Diddy Trial

Diddy was trying to influence witnesses and the prospective jury of his peers while behind bars, so say prosecutors who filed legal docs in an attempt to justify raiding his jail cell.

As we reported, the feds raided Diddy's cell late last month and, according to Diddy's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, seized attorney-client privileged material from his cell and gave it to prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office begs to differ, and in new docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy used unauthorized methods of communication to get third parties via 3-way calling on monitored phone lines, use of other inmates' phone access codes, and use of a third party text messaging providers. In short, prosecutors say Diddy was trying to rig his trial.

Tony Buzbee, the Texas attorney repping more than 120 of Diddy's alleged victims, is firing back at a lawsuit accusing him of extortion ... he says he won't be intimidated or have his clients silenced.

Here's the deal ... Buzbee is being sued by a prominent individual identified only as "John Doe," who claims Buzbee is shamelessly trying to shake him down by threatening to file a lawsuit packed with false allegations related to alleged sexual assaults at Diddy parties.

Buzbee and his law firm aren't backing down, though, and he tells TMZ ... "We won't allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors."

A prominent figure is suing the lawyer repping more than 120 of Diddy's alleged victims, saying the attorney is "shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him," while threatening a lawsuit packed with "wildly false horrific allegations" if he doesn't pay up.

The plaintiff, identified only as "John Doe," filed his own lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court Monday morning ... describing himself as a "high profile individual" who knew Diddy and attended events along with the mogul. He's being repped by one of the premier law firms in the country -- Quinn Emanuel.

The man says attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm threatened to unleash "entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault -- including multiple incidents of rape of a minor, both male and female -- against Plaintiff if he refuses to comply with their demands." The suit goes on to say Buzbee's demand letters alleged the plaintiff raped the males and females while they were under the influence of drugs ... at parties hosted by Diddy.

Diddy performed a bird sacrifice hours before he was acquitted on all charges related to the infamous 1999 club shooting with Shyne ... at least according to Diddy's former bodyguard.

The story, as told in a new Hulu documentary about Shyne, goes like this ... Diddy was on his way to court to learn the verdict in his shooting case when he had his driver make a pit stop in Central Park.

A man was waiting for Diddy and when Diddy approached the guy, Diddy dropped to his knees ... and smoke started swirling around Diddy. The bodyguard, Gene Deal, thinks the burning substance was sage.

Diddy's legal team says the feds raided his jail cell and seized a bunch of privileged materials, including notes to his lawyers about his upcoming trial ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy's lawyer Marc Agnifilo claims they just found out Friday night that prosecutors are in possession of attorney-client privileged material that was seized from Diddy's jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Agnifilo claims the privileged materials include Diddy's handwritten notes to his legal team concerning defense witnesses and defense strategies for his upcoming trial in May.

Diddy is getting creative behind bars to sway a potential jury in his favor -- and he's even used his recent birthday celebration to obstruct justice in his federal criminal case, prosecutors say.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... federal prosecutors say Diddy -- who is currently behind bars -- recruited family members to plot and execute a media campaign around his 55th birthday earlier this month for the purpose of influencing a jury at trial.

--You may recall ... Diddy's 7 kids posted a gushing Instagram video tribute to the music mogul and they let baby Love take center stage in the singing of "Happy Birthday." The children also wrote in the caption, "Happy Birthday Pops, we love you! 🎂❤️."

Diddy and Kim Porter's twin daughters are sharing an emotional tribute on the anniversary of their late mother's death ... and they still can't believe she's gone.

D'Lila and Jessie honored Kim with a social media post Friday, saying ... "We can't believe it’s been 6years without you. We think about you every single second of the day. We love and miss you so much words can’t even explain."

Diddy's family is obviously going through a lot as he sits in jail in New York awaiting his criminal trial, and the twins say they wish Kim was here with them, but know her "spirit will be around forever!!"

Diddy is coming out swinging against former artist Shyne's continuous media campaign that he was scapegoated in their 1999 shooting trial!!!

Shyne's recent supercharged run of interviews featured him as "a sacrificial lamb" in a "demonic" plot ... but Diddy's legal team is slamming those claims once and for all.

