Diddy's legal issues are far from over. On top of his criminal case, he's currently facing various civil lawsuits. This January, he even filed a lawsuit of his own against Miami-based attorney Ariel Mitchell. He accuses Mitchell of defamation, alleging that she spread “outrageous lies” about him during a NewsNation segment with Courtney Burgess.
During the segment, Burgess alleged that the late Kim Porter gave him 11 flash drives containing footage of celebrities taking part in "freak offs" involving minors. He also alleged that he had 54 pages from Porter's memoir, which her children insist are fake.
Now, Mitchell has asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. Per AllHipHop, her attorney Steven A. Metcalf II argues that she didn't make any defamatory statements during the segment. He also argues that she's shielded from liability due to her role as an attorney.
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“In addition to performing her role as an attorney for matters involving the preparation of litigation or for pending litigation, such vicarious attributions concerning Defendant Mitchell violate First Amendment principles separating actual speech from associative liability,” he alleges. “Mitchell cannot be said to have acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Photos and videos were produced, leading to a federal subpoena for this specific material. Then the government or members of the Southern District acted in manner to take possession of said materials, and thus the government essentially vouched for its existence of said materials."
“The evidence elicited at trial was extreme to the point where any living person’s reputation would be affected from such…while I salute his criminal defense team – the fact relevant here is that there are countless of other individuals with actual sexual allegations against Plaintiff, where any statement Mitchell made is pale in comparison and is merely a drop in the bucket," Metcalf also alleges.
Early this month, Diddy was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution. He was found not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering conspiracy. His sentencing is currently scheduled for October 3, 2025.
