It goes without saying that Diddy is in the midst of what's sure to be a long and difficult legal battle. The Bad Boy founder was arrested last year on charges related to alleged sex trafficking and racketeering. He's awaiting trial at the MDC in Brooklyn, and if convicted, he could be hit with a hefty sentence. Needless to say, the stakes are high, and his legal team has been hard at work preparing for what's to come.
Earlier this week, however, one member of his legal team decided to call it quits. In a motion filed Friday (February 21), attorney Anthony Ricco asked to be dismissed from the case. "Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs," his written statement says. "It is respectfully but regrettably requested that the court grant the relief requested." Ricco did not specify why he was asking to be dismissed from the case in his filing.
Why Did Diddy's Lawyer Quit?
Luckily, TMZ recently spoke with some sources who provided them with a bit more insight. Allegedly, conflict within the mogul's legal team is what prompted Ricco's desire to jump ship. The outlet reports that members of Diddy's team disagreed about how they should approach his trafficking accusations. Allegedly, Ricco also didn't think they should go to trial in May, and wanted to ask the judge for more time to preapre. His co-counsel allegedly disagreed, and thought they should move forward with the trial as planned.
Ricco's exit comes shortly after Diddy's team filed a motion to dismiss Count Three of a Superseding Indictment. They allege that he's a victim of racial bias, pointing out the citing of the Mann Act in particular. According to them, it has “a long and troubling history as a statute with racist origins, used to target Black men and supposedly protect White women from them.”
