By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors rejected Sean "Diddy" Combs' accusation that government agents leaked evidence to undermine his defense against criminal sex trafficking charges and said the music mogul doesn't deserve a list of names of his accusers.
In a Wednesday night filing in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said Combs was "grasping at straws" in alleging that he has been victimized by leaks, including a 2016 hotel surveillance video of him physically assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie.
Prosecutors said Combs could not show that any information was leaked from the grand jury investigating him, adding that Combs knows the "highly probative" video came from elsewhere.
They also called his demand for accusers' names a "thinly veiled" effort to hijack the government's case and help him defend publicly against the more than two dozen men and women pursuing civil lawsuits over his alleged sexual misconduct.
"This improper request should be denied in its entirety, particularly here, where there are serious and ongoing concerns of victim and witness safety, tampering, and intimidation," prosecutors said.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, and has denied wrongdoing in the civil cases.
Prosecutors said he will receive significant amounts of evidence including a witness list as his May 5, 2025, criminal trial grows closer.
A lawyer for Combs declined to comment on Thursday.
Combs' legal team has argued that the Bad Boy record label founder should not have to "play a guessing game" to defend against "baseless" claims in the civil lawsuits by accusers, many using pseudonyms, who seek big paydays.
In Wednesday's filing, prosecutors also said Combs' request for a gag order against witnesses and lawyers was moot.
They cited an Oct. 25 order by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian demanding both sides' compliance with local court rules.
Combs' effort to unmask his accusers received a boost on Wednesday, when U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in Manhattan said a woman suing Combs over an alleged 2004 rape cannot remain anonymous.
Vyskocil cited Combs' interest in investigating the woman's credibility, and the public interest in open court proceedings.
Other judges may choose to apply her reasoning, which applied a federal rule governing civil cases.
Combs was arrested on Sept. 16, and is appealing his more than six-week jailing at troubled Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, where two detainees were fatally stabbed this year. He turns 55 on Monday.