One of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ main lawyers, Anthony Ricco, has filed a motion to get off the disgraced music mogul’s legal team. “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 wrote in a letter to the judge (per The Hollywood Reporter). Combs has five other attorneys on his team, which is led by Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos.
Ricco offered few details about his decision to step away. “Without violating any aspect of the attorney/client privilege, or otherwise providing any details whatsoever on the grounds supporting the application, the government has been notified of the filing of the motion to withdraw as counsel,” his filing states. “The government takes no position on the motion seeking withdrawal of counsel for Sean Combs.”
Ricco’s attempted exit—which still needs to be approved by a judge before it becomes official—comes after Combs’ team attempted to have the case dismissed over racial bias. “This case is unprecedented in many ways, but perhaps most notably, and most disturbingly, no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution,” read a filing from earlier this week (via THR). “Sean Combs is an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, philanthropist and one of the most accomplished black people in this country.”
A “well-placed attorney” source for Deadline described Combs’ legal team as a “shitshow,” saying “they’re desperate to not go to trial.” Another insider observed, “They should be all over the prosecution and the indictment right now, instead (they’re) losing Ricco and claiming racism. Not a good look, if you ask me. Not a strategy.” Yet another source close to the Combs team denied any chaos behind the scenes, insisting that “nothing has changed” and Ricco’s departure “does not impact Mr. Combs’s legal team, which remains intact and fully engaged.”
More from A.V. Club