Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accuses government of leaking information about his indictment
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(NEW YORK) — ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire talks about the music mogul’s return to court on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs accused federal agents and prosecutors of unlawful leaks in a court filing on Wednesday.
Combs has been held without bail after he was arrested and charged last month with sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.
On the eve of his court appearance, the music mogul’s attorneys alleged leaks “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial,” the defense filing said.
Combs’ attorneys took specific aim at Homeland Security investigations over the searches of his homes and at prosecutors over a 2016 video depicting Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
The video was obtained by CNN in May and Combs acknowledged the video and apologized for his actions in the video.
Prosecutors cited the video in their indictment contending that when a hotel security worker intervened, Combs tried to bribe the worker with a “stack of cash” to keep the incident quiet.
The defense asked for a hearing and an exploration of the evidence. Prosecutors have not immediately responded to the request.
In a letter to the judge in a separate filing on Wednesday, Combs said he wants to stand trial this spring on charges of racketeering conspiracy, forced sex trafficking and prostitution.
“Mr. Combs continues to assert his right to a speedy trial and intends to request a trial date in April or May 2025, and as consistent with the Court’s trial schedule,” defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos wrote in a joint letter to the judge ahead of Comb’s court appearance Thursday.
Prosecutors took no position.
“The Government will be available for trial on a date set by the Court, although it remains within the Court’s discretion to set a trial date at the outset of the case or at a later time,” prosecutors wrote.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail and his attorneys have said they want the case to move quickly.
“The government arrested him, the government wants him detained, and we’re going to have to do everything possible to move this along,” Agnifilo said during a prior court appearance.
Combs, who is also facing several civil lawsuits from alleged victims, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said he will announce his decision on Thursday regarding the potential resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are each serving two consecutive life prison terms without parole.
Gascón is holding a news conference at 1:30 p.m. local time.
If Gascón recommends resentencing — in the wake of pressure from the brothers’ relatives, attorneys and supporters in the public — his decision will then go to a judge to decide whether Lyle and Erik Menendez will be released from prison, receive a lesser sentence or get a new trial.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades that the brothers already served and their behavior in prison. The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called them model prisoners who worked tirelessly to reform themselves with no expectation they’d be released.
The decades-old case began on Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, used shotguns they bought days earlier.
Prosecutors alleged the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.
Their first trials — which captured the nation’s attention with cameras in the courtroom — ended in mistrials.
In 1996, at the end of a second trial — in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said. “As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered.”
“It’s time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” she said.
Behind bars, the siblings “sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world,” added Jose Menendez’s niece, Anamaria Baralt. “Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”
The brothers “deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.
Despite the massive show of support, one relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Sept. 13, 2024. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Amid Florida’s state investigation into the apparent assassination attempt made against Donald Trump, Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told the former president additional planning and security procedures are needed for him to continue his golf outings.
Trump met with Rowe to discuss future protocol Monday afternoon, sources familiar with the briefing told ABC News.
Trump was encouraged by the acting director to give more or as much notice as possible for golf outings or any type of trip where he would be out exposed to the public.
With more notice, the USSS can request assets from local police to, for example, walk or search grounds before the Secret Service arrives and to station manpower at various locations, sources said.
It’s not clear what changes Trump may make to his golf schedule considering Rowe’s recommendation for increased security and planning.
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he signed an executive order to launch a state investigation into Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club, saying “we need trust and transparency.”
During a news conference, DeSantis said he has assigned the state investigation to the Office of Statewide Prosecutor under the supervision of state Attorney General Ashley Moody. The governor said the state has jurisdiction over the “most serious straightforward offense, which is attempted murder,” which could carry a life sentence if the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, is convicted.
DeSantis questioned the federal government’s ability to properly investigate and prosecute the second assassination attempt in two months on Trump.
