Sean “Diddy” Combs has pleaded not guilty to a new indictment, which adds allegations of threatening and exploiting employees.
Combs, 55, returned to court in Manhattan on Friday for a pretrial hearing where he was arraigned on the superseding indictment.
The indictment accuses Combs of forcing employees to work long hours with little sleep and using threats to get them to comply with his demands, NBC News reported.
Lawyers on both sides also discussed in court Friday the hotel security camera footage obtained by CNN that shows Combs beating his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura in 2016.
Combs’ lawyers allege that “all CNN video footage was substantially altered in significant respects,” including “covering the time stamp and then changing the video sequence” as well as “speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are.”
They continue: “As a result, the CNN videos do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question.”
A CNN spokesperson denied altering the video, and pointed out that the CNN story broke several months prior to Combs being arrested.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian told the lawyers Friday that they need to discuss whether the video can be used during the trial – and if they can’t reach a compromise, then both sides will need to file motions.
Combs is being held at a federal detention center in New York City as he awaits trial, which is set to start on May 5.
The embattled music mogul previously pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The judge set the next pretrial conference for April 25.
