(NewsNation) —Nearly two months after two homes belonging to hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs were raided by federal investigators, law enforcement has released few details as to potential charges the music producer could be facing.
Department of Homeland Security agents conducted the raids on March 25 at Combs’ multimillion-dollar mansion in Los Angeles and his Miami waterfront home.
The raids came as the producer faces a mounting list of civil lawsuits that allege abuse and sexual assault by multiple victims spanning over 30 years.
Combs has denied all the allegations.
Why was Diddy’s house raided?
While federal authorities have given sparse public comment as to what prompted the raids, NewsNation affiliate WPIX reported they were part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.
Authorities are also reportedly widening their probe to include potential witness intimidation, sexual assault and firearms violations, according to a New York Post report.
In an interview on “NewsNation Prime” in March, Dana Kennedy of the New York Post said her Homeland Security sources indicated the investigation into Combs is “the tip of the iceberg” and that “nothing is off the table.”
What happened during the raids on Diddy’s home?
Investigators seized firearms and phones belonging to Combs, though it is unclear how many devices were confiscated.
Along with a heavy presence of officers wearing protective gear and weapons, command trucks were parked outside both properties during the raids.
Combs’ sons, Justin and Christian “King” Combs, were handcuffed during the raid at their father’s Los Angeles home.
Justin’s mother, Misa Hylton, said she has retained high-profile attorney Jeffrey Lichtman to look into the “excessive use of force” used on Justin and Christian during the raid, which she called “unnecessary and certainly not required by this search warrant,” in an Instagram post April 2.
“(The force) used against my sons Justin and Christian is deplorable. If these were the sons of a non-Black celebrity, they would not have been handled with the same aggression,” she wrote. “The attempt to humiliate and terrorize these innocent young BLACK MEN is despicable!”
Hylton also posted security footage from the raid showing heavily armed federal agents entering Combs’ home and pushing Christian, who had his hands above his head, against a wall while handcuffing him.
Justin is seen walking with his hands above his head while a gun is aimed at him.
Combs’ attorney Aaron Dyer called the raids a “witch hunt” in a statement released one day later.
“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences,” he said. “There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”
While it’s still unclear exactly where Combs was during the searches, images from TMZ appear to show Combs walking around and coming face-to-face with federal authorities at the Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport.
What accusations is Diddy facing and could they be part of the raids?
The music producer has been slapped with seven civil suits in the last five months, each containing a multitude of disturbing accusations.
Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who had been in a decadelong relationship with Combs in the early 2000s, filed a lawsuit in New York federal court last November alleging sex trafficking, human trafficking, sexual battery, sexual assault and gender-motivated violence, among other causes of action.
Ventura alleged that she became lured into and eventually trapped in a pattern of abuse involving forced drug use, rape, battery and forced sex acts with male sex workers.
She settled the lawsuit with her former partner one day later, but her suit spawned several more alleged victims to come forward.
Hotel surveillance video from 2016 obtained by CNN appeared to show Combs violently attacking, kicking and shoving Ventura at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
In the video, Combs is seen running in a towel after Ventura who is seen standing in front of an elevator bank. He aggressively grabs and drags her down and then kicks her before picking up her luggage. He is then seen dragging her on the floor back to a hotel room as she braces her head.
Two days later, Combs released an apology video admitting he beat Ventura in the hotel hallway.
Combs said in the video, which he posted to Instagram and Facebook, that he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” the music mogul said. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Combs said, adding, “I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry.”
Ventura broke her silence almost a week after the release of the video saying she “will always be recovering from my past,” in an Instagram post.
“It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in,” she said. “I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.”
She also asked that everyone “open your heart to believing victims the first time” and that “Domestic Violence is THE issue.”
TMZ reported Ventura worked with federal investigators for weeks, potentially even before the raids. The outlet reported that she may have helped investigators establish probable cause to obtain search warrants.
In February, music producer Rodney Jones filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
In other lawsuits, a woman said the rap producer trafficked and raped her two decades ago when she was 17.Another woman said Combs filmed his sexual assault on her and later used it as “revenge p*rn” when she was a student at Syracuse University.
Combs’ lawyers filed a motion to dismiss some claims filed by the former Syracuse students April 26, stating that he cannot be sued because certain laws didn’t exist when the 1991 allegations were made against him.
He also filed a motionto dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old in 2003.
Some of the individuals who filed the suits are also working with federal investigators, TMZ reported.
Combs and his attorneys have denied all of the lawsuits’ allegations.
It is unclear if any of the civil suits are related to federal criminal investigations.
Federal prosecutors have interviewed three Jane Does and one John Doe in relation to sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms related to Combs, WNBC reported. Another three Jane Does have interviews scheduled.
