Diddy accuses US Attorney Tony Buzbee of misconduct

Embattled music mogul, Sean Combs, popularly known as Diddy, is taking another shot against the attorney for many of his sexual assault accusers, Tony Buzbee, arguing that the lawyer shouldn’t be allowed to handle cases in the federal district in which many of his suits are filed.

On Tuesday, Diddy’s attorneys filed a memo in New York federal court arguing against a motion Buzbee, a Texas attorney, made to be granted admission pro hac vice meaning that, even though he’s not licensed to practice in the jurisdiction in which the case takes place, he’d still be allowed to be involved.

The authors of Diddy’s letter, lawyers Mark Cuccaro, Erica A. Wolff and Michael Tremonte said that they “have never opposed a pro hac vice application, and we do not do so lightly here.”

But, they continued, Buzbee’s “egregious misconduct” forced their hand.

The team’s main argument centres around the fact that Buzbee filed nearly two dozen civil suits against Diddy in New York’s Southern District before getting permission to practice there. In addition, they argue that Buzbee’s public comments about Diddy, including on The Chris Hansen Show, “violated New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct by, among other things, repeatedly insisting that Mr. Combs is guilty of the criminal charges pending against him.”

Finally, they argue that Buzbee’s statements about pro hac vice were “deliberately misleading,” because he said that he was licensed to practice in New York state which is true but that the issue at hand was not about New York State, but rather about federal court in New York.

Diddy’s criminal case had recent developments as well.

In a court motion filed on Sunday, February 23, the embattled music mogul claims that the raids on his properties in Miami and Los Angeles were unconstitutional.

The filing states that the warrants used to secure the raids on the two properties were overbroad and included his iCloud account, mobile phones, and hotel room.

The filing claims that the warrant applications “presented a grossly distorted picture of reality,” and excluded facts that would have been favourable to Diddy.

The motion, which is heavily redacted, does not reveal what evidence was allegedly excluded from the warrants but that the applications deliberately excluded information that the overseeing judge should have seen, specifically about a witness Diddy’s team claims was fabricating evidence.

The filing states, “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.”

Prosecutors are also accused of engaging in “systemic deception” in order to obtain the warrants.

The motion states that evidence for the warrants came from a person only referred to as “Producer-1” who made allegations against Diddy that were “never credible.”

It is also claimed that “Producer-1” is not set to testify against Diddy in his upcoming sex trafficking trial.

The filing also repeats Diddy’s defence that “Victim-1” who is known to be his ex-girlfriend Cassie, was a voluntary participant in all sexual activity with the currently incarcerated record label boss.

Diddy wants all evidence obtained through the raids on his property via the warrant to be suppressed or for the judge to hold a hearing to discuss how the government obtained the warrants.

AFP