Several media outlets are asking the judge in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ case to allow the press to view video evidence of “freak-offs,” while attorneys in the case have argued in favor of sealing the evidence.
Attorneys Robert Balin and Alexandra Perloff-Giles filed the motion on Monday on behalf of ABC News, the Associated Press, CBS News, NBCUniversal News Group, The New York Times Company and other news organizations.
Why It Matters
Combs is charged federally with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He is accused of organizing drug-fueled parties called “freak offs,” where escorts and others were allegedly coerced into performing sexual acts.
On Tuesday, his former partner Cassie Ventura began her testimony. She said she was repeatedly assaulted during their time together. She also spoke about the freak-offs. She said she was given drugs such as cocaine and ketamine to help facilitate the encounters, with some lasting up to four days.
Elizabeth Williams via AP
What To Know
On April 25, before the trial started, the prosecution said some exhibits will be sealed, including some with sound. Prosecutors said they were “working on a way that the jury and the parties and the Court are able to hear that sound but not the public.”
“While the News Organizations appreciate that some trial exhibits in this case may be sexually explicit and sensitive for the alleged victims, the public and the press should be permitted to view and consider this evidence (which lies at the heart of the Government’s case), consistent with the First Amendment right of access to criminal trials,” Balin and Perloff-Giles wrote.
Attorneys for the media organizations asked the court to deny any requests to close the courtroom. The organizations are not requesting copies of the video exhibits.
Douglas H. Wigdor, an attorney representing Ventura, submitted a letter opposing the media’s motion.
“It would be profoundly unfair for Ms. Ventura’s brave choice to testify publicly and using her own name to require such a gross invasion of her dignity,” Wigdor wrote. “This is especially true because she will testify and be cross-examined about the content of the videos in an open courtroom, thereby undermining any argument that the videos themselves are necessary for the News Organizations to report on the substance of this evidence.”
Wigdor said the unsealing of this evidence could also have a “chilling effect” on potential victims and witnesses, “who would be discouraged from cooperating with law enforcement and participating in the judicial process for fear of severe public humiliation and re-traumatization.”
The prosecution and defense both argued in favor of sealing the evidence in court on Tuesday.
Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said the defense does not want to seal anything that is not “sexually explicit,” calling it a “privacy issue,” Variety reported.
“What would The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times do with this information if they had it?” Agnifilo said.
What People Are Saying
Wigdor, in a court filing: “The News Organizations do not cite any case, and nor are we aware of any authority, granting this unprecedented request in a sex trafficking case to unseal videos depicting coercive sex acts.”
Balin and Perloff-Giles, in a motion: “The News Organizations recognize that the videos are sensitive and that some or all of the alleged victims or other participants in the Freak Offs may have meaningful privacy interests. But given the central role that the videos may play in the determination of Mr. Combs’ guilt or innocence in this case, those privacy interests cannot overcome the public’s powerful First Amendment interest in monitoring the judicial process.”
What Happens Next
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian has yet to rule on the motion filed by the media organizations.
Combs’ trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. He is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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