Legal experts discuss Combs investigation
The federal investigation into Sean “Diddy” Combs and bicoastal raids at his homes have brought up questions about the hip-hop music mogul.
Not much is known about what Homeland Security Investigations agents were looking for as they searched his Los Angeles and Miami homes on March 25 and whether Combs – who has not been arrested – might be charged with any crimes. Combs’ lawyer, Aaron Dyer, maintains his client’s innocence and criticized what he called “a “witch hunt based on meritless accusations” in a statement March 26.
The only available context so far is that the Bad Boy Records founder is facing multiple civil lawsuits filed in recent months that claim the music mogul raped or sexually assaulted several alleged victims over the past few decades. Combs has denied all accusations.
According to the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press, however, the searches are part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation out of New York.
USA TODAY spoke with several legal experts about what the raids entailed, what they might mean for the music exec and businessman what the implications may be.
Diddy’s homes raided
On March 25, a helicopter for Los Angeles news station Fox 11 captured footage overhead as law enforcement personnel fanned out on the grounds of what purportedly was Combs’ Holmby Hills mansion in West LA.
Videos showed Homeland Security Investigations agents entering the home with weapons drawn and removing several people inside while executing the search warrant. Los Angeles Police Department vehicles and officers also cordoned off the residential street.
When reached for comment, a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY that “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”
So what does executing “law enforcement actions” mean?
According to Rebecca Lonergan, a professor of lawyering skills at the University Southern California Gould School of Law , HSI taking the helm in the raids – combined with the context of the recent civil lawsuits against Combs – means it’s likely prosecutors are conducting a sex trafficking investigation.
“It means they’ve got evidence of criminality,” she says. “They’re looking for corroboration of that evidence.
“The fact that they are doing coordinated execution of search warrants simultaneously in multiple locations means their investigation is fairly far along,” she adds. “Search warrants generally happen pre-indictment, before charges, but they don’t happen as one of your first steps because as soon as you do a warrant, you’re openly targeting the person.”
The law enforcement raids are a serious step against Combs, says Tre Lovell, an entertainment attorney with Los Angeles-based The Lovell Firm.
“The way they orchestrated (the raids) – it was two different homes, same exact time with a clear organizational element – shows a couple of things,” Lovell says. “A, they’re very serious, and B, they needed the element of surprise because they want to avoid the destruction of evidence, so they needed the surprise on both coasts.”
The raids could mean there’s more legal action to come for Combs, says Judie Saunders, an attorney who specializes in sex abuse and human trafficking cases.
“When a search warrant is executed by a federal agency, that’s an immediate indication to the individual or individuals that there is probable cause to believe that a federal crime has been committed,” Saunders says.
“And how that immediately impacts the individual – in this