Attorneys for Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs have made a shocking attempt to silence a grand jury witness who has made bombshell claims about the rapper’s so-called ‘freak-off’ parties.
Lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Tony Geragos submitted a letter to the federal judge overseeing the hip hop mogul’s sex trafficking and racketeering case, asking him to expedite their motion for a gag order on witnesses, citing a ‘deluge of improper pretrial publicity,’ ABC News reports.
It says the statements made by certain individuals are ‘undermining Mr. Combs’ right to a fair trial and the integrity of the grand jury proceedings.’
The lawyers hit out specifically at Combs’ former friend, Courtney Burgess, who has claimed in multiple interviews he has seen videos of major celebrities being ‘victimized’ at Diddy’s notorious ‘freak-off’ parties.
‘These stories have spread rapidly through the media and created the impression that such videos exist, which is false, and that the government is actually crediting his sensational claims, which is profoundly prejudicial,’ the lawyers argue.
Attorneys representing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs wrote a letter to the federal judge overseeing his case on Sunday, asking him to expedite their motion for a gag order on witnesses
They argue that by not treating Burgess’ claims as an ‘extortion scam,’ the government is fueling online conspiracy theories that make it impossible for Diddy to receive a fair trial.
The lawyers also note that the government has been investigating Diddy for almost a year, and must know the alleged freak-offs never involved men, minors or parties, according to TMZ.
Still, Burgess has testified that he has seen videos of at least two male stars who were ‘underage’ at the time being ‘victimized’ at the parties.
He said the videos are on a flash drive kept by Diddy’s ex, Kim Porter.
The attorneys hit out specifically at Courtney Burgess, who has claimed in multiple interviews he has seen videos of major celebrities being ‘victimized’ at Diddy’s notorious ‘freak-off’ parties
Burgess later told NewsNation’s Banfield on Thursday night that ‘all’ of the stars featured in the videos appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He did not name any of the celebrities said to be in the videos.
Burgess claims the videos were taken by cameras in Diddy’s homes that were not always obvious to those in the room.
He maintains that he was given the flash drive containing the videos by a friend who had obtained them from Porter.
It remains unclear whether Burgess has the tapes or if has handed them over to the authorities.
Burgess says he was friends with the rapper for 35 years, once loving him like a brother, but now sees him as the devil
Burgess says he was friends with the rapper for 35 years, once loving him like a brother.
Now, he sees him as the devil.
‘At the time, I guess he was ambitious. Then from ambitious [he] went to doing anything. And then [he] from doing anything to didn’t care about nobody – who he could beat,’ Burgess told Banfield.
‘And then he ended up turning into Lucifer. And today, I’m looking at him – I know you all call him Diddy or Puffy – I call him Lucifer.’
The rapper is now in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He denies all of the allegations, insisting he is being unfairly targeted.
His legal woes exploded last year when a video emerged that showed him kicking his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie, in a Los Angeles hotel.
Since then, dozens of men and women have come forward with damning allegations.
He was arrested earlier this year by federal prosecutors and has since been held in a Brooklyn jail.
