A lawyer who’s been working on Diddy’s legal team since September of last year ahead of his trafficking and racketeering trial has filed a motion to be relieved as counsel.
As first reported by Deadline, the filing, dated Feb. 21 and available to read in full here, sees Anthony L. Ricco arguing that the granting of his withdrawal of counsel will not cause any delays in the case. As of this writing, a trial is scheduled to begin in May.
“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,” Ricco writes in the two-page doc.
To be clear, as Ricco himself points out in the filing, his exit from the legal team will not lead to Diddy lacking representation, as multiple additional attorneys still remain. The Bad Boy Records founder's legal team is headed by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos.
Complex has reached out to Diddy's reps for comment. This story may be updated.
Diddy was revealed in September of last year to have been charged in a three-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied the allegations.
This week, Diddy’s legal team took issue with prosecutors’ decision to allege that he had violated the Mann Act, arguing that “no white person has ever previously been prosecuted” in this manner.
Amid coverage of the allegations against Diddy, his legal team has also take action with two defamation lawsuits: one seeking $100 million in connection with the Making of a Bad Boy documentary, and another seeking $50 million over a NewsNation segment.