Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Mark Mainz
Topics: Celebrity, Los Angeles, Music, US News, Diddy
Emily Brown
Topics: Celebrity, Los Angeles, Music, US News, Diddy
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
The legal team representing Sean 'Diddy' Combs has challenged the search warrants used to investigate two of the rapper's properties and called for the evidence obtained there to be suppressed.
Combs' defense attorneys made their claims in a new court filing on Sunday (February 23), as Combs faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and prostitution following allegations made by at least three different women.
As part of the investigation into Combs, authorities searched two of the rapper's properties in Los Angeles and Miami.
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An indictment later alleged that during these searches, investigators uncovered items which appeared to relate to allegations of 'Freak Off' events which involved sex-trafficking victims taking part in group sex acts.
The items are said to have included lubricant, more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil, drugs and three AR-15 rifles.
However, Combs' attorneys have now argued that the evidence federal prosecutors obtained by searching his homes, as well as his iCloud accounts, phones and a hotel room, must be suppressed because the search warrants they were acting on were 'unconstitutional'.
According to ABC News, the defense has claimed that the applications for the search warrants left out facts that could have otherwise worked in Combs' favor, in turn presenting what the defense described as a 'grossly distorted picture of reality'.
The defense argued that the judge who approved the warrants should have had access this additional context, with lawyers calling attention to details featured in the applications that came from an unnamed person identified as 'Producer-1'.
The accusations regarding Producer-1's time working for Combs were 'never credible', the lawyers claimed, while also noting that prosecutors did not plan to call Producer-1 to testify.
The motion, which has been heavily redacted, does not publicly state what facts were allegedly left out by the prosecutors when making their applications.
The defense wrote: "It worked -- the government got its warrants, leaked damaging information, and then executed its military-style raids at Combs's residences. Here, rather than giving the reviewing magistrate a fair summary, the government hid exculpatory evidence to bolster its case."
In filing the motion, the defense attorneys aim to either suppress all evidence obtained through the searches, or grant a hearing to examine the government's conduct in obtaining the warrants.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, with attorneys previously claiming that the 'truth will prevail' when his case goes to court.
UNILAD has attempted to reach out to the Manhattan District Attorney's office for comment.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org