, Anthony Ricco, recently stepped down from the case. He said that although he had provided Sean Combs with “the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances” could he continue to serve as counsel for the accused.
