Don't be surprised if Sean "Diddy" Combs and music exec Jimmy Rosemond file lawsuits against the LA Times for defamation.
If they do, it's because of the paper's now already infamous March 17 story linking them to a 1994 assault on late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Yesterday the Times and the story's reporter, Chuck Philips, apologized for the story which was based on forged FBI documents.
The "apology is, at best, a first step, but it doesn't undo the false and defamatory nature of the story, or the suspicion and innuendo that Mr. Combs has had to endure due to these untruthful allegations and the irresponsible conduct of this particular reporter," Combs' attorney Howard Weitzman said in a statement.
Jeffrey Lichtman, the attorney for Jimmy Rosemond is hinting that his client is thinking of filing a suit as well.
"While we are gratified that the LA Times has acknowledged basing their article on fabricated FBI reports, their apology does not go far enough. Too often public figures are libeled and thought to be unwilling to defend themselves from the lies of bullying, publicity-hungry journalists. The fact is that Chuck Phillips placed Mr. Rosemond and his family in a potentially dangerous situation due to his actions which amounted to more than mere neglect: his actions were done with reckless disregard for the truth and for that the LA Times will be held responsible."
The Times story cited previously undisclosed FBI documents, an unnamed informant interviewed for those documents, and Philips' own sources as saying Combs knew of plans to assault Shakur at the Quad Recording Studios in New York City in 1994.
The attack left Shakur with five gunshot wounds and sparked the widely reported East Coast - West Coast rap feud.
Source: EURweb.com
If they do, it's because of the paper's now already infamous March 17 story linking them to a 1994 assault on late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Yesterday the Times and the story's reporter, Chuck Philips, apologized for the story which was based on forged FBI documents.
The "apology is, at best, a first step, but it doesn't undo the false and defamatory nature of the story, or the suspicion and innuendo that Mr. Combs has had to endure due to these untruthful allegations and the irresponsible conduct of this particular reporter," Combs' attorney Howard Weitzman said in a statement.
Jeffrey Lichtman, the attorney for Jimmy Rosemond is hinting that his client is thinking of filing a suit as well.
"While we are gratified that the LA Times has acknowledged basing their article on fabricated FBI reports, their apology does not go far enough. Too often public figures are libeled and thought to be unwilling to defend themselves from the lies of bullying, publicity-hungry journalists. The fact is that Chuck Phillips placed Mr. Rosemond and his family in a potentially dangerous situation due to his actions which amounted to more than mere neglect: his actions were done with reckless disregard for the truth and for that the LA Times will be held responsible."
The Times story cited previously undisclosed FBI documents, an unnamed informant interviewed for those documents, and Philips' own sources as saying Combs knew of plans to assault Shakur at the Quad Recording Studios in New York City in 1994.
The attack left Shakur with five gunshot wounds and sparked the widely reported East Coast - West Coast rap feud.
Source: EURweb.com
