Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team has claimed the infamous tape showing the music mogul beating up his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was “substantially altered” by CNN — and then destroyed — before the network published it.
The disturbing March 5, 2016 video — published by CNN in May — showed the Bad Boy Records founder kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of an InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
Lawyers for the disgraced rapper are now claiming that they were able to “confirm, through a forensic video analysis,” that the tape “was substantially altered in significant respects,” according to a letter filed in Combs’ criminal sex-trafficking case in Manhattan federal court Thursday.
Combs, 55, is due to appear in court Friday for a hearing in the case.
The network covered the time stamp of the video, changed the sequence of it and sped it up “to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are,” the letter claims.
“As a result, the CNN videos do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question,” alleges the letter, first reported by Page Six.
The network bought “the only known copy” of the tape from the hotel, edited it in a free software and then “destroyed the original footage even though it knew about and repeatedly reported about the federal investigation,” Combs’ team alleges.
The hip-hop musician’s attorneys said they reviewed both a version of the tape provided by prosecutors and one they subpoenaed from CNN.
Combs’ lawyers say they plan to make a motion about whether the tape should be allowed into his May 5 trial.
Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, told Page Six he isn’t surprised that Combs’ team “would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial.”
“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,” Wigdor added.
The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper is charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking in a case accusing him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years to fulfill his sexual desires, including forcing women into drugged-up, days-long sexual orgies with male prostitutes, called “Freak-Offs.”
He’s pleaded not guilty and is behind bars without bail pending trial.
CNN didn’t immediately return a request for comment Thursday afternoon.