Diddy’s Lawyers Want Swift Action on Gag Order to Ensure 'Fair Trial'

Diddy’s legal team wants a judge to “immediately restrain” out-of-court statements from potential witnesses and their attorneys.

This ask is included in a recent filing from the Bad Boy Records founder’s lawyers, who argue that their client’s “right to a fair trial” is being compromised by what they say is “improper pretrial publicity.” In the documents, filed on Sunday and viewed by Complex, lawyers tell New York Judge Arun Subramanian the potential damage caused by such statements should be reason enough for swift action to be taken, namely a gag order.

“Over the past several days, a grand jury witness and his attorney have given multiple interviews – including outside the courthouse immediately following his apparent grand jury testimony – making false and outrageous claims, including that the witness possesses videos of [Diddy] involved in the sexual assault of celebrities and minors,” lawyers wrote in Sunday’s filing.

They continued, “This grand jury witness claims that he was subpoenaed after he made public statements on social media that he possessed videos of celebrities, including minors, being sexually assaulted. The subpoena also comes on the heels of his attorney’s statements that she had been asked to ‘shop a particular video’ and contact a celebrity ‘in the video to see if they were interested in purchasing the video before it became public knowledge.’”

This is in reference to claims made by Courtney Burgess, who’s been in headlines in recent days after giving multiple interviews. In Sunday’s filing, Diddy’s legal team asserts that the subsequent spread of these claims has “created the impression that such videos exist, which is false.” Furthermore, the lawyers argued, the government’s response to these claims is hurting their client’s chance at a “fair trial” following his September arrest in a trafficking and racketeering case.

“By treating these ridiculous claims as anything but a pathetic extortion scheme, the government is fueling the fire of online conspiracy theories and making it impossible for [Diddy] to have a fair trial,” lawyers wrote.

An unsealed indictment in September revealed charges against Diddy including racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and transportation for purposes of prostitution. If convicted as charged, both the racketeering and sex trafficking counts carry possible maximum sentences of life behind bars. Diddy has pleaded not guilty.

Last month, Diddy’s family—Quincy Brown, Justin Combs, Christian “King” Combs, Chance Combs, Jessie Combs, and D’Lila Combs—issued a statement saying they “stand united” as the 55-year-old remains in custody.

“We hold onto the truth, knowing it will prevail, and nothing will break the strength of our family,” the statement, shared to Instagram alongside a family photo, read. “We miss you and love you, Dad.”