Sean “Diddy” Combs faces 7 more lawsuits, bemoans “new wave of publicity” – National
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Seven new lawsuits filed against Sean “Diddy” Combsincluding one alleging the rape of a 13-year-old girl. They come as his lawyers tried again on Monday to secure his release on bail – and complained that a “new wave of publicity” was endangering his right to a fair criminal trial.
In lawsuits filed Sunday in state and federal courts, four men and three women, all anonymous, claim they were sexually assaulted by Combs at parties over the past two decades.
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty federal sex trafficking charges contained in an indictment unveiled the day after his arrest on September 16. The charges include allegations that he coerced and abused women for years, with the help of associates and employees, and silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, burning criminals and physical beatings.
He remained incarcerated awaiting trial on May 5 after two judges denied him bail following rulings appealing to the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals.
Combs’ lawyers asked a judge on Sunday to order potential witnesses and their attorneys to stop making statements that could prevent a fair trial.
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“As the Court knows, Mr. Combs has been the target of a relentless stream of allegations from potential witnesses and their attorneys in the press,” they wrote. “These potential witnesses and their attorneys have made numerous inflammatory out-of-court statements designed to assassinate Mr. Combs’ reputation in the press.”
Latest lawsuits are drawn from what lawyers say are more than 100 accusers who are considering legal action against Combs. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Tony Buzbee, announced the planned litigation at an Oct. 1 news conference and released a 1-800 number that accusers can call.
As before, Combs’ representatives dismissed the latest lawsuits as “clear attempts to gain publicity.” They said Combs and his legal team “have full confidence in the facts, in their legal defenses and in the integrity of the legal process.”
Combs “never sexually assaulted anyone, adult or minor, male or female,” they added.
One of the lawsuits filed Sunday alleges that a 13-year-old girl who was invited to a party by a limousine driver after the Video Music Awards in Manhattan in September 2000 was raped by a “male celebrity” and then by Combs as identified individuals. only while “Celebrity A,” a man, and “Celebrity B,” a woman, watched.
Another lawsuit alleged that Combs sexually assaulted a 17-year-old man during a party at a Manhattan hotel penthouse in 2022.
In the lawsuits, it was alleged that the plaintiffs believed they were given drug-laced drinks before being assaulted.
Meanwhile, Combs’ lawyers told the 2nd Circuit in a filing Monday that he would renew his request for bail in the lower court based on a “material change in circumstances.” They said the issues include “constitutional concerns arising from his conditions of detention and evidence contained in the recently produced discovery.”
In a filing last week, prosecutors told the appeals court that judges denied bail after evidence showed Combs “used methodical and sophisticated means to silence and intimidate witnesses throughout the racketeering conspiracy and during the government’s investigation.”
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© 2024 The Canadian Press
