Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs want his accusers named publicly

Combs has denied all wrongdoing. Representatives for Combs did not respond to The Washington Post for a request for comment.

The hip hop impresario’s legal team argued in the motion that the names of the accusers should be made public, as that information is “essential for preparing Mr. Combs’ defense and ensuring a fair trial amid a media frenzy driven by anonymous accusations.”

The motion also accused the grand jury of leaks and the Department of Homeland Security of making false inflammatory statements connected to the leaked video of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. (Combs apologized for the incident and settled a lawsuit with Ventura, who had accused him of rape and abuse.)

The new motion comes as a team of lawyers plans to file more than 100 lawsuits alleging sexual assault against Combs. Attorneys Tony Buzbee of the Buzbee Law Firm, Andrew Van Arsdale of AVA Law Group and Antigone Curis of Curis Law are among those representing those 120 accusers, some of whom have already come forward.

Combs’s attorneys mentioned Buzbee’s lawsuits in the motion. “These accusations came on the heels of more than a dozen lawsuits previously filed and currently pending, several of which have already been discredited but only after irreparably damaging Mr. Combs’ character and reputation,” the motion reads. "These swirling allegations have created a hysterical media circus that, if left unchecked, will irreparably deprive Mr. Combs of a fair trial, if they haven’t already.”

But the motion, according to Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor and expert in criminal law, might not mean much long-term for Combs’s defense. If anything, it could be the opening salvo in what could be a long-running show to continuously appeal the federal government and possibly have the case tossed in a mistrial, she said.

It could also be the first step in Combs attempting to have the federal case tossed out, she said.

It’s unlikely the judge will order the accusers to be publicly identified, Cucolo said, mostly because courts often allow for alleged victims to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety. Similarly, the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act ensures victims the right to be reasonably protected from those they’re accusing of a crime.

According to Cucolo, the motion in the federal case could impact the civil cases and lawsuits against Combs. If plaintiffs are named in the federal case, new accusers (such as some of the 100-plus represented by Buzbee and others) might hold off from filing complaints against Combs out of fear of reputational harm, security concerns and public awareness.

“There is a lot of circumstances now that people feel safer stepping forward,” she added. “It might have a chilling effect though, where a person will back out.”

Additional lawsuits are expected. On Monday, Buzbee filed six complaints in the Southern District of New York that accused Combs of sexual assault. Two of the men who accused Combs alleged that assault took place at the entertainment mogul’s White Party, a celebrity-packed event that Combs hosted at his homes in the Hamptons.

Combs remains in federal custody Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been since his arrest last month. Combs has pleaded not guilty and appealed for bail on multiple occasions. A Manhattan judge set a trial date for May 5.