Sean “Diddy” Combs will borrow a page from New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ legal playbook — by accusing the feds of leaking secrets about his bombshell sex trafficking case to the media, new court papers show.
Attorneys for the embattled hip-hop mogul wrote to a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday that they’ll soon demand a “hearing and other remedies” stemming from what they claim were “unauthorized” releases of grand jury details.
The alleged leaks from federal authorities “prejudiced” the public against Combs, 54, in the months before his Sept. 18 arrest, his defense team claimed.
Combs’ legal team did not reveal more details about their expected accusations — which would mirror those made by Adams — saying only that they intended to file a motion with the court “at some point today.”
The indicted New York City mayor claimed earlier this month that federal agents and prosecutors leaked details about their probe into his 2021 campaign in a bid to get witnesses to flip on him, and to damage his public standing.
News that investigators with Homeland Security Investigations had raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami received widespread media coverage back in March.
The raids turned up troves of evidence — including bags of narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant that Combs allegedly planned to use during what he called “Freak Offs,” marathon sex sessions in which he would lure women into having sex with male prostitutes while he watched, the feds claimed.
Combs, who is due back in court for a conference Thursday, is also pushing for his trial to unfold in April or May, according to Wednesday’s publicly filed letter.
Combs faces charges of racketeering and sex trafficking stemming from allegations that he led his label Bad Boy Records as a “criminal enterprise” for more than a decade, repeatedly physically abusing women in his orbit and bullying witnesses of his alleged crimes into silence.
The fallen music kingpin, who is being held without bail at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have argued that the sexual encounters mentioned in the indictment were all consensual.
Combs had a public reputation as a trailblazing hip-hop icon before his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura accused him of a slew of depraved crimes in a shocking civil lawsuit filed last November.
That case was settled within a day, but more lawsuits followed, and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York soon launched an investigation that led to Combs’ arrest.
Adams had awarded Combs an honorary key to the city at a ceremony in September 2023, two months before Ventura filed her lawsuit — a fact that Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams brought up while announcing Combs’ arrest.
“A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City,” Williams told reporters at a press conference. “Today he’s been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York.”
Combs returned the key this June at Adams’ request.
His lawyers filed a brief with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday night arguing for him to be freed from custody pending trial.
Combs’ attorneys did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.