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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Civil suits against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are mounting. This could be
bad for his criminal case, experts say
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN
Updated:
4:59 PM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs want prosecutors to disclose the
names of his accusers, telling the judge overseeing his sex
trafficking case that the government is “unfairly” forcing the
music producer “to play a guessing game” as the defense prepares
for trial.
Combs’ latest request comes amid a surge of new civil accusers who
have come forward in lawsuits after he was arrested and indicted last
month on three criminal charges.
In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian on Tuesday, Combs’ attorneys
wrote “the government has claimed that there are ‘multiple’
victims yet has not identified any.” They wrote that the task of
identifying the persons at the center of the government’s case is
complicated by a “slew of baseless allegations” from
“desperate” and “opportunistic” plaintiffs.
The US Attorney’s office declined to comment.
Combs, who is being held in federal custody in Brooklyn as he awaits
trial, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking,
racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors have accused Combs of orchestrating a “criminal
enterprise” through his business empire that engaged in sex
trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping and decades of physical abuse
against women, among other allegations. They allege that he did not act
alone. His trial is set to begin in May 2025.
A federal appeals court will hear oral argument on Combs’ effort to
be released from jail on November 4. Combs’ lawyers have asked the
appeals court to reverse the lower court’s decision denying him bail.
In the month since Combs was arrested, eight additional civil lawsuits
have been filed against him with allegations of sexual assault. One
legal expert told CNN that as prosecutors continue their investigation,
the deluge of lawsuits can potentially serve as a roadmap of sorts for
the government.
“If civil lawsuits with new victims are filed, that is definitely one
avenue that they could find out about them — if the government
didn’t already know about those victims,” attorney Jennie
VonCannon, a former federal prosecutor who has no affiliation with
Combs or any of his accusers, said.
“The sheer number of (accusers) increases the chances – by a lot
– of there being conduct that the government didn’t know about or
hasn’t charged yet, and that could tip the scale if they’re
thinking about superseding to add additional charges or to add other
defendants who were part of the alleged conspiracy,” VonCannon, who
has previously tried human trafficking and RICO cases for the US
Attorney’s office and is currently a partner at the law firm Crowell
& Moring, added.
Possibility of more charges
Since Combs’ arrest, prosecutors have indicated that their
investigation was ongoing, with US Attorney for the Southern District
of New York Damian Williams encouraging victims to “come forward and
to do it quickly” on the day against the musician was unsealed.
Then at a status hearing, Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson said
that a superseding indictment could affect the length of trial –
meaning additional charges or defendants could be added.
A source familiar with parts of the federal investigation said that new
accusers and witnesses have met with federal agents since Combs’
arrest.
The Department of Homeland Security and SDNY declined to comment on the
current status of the investigation or whether new charges would in
fact be filed.
Six of the new lawsuits came this week via Houston-based attorney
Tony Buzbee, who said in a that he was representing at least 120
new Combs accusers.
Since November 2023, at least 18 civil lawsuits have been filed
against Combs. The first lawsuit, filed by his former girlfriend
Cassie Ventura, was settled one day after it was filed. The others
remain active.
Combs had previously denied all wrongdoing alleged in the various
lawsuits. After CNN published a 2016 hotel surveillance footage that
shows Combs dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend Ventura, he
apologized in a video shared on social media.
Combs’ defense is trying to block that video from being brought into
evidence in his trial. In a , his attorney accused the government of
leaking evidence, including the surveillance video, to the media, but
provided no evidence of those claims.
The each made separate claims of sexual assault that allegedly took
place between 1995 and 2021. The anonymous accusers, all represented by
Buzbee and his co-counsel San Diego-based attorney Andrew Van Arsdale,
are both female and male. One accuser claims he was 16 at the time he
was allegedly assaulted at one of Combs’ infamous White Parties in
the Hamptons in 1998.
Combs’ attorneys did not respond to specific allegations in the
latest lawsuits, but denied the accusations, telling CNN that Combs
maintains his innocence.
“Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor,
man or woman,” his attorneys said in a statement this week.
Another accuser, who post-indictment, claims that her alleged sexual
assault was filmed without her consent. And another alleged victim, ,
said in her suit that she was drugged, sexually assaulted and
impregnated with claims as recent as 2024.
VonCannon said it is possible Combs was indicted before the
investigation was complete because prosecutors may believe he is
dangerous and had been tampering with witnesses, as . Combs’ team
pushed back on the government’s assertion that he had obstructed
witnesses for Combs’ detention.
“The government’s comments during Combs’ bail hearing about his
danger to the community seem to be part and parcel about why they did
this indictment so quickly,” VonCannon said. “They wanted to get
him off the streets because they considered him a danger to the
community. You could see a world in which they had what they needed for
what was charged in the indictment. But given the scope of the
indictment, even as it stands, it appears to be part of a larger
pattern of activity that would implicate possibly other crimes.”
More accusers feel emboldened to come forward with Combs behind bars,
according to two sources familiar with the investigation who spoke
with CNN.
Months before Combs’ arrest, that the majority of the plaintiffs
who had filed civil suits against Combs at that point had been
interviewed by federal investigators, as they were prepping witnesses
to testify in front of the grand jury.
An accuser of Combs, who has already met with federal investigators,
also told CNN that she has direct knowledge of more alleged victims
that have also met with federal agents since Combs’ arrest. This
accuser said that while more individuals are coming forward, there is
still a fear of retaliation, given Combs’ longtime stature as one of
the most powerful rappers and successful music moguls of all time.
“He still has some hold,” this accuser told CNN.
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