A rep for Diddy tells TMZ Hip Hop ...  "Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow’s allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to 'take the fall' or 'sacrificed' him by directing witnesses to testify against him. These claims are unequivocally false."

Shyne hit the NYC pavement hard this week, reminding everyone Diddy ruined his life following the infamous 1999 club shooting -- the actions of a "demonic" man!!!

The former Bad Boy Records star sat for "Good Morning America," and the current Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives said he wasn't surprised about Diddy's current incarceration.

Shyne says Diddy evilly left him to rot in prison, serving nearly 9 years ... he could've done 25!!!!

The attorney who is representing more than 120 alleged victims against Diddy says he's setting his sights on other high-profile people who attended "Freak-Offs" -- even if they did nothing illegal.

Attorney Tony Buzbee appears in our new Tubi documentary, "TMZ Presents The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs" ... and he is going full bore. Buzbee says if there were people at the freak-offs who watched people who were sexually abused after being drugged and they did nothing to stop it, they're just as guilty as the perpetrators.

That said, Buzbee tells us there are other celebrities, politicians and businesspeople in his crosshairs.

10:30 AM PT -- Just like we predicted, Diddy's kids got wind of Meek Mill's deflection and let's just say Justin Combs is severely disappointed in the Dreamchaser!!!

Meek Mill has officially ended an era -- by distancing himself from all things Diddy-related, and he did it with nothing but disgust in his voice!!!

Meek was out in the streets Wednesday and Hood Report gave him the open floor ... where he pounced on the opportunity to slander Diddy's name in the wake of the allegations that got him locked up!!!

"No Diddy Gang, Meek Milly in real life -- don't ever disrespect me, ya heard?" Meek growled for the cameras ... a moment that's sure to go viral.

Ray J says he's been contacted by multiple celebs who are so scared about their affiliation with Diddy ... they're going to some of the alleged victims and paying them to keep quiet.

Ray appears in TMZ's new TUBI documentary, "The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs" ... and says some high-profile people are trying to cut alleged victims off at the pass, even before they make money demands.

Attorney Tony Buzbee also appears in the doc and reveals he has sent a demand letter out to various high-profile people with an ultimatum ... pay up, or face a lawsuit.

Tekashi 6ix9ine may be holed up in the same MDC tombs as Diddy but that doesn't mean they're dishing the latest music industry gossip -- we're told they're in totally separate areas!!!

Lance Lazzaro, 6ix9ine's attorney, tells TMZ Hip Hop the rumors of Diddy and 6ix9ine hanging together in prison are totally false ... we're told 6ix9ine's currently in isolation because of his notoriety, and that includes being separated from other famous people!!!

Despite the confinement, Lance assures us 6ix9ine is not happy being locked up ... but he is happy about being one step closer to going home.

10:54 AM PT -- Diddy's attorneys tell TMZ ... "Ms. Tanea Wallace has no credibility and her claims about 'freak offs' and minors are completely and categorically false. As we've said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous. Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that the accusations against Mr. Combs are pure fiction."

A woman who says she was at what she believes was a Diddy "Freak Off" says there were minors present ... minors surrounded by adults.

Tanea Wallace, an aspiring singer-songwriter, says she was invited to Diddy's party by a Saudi Prince who flew her from L.A. to Miami. She spoke with TMZ as part of our new documentary, "TMZ Presents The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak Offs."

Tanea describes in vivid detail how she observed clusters of people having sex ... many of whom seemed high on drugs or alcohol. Mind you, she says this was at 7 AM ... Tanea says the party had been going all night.

Kristin Chenoweth is standing by her prayers for Diddy ... even though the rapper is currently in federal detention, awaiting trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

We caught up with the Broadway legend in New York City and asked her if she is still keeping Diddy in her thoughts ... given the gravity of the charges brought against him in September.

Per Kristin, she's "still praying" for Diddy ... but acknowledged the case against the Bad Boy Records founder is "really bad."

Diddy won his first Grammy Award memorializing The Notorious B.I.G., riding The Police's already established hit ... and Sting says there's no need to disrupt history!!!

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sting was asked about potentially canceling Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You" ... the 1998 smash hit that sampled his group's "Every Breath You Take" from 1983.

Diddy's catalog has been streaming well since his indictment and arrest, which would naturally include one of his biggest hits -- much to the approval of the legendary rocker.