Jurors can see video of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs beating Cassie at hotel in 2016, judge rules

NEW YORK AP Prosecutors at Sean Diddy Combs upcoming federal sex trafficking trial can show jurors video of the hip-hop mogul hitting and kicking one of his accusers in a Los Angeles hotel hallway a judge ruled at a hearing Friday U S District Judge Arun Subramanian noted Combs lawyers failed to convince him that the explosive shield camera footage should be excluded Its relevance to the incident outweighs any promising prejudice to the -year-old defendant the judge announced Subramanian ruled on the video as he set ground rules for the May trial in New York City Combs sat between his lawyers in a yellow jail suit his formerly jet black hair now almost fully gray because dye isn t allowed at the Brooklyn federal lockup where he s been held since his arrest last September Prosecutors disclosed that Combs was offered a plea deal which he rejected The video shows Combs wearing only a white towel punching shoving and dragging his former protege and girlfriend R B singer Cassie and throwing a vase in her direction on March at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles Century City district The video wasn t residents until CNN obtained and aired it in May The structure turned the footage over to prosecutors in response to a subpoena Prosecutors say it s critical to the matter Combs indictment alleges he tried to bribe a hotel protection staffer to stay mum about the video Cassie in a since-settled November lawsuit alleging years of abuse claimed he paid for the footage The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie whose legal name is Casandra Ventura did Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a arrangement of associates and employees while silencing casualties through blackmail and violence including kidnapping arson and physical beatings Federal prosecutors allege the Bad Boy Records founder used his power and prestige as a music star to induce female sufferers into drugged-up elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers in events dubbed freak offs Earlier this month prosecutors obtained a new indictment that added two charges to Combs event and accused him of using force fraud or coercion to compel a woman to engage in commercial sex acts from at least to Prosecutors say they expect four accusers to testify against Combs They contend the assault on Cassie depicted in the video happened during a freak off Combs lawyers have argued that the footage was nothing more than a glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship Combs apologized after CNN aired the footage saying in a social media video announcement that he was truly sorry and that his actions were inexcusable I take full responsibility for my actions Combs mentioned adding that he was disgusted then when I did it I m disgusted now In seeking to exclude the video from the trial Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo argued that the footage was deceptive and not in accordance with the actions that took place Agnifilo commented certain portions of the video were sped up by as much as or taken out of order making it a misleading piece of evidence Prosecutors communicated Subramanian that they were working with Combs lawyers to come up with a suitable version that can be shown by jurors They reported that includes having a video expert review the footage and slow down the clips to reflect the speed at which the event shown definitely transpired Source