Will Video of Diddy Kicking, Dragging Cassie Help Federal Investigation Into Sex-Trafficking Allegations Against Him?

The rapper is seen kicking and assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a video months after she accused him of rape and sex trafficking in a since-settled lawsuit

A graphic video has surfaced showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs kicking, hitting and dragging his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie, in a 2016 incident while the rapper is mired in several sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations.

The hotel surveillance video was released by CNN on Friday and shows Combs running after Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura as she waits outside an elevator with her bags at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Calif.

Combs runs through a hotel hallway in a towel, the video shows, before hitting Venture in the head, shoving her to the ground and kicking her at least twice while she lies there. He is then seen dragging her by the hair and throwing a glass object at her in later parts of the video.

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The video was released at a time when Combs is embroiled in lawsuits and investigations over alleged sexual abuse and human trafficking. But the video of an assault will likely not impact the federal investigation into human trafficking, says Lou Shapiro, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney and expert.

“I think it has a lot more effect on the court of public opinion than it will in a court of law,” Shapiro tells PEOPLE.

“[The video] doesn’t have much relevance to the overall pending federal investigation into sex trafficking,” Shapiro says, adding that the video can be used to make a case that Combs has a “propensity to violence.”

“So, if that is sort of his personality, maybe… it's relevant to show that he has that sort of side to him but it's not a smoking gun,” Shapiro says.

The parameters of malice are different for sex-trafficking crime than they are for sexual assault, which would likely make this video irrelevant to that investigation.

“It's just two different types of crimes. It's different degrees and only so much of a connection can be made,” he says.

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The video mirrors descriptions of violence Ventura gave in a lawsuit she filed against Combs in November, detailing years of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

Combs promptly responded to the lawsuit and announced the following day the two resolved the conflict to their "mutual satisfaction," PEOPLE reported at the time. They did not provide any further details about the terms on which they settled.

It's unclear what led to the release of the video and how CNN gained access to it; Diddy allegedly paid the hotel $50,000 to buy the video in the aftermath.

Ventura stands to gain little from the release, as per Shapiro's analysis. She can't bring charges against him as the statute of limitations in California has expired. But the video puts Combs in a tight spot, given that he has so far denied all the allegations against him.

“He probably wants to say something, even apologize for it,” Shapiro says. “But if he makes any kind of admission, then that potentially could be used against him in a trial proceeding.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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