‘No sound basis’: Diddy plays victim once again, but judge shuts down his government CNN leaks accusation

Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ career and reputation have been in a nosedive ever since footage of his alleged assault on Cassie Ventura was released by CNN. He claims this was leaked by the government and had requested an evidentiary hearing into the matter, but his request has since been denied on the grounds that there isn’t enough evidence to back up his claim.

The list of allegations against Combs is shocking and every day new horror stories and rumors about the rapper are shared. He currently stands accused of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs denies the accusations and has suggested that the government and the media are running a smear campaign against him to ruin his reputation. 

Footage of the Intercontinental Hotel incident was released five months before the musician’s arrest and depicts a 2016 incident in which Combs threw Ventura to the ground before kicking her and dragging her down the hallway. Diddy claims that the ‘most likely source’ of the footage would be the government and his team have accused the Department of Homeland Security of leaking the footage to tarnish his reputation.

Diddy has no evidence to support his claim

Judge Arun Subramanian told the musician and his team that they didn’t have a sound basis to support their conclusion when he denied the request for an evidentiary hearing.

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 defense claims that the footage is undermining Diddy’s right to a fair trial by “leaking confidential grand jury materials.” In the filing, they wrote that the footage has “resulted in damaging and highly prejudicial media coverage.” 

The video certainly has had an effect on how the public perceives Combs and may inform people’s opinions on him regarding the rest of the allegations, there’s no knowing where the leak originally came from. Federal prosecutors have denied having anything to do with the footage being released stating that they weren’t even in possession of the video before CNN publicly shared it.

Judge Submamanian added that if “specific information comes to light that they leaked prohibited information, action will be taken.” He also went on to say that it is not a “trial by newspapers” and that the court would decide Combs’ guilt based on the evidence presented at trial. So regardless of how the footage damages his reputation, it should have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the current case against the rapper.