Reports have also indicated that the federal probe into Combscould expand to include reinvestigating a 1999 shooting outside a New York City nightclub.
Roger Bands, who worked as Combs‘ head of security from 2003 to 2012, said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “CUOMO” that his ex-boss flew women across state lines for parties and invited men he’d “never seen before” into the hotel rooms.
“I have seen people that I haven’t ever seen in my life. Guys that I’ve never seen before go into a hotel room with them (Diddy and Ventura), and I know that only they was in the room. What actually went on or if they were forced to do it, or how much they got paid? I didn’t know about that,” Bands said.
In a documentary on the allegations surrounding the music producer that was released by TMZ, former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day said Combs’ “mistreatment was enough to have changed the course and direction of my entire life.”
Despite the disturbing allegations, BET News host Marc Lamont Hill noted in the documentary that the entertainment industry has been“eerily and noticeably quiet” about the Diddy investigation.
Music producer Suge Knight, who co-founded rival label Death Row Records and is serving a 28-year prison sentence, offered support to the embattled music mogul, saying he felt bad for Combs’ family.
Upon first hearing the allegations, Knights said he felt that it was “a bad day for hip-hop, a bad day for the culture,” and that “it makes us all look bad.”
Could Diddy be arrested?
Diddy has not been arrested for any criminal conduct, but charges could be forthcoming, legal experts say.
“They clearly have probable cause to believe that a federal crime has been committed and that evidence of that crime or multiple crimes would be found in the two locations that they searched. This is big news, and if I’m P. Diddy or his lawyers, I’d be very concerned at this point,” Nadia Shihata, who prosecuted R. Kelly for sex crimes in New York, told NewsNation.
What could the raid on Diddy’s home mean?
Authorities have thus far been tight-lipped on why they raided Combs’ homes.
Former NYPD Detective Derrick Parker also told NewsNation he knew an investigation involving Combs was in the works.
“The raid that you saw at the house was only the beginning,” Parker said. “The search warrant that they got from a magistrate and federal court to go into his property was already authorized.
“The government is gathering the cooperators that they have so far. And they’re giving them information, explicit information about P. Diddy and some of the things that he’s done. So, they’re taking that information, and they’re utilizing it in a big case against him.”
Several ofCombs‘ accusers have already been notified by federal investigators that they could be brought in to testify in front of a federal grand jury in New York City,CNN reported.
Most of Combs’ accusers who have brought suit have already been interviewed by federal investigators, some multiple times, the outlet reported.
Law enforcement arrested Combs’ alleged drug “mule,” Brendan Paul, 25, who was traveling with the producer at the Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport the same day the raids took place.
Paul, a former Syracuse University basketball player, was arrested on felony charges of possession of suspected cocaine and possession of suspected marijuana candy, per an arrest affidavit. The affidavit adds that officers found cocaine and edibles in Paul’s travel bags.
Law enforcement officials have not named Paul as Combs’ “mule” or drawn a connection between his arrest and the raid.
“Taking an overt step in investigating two homes means the investigation is well underway here,” Shihata said.
Where is Diddy?
Immediately after the raids, TMZ tracked the rapper’s personal jet. The outlet initially reported the aircraft was on the ground in Antigua. It’s unknown if Combs was on the plane.
“Antigua, as we know, is an extradition country, so probably not the best place to flee to if Diddy was indeed on that plane, if that’s where he is,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said during an interview on “Banfield.”
Weeks after, Combs was reportedly spotted at Topgolf in Miami with his 17-year-old daughters.
One day later, fitness coach Wes Watson posted a picture of himself and Combs at the Pura Vida restaurant in Miami.
“Came to just GRAB a SHOT of ESPRESSO and I Ran into DIDDY‼️,” Watson wrote.
On Easter Sunday, Combs posted a picture of his daughter, writing, “HAPPY EASTER from Baby Love” as the caption.
Combs shared a cryptic video on his social media in early May, which shows him standing on an overcast beach with heavy winds over a narration saying, “Steady in the storm. Looks bad, looks tough, but remains steady in the storm.”
The video also shows the camera moving down a white hallway, with scenes of him hugging someone and praying in a group circle.
“Not hysterical. Not frantic. Not anxious. Not fretful,” a voice states over the scenes.
Combs’ private plane, a black LoveAir USA LLC-owned Gulfstream G550, has vanished from public tracking site FlightAware. Oli Coleman, deputy editor for Page Six, told “Banfield” that people can remove their planes from tracking sites.
“They’re keeping his whereabouts pretty close to the chest,” Coleman said. “As much as you can track those things, you can also go to some trouble and black yourself out of them. On this occasion, his plane disappeared, gone private, as it were.”
NewsNation’s Caitlyn Shelton and Liz Jassin contributed to this story.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.