DeSantis said Americans are still waiting to learn the motive for the first attempt on the former president’s life at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which a Secret Service sniper killed the suspect after he fired eight rounds with an AR-15-style rifle at Trump from the roof of a nearby building, investigators said. Trump suffered a bullet wound to the ear in the Butler incident and one rallygoer was killed and two were injured.
“In my judgment, it is not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law but not federal law,” DeSantis said.
The Department of Justice declined to comment when asked by ABC News for a response to DeSantis’ remarks.
Routh, a convicted felon, was arrested shortly after what FBI officials described as an “apparent assassination attempt” on Trump at the Republican presidential nominee’s Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Federal prosecutors announced Monday that the 58-year-old Routh has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh was allegedly lying in wait on the periphery of the golf course for nearly 12 hours when a Secret Service agent several hundred yards ahead of Trump spotted the barrel of a rifle poking out from the tree line and opened fire on the gunman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida said Monday. Routh allegedly ran to a car and drove off, leaving behind a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope and two bags, including a backpack, federal officials said.
A citizen helped catch Routh in neighboring Martin County after taking a photo of the suspect’s getaway car and giving it to police, officials said.
The FBI is leading the investigation of the incident and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case against Routh.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made his first on-camera remarks Tuesday addressing the suspected assassination attempt.
“I just want to note the FBI is continuing to investigate the apparent assassination attempt of the former president that occurred on Sunday in Florida,” Garland said. “We are grateful he is safe. The entire Justice Department, particularly the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office the Southern District of Florida, the National Security Division are all coordinating closely with our local, state law enforcement partners on the ground. We will all work together to tirelessly determine accountability in this matter. We will spare no resource in this investigation.”
On Monday, Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said at a news conference that the “U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice would be unable to carry forth our mission without the invaluable assistance of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.”
Acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe Jr. said Monday that Trump was never in the line of sight of the suspected gunman and that the suspect did not get off a single shot.
Trump praised the Secret Service for protecting him during a phone call on Tuesday with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl.
“I’m fine. The Secret Service did a good job, actually,” Trump said.
Asked by Karl if he thought the Secret Service has a good handle on protecting him during a heightened threat environment in the final days of the presidential campaign, Trump said, “Yeah, I do. I think Secret Service is doing a good job, and they did a very good job the last couple of days. On that event, I thought they were excellent.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agency oversees the Secret Service, also praised Trump’s protection detail during an event hosted by Politico on Tuesday.
“They should be commended,” Mayorkas said.
Mayorkas said agents from the Secret Service eliminated the threat quickly and the agency has increased the former president’s protection.
“We, the United States Secret Service, has indeed enhanced the former president’s security posture so that he is receiving a level of security commensurate with the fact that he’s a former president and on the campaign trail,” Mayorkas said.
Moody said the state investigation into the incident will be handled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol.
“The people of Florida deserve answers, and we will not stop until we know the truth and how we can best prevent similar attacks in Florida,” Moody said.
Moody said the state agencies will “investigate what happened when something went terribly wrong, when someone was allowed to remain on the periphery of a golf course in a tree line for 12 hours and get within 500 [yards]” of Trump.
Mark Glass, commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said his agency will “hunt for the truth.”
“Florida is a law-and-order state and we will not sit idly by while anybody stonewalls information sharing amongst our law enforcement entities,” Glass said without elaborating. “We know that if we want answers, we’ve got to go get them.”
Routh is being held at Federal Detention Center Miami, according to the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. He is expected to remain in custody there pending his detention hearing next Monday and likely his trial.
(WASHINGTON) — Federal law enforcement officials plan to announce criminal charges Friday in connection with the alleged Iranian hack of emails from members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The Iranians allegedly gained access to data and files taken from the email accounts of Trump advisers, which included internal documents used to vet Trump’s perspective running mate, the sources said.
The Trump campaign, as victims, would be notified of any criminal charges that happen, as is standard Department of Justice practice.
Sources tell ABC News the Trump campaign has been informed.
A Justice Department official declined to comment when reached by ABC News.
A Trump campaign spokesperson also declined to comment.
