Off The Record
Diddy’s Attorney Suddenly Leaves The Case After Making A Startling Admission
Less than three months before the disgraced rapper’s trial, Diddy’s attorney resigned.
In a startling declaration, Anthony Ricco announced his decision to leave Diddy’s (real name Sean Combs) legal team.
The petition from yesterday (February 20) contained the following paragraph of the motion to withdraw as the 55-year-old’s representative: “On September 22, 2024, I was retained by the defendant, Sean Combs, to serve as his counsel, and I have served as his counsel since that time.”
It continued: “For the reasons set forth below, this motion for withdrawal is filed so that Sean Combs may move forward with his defense and to commence jury selection and trial without any delay.”
Listing the reasons for his release, Ricco says the action was taken after speaking with Combs’ lead attorney, Mark Agnifilo, and they decided he should step down.
Adding: “While I am aware that the Local Rule requires that an application for withdrawal of counsel is supported and granted ‘only upon a showing by affidavit or otherwise of satisfactory reasons for withdrawal,’ there are sufficient reasons (related to the protections afforded by the attorney/client privilege) for brevity in my application for withdrawal as counsel in this case.”
“Although I have provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.”
“This motion for withdrawal of counsel, if granted, will not result in a delay of the present schedule for the commencement of jury selection and trial, or the present schedules for briefing of pre- trial legal issues. As a result, there will be no lapse in representation, as Sean Combs will continue to be represented by five other attorneys of record.”
It comes after Diddy was arrested in September at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan and was later indicted by a grand jury.
Combs has been charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and racketeering, both of which he has consistently denied.
Combs and his associates are charged in the indictment with “using the prestige and authority of Combs’ position at the Combs Business to coerce, threaten, and entice women into Combs’ circle, frequently in the guise of a romantic relationship.”
Combs ‘transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally’ with the ‘assistance of members and associates,’ according to the document, and ‘then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to, among other things, ‘freak offs’.
Combs is still in custody pending his trial, which is scheduled for May 5.
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