American rap star, Sean “Diddy” Combs just went short of one member of his legal team as reports indicate that one of his attorneys, Anthony Ricco has decided to call it a quit.
This news comes as a bad one for the disgraced music mogul as his legal team readies for his upcoming trial on sex trafficking charges, which is scheduled for May.
According to documents obtained, Anthony Ricco requested to be dismissed from his role as one of the six attorneys representing the rapper in a motion filed to court on Thursday, February 20.
“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.” Ricco stated in the notice, adding that “It is respectfully but regrettably requested that the court grant the relief requested.”
“While I am aware that the Local Rule requires that an application for withdrawal of counsel is supported and granted ‘only upon a showing by affidavit or otherwise of satisfactory reasons for withdrawal,'” he wrote in the motion, “there are sufficient reasons (related to the protections afforded by the attorney/client privilege) for brevity in my application for withdrawal as counsel in this case.”
Ricco assured the judge his resignation wouldn’t delay the trial; “This motion for withdrawal of counsel, if granted,” he continued, “will not result in a delay of the present schedule for the commencement of jury selection and trial, or the present schedules for briefings of pre-trial legal issues.”
The most recent update comes one week after Combs launched his own lawsuit against NBCUniversal after Peacock (the media company’s streaming service) broadcast the Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy documentary.
Although Ricco has submitted his bid to step down, it will not be official until a judge signs off on it, as the judge must find sufficient reason to approve such a request.
Sean Diddy Combs has been behind bars without bail since his September arrest in 2024, a year after Cassie Ventura sued him for sexual abuse. He faces three charges: racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. The trial is set to begin in May.
