Diddy’s Lawyers Are Trying to Downplay the Cassie Assault Video

Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

In May, CNN published security footage from 2016 that appeared to show Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking his then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel. Upon its release, Combs issued a public apology to Ventura despite having previously denied all allegations of abuse. “I was fucked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” Combs said in a now-deleted Instagram video. Now, Combs’s lawyers in his federal sex-trafficking case are claiming that the prosecution used an “edited, manipulated” version of that video as evidence to detain the disgraced music mogul.

Combs’s attorneys filed another motion on Thursday arguing that their client should be released on bail. A large portion of their argument relies on the version of the CNN video that was presented to the judge back in September. The defense argued that instead of showing the full version of the video, “the government submitted an altered video that omitted key scenes and presented events materially out of order.” It’s unclear if the defense is claiming that the video CNN published was also edited.

“The video the government submitted to the Court omits footage corroborating the defense account, changes the sequence of events in material respects, and does not accurately depict the events,” Combs’s team wrote.

The defense argued that there are two different narratives about the video, which shows Combs chasing after Ventura in a towel, kicking her, and dragging her down the hall by her sweatshirt. The prosecution has claimed that the video serves as evidence of a Freak Off, the organized sexual performances that are the centerpiece of the sex-trafficking charges against Combs. The defense says that the video actually “depicted a domestic dispute in which he ran down the hall of the hotel to recover his clothes and cell phone.”

Per the defense’s motion, the prosecution presented a “sensationalized CNN cut” of the video. Here’s what they say about the alleged unedited version:

The video demonstrates that (i) Mr. Combs in fact ran down the hall to retrieve a bag of clothes and a cellphone, (ii) he did not “drag [Victim-1] back down the hall to the room” as the government and its re-sequenced exhibit falsely suggest, (iii) he did not throw a vase at Victim-1 but only its contents (presumably flowers), and (iv) she was not “only … able to leave” once “security staff intervened.” 

“The video is not evidence of a coerced ‘Freak Off’ and sex trafficking, but rather a sad glimpse into a decade-long consensual relationship between Mr. Combs and Victim-1,” Combs’s lawyers wrote.

Combs’s trial for sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution is scheduled to begin on May 5 of next year.