Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Is Denied Court Review of Alleged Media Leaks

Sean “Diddy” Combs lost his bid Monday for a hearing into alleged government leaks of information about his federal sex trafficking case.

Combs didn’t show that federal agents were the source for CNN’s broadcast of a hotel surveillance video appearing to show Diddy hitting a woman, the US District Court for Southern District of New York said.

The music mogul is facing federal racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges after being indicted in September based on allegations that go back to 2008. He has pleaded not guilty.

Combs sought an evidentiary hearing probing the alleged leaks and discovery into them. He argued they’ve led to prejudicial pretrial publicity that could taint a jury pool and deprive him of a fair trial.

The government presented compelling evidence showing CNN’s source wasn’t the government, Judge Arun Subramanian said. “And importantly, nothing in CNN’s presentation of the video even hinted that the source was a government agent,” the judge wrote.

Many people beyond government agents likely had access to the video, including Combs’s team and hotel employees, the judge added.

Combs’ claim that the Department of Homeland Security alerted journalists prior to a federal search of Combs’ home also doesn’t merit a hearing because it doesn’t involve matters before the grand jury, Subramanian said.

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure say that grand jury information can’t be disclosed by government personnel, the judge said.

And various quotes attributed to law enforcement agents don’t merit a hearing because they focused on the criminal investigation into Combs, not grand jury proceedings, and could be gleaned through public information, the judge said.

“The quotes in those articles that Combs finds most objectionable reflect statements that don’t themselves reveal any particular facts, rather than subjective opinions, and certainly not particular facts from the grand jury proceedings,” Subramanian wrote.

Agnifilo Intrater LLP, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, Sher Tremonte LLP, and Anthony L. Ricco of New York represent Combs.

The case is United States v. Combs, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:24-cr-00542, 12/16/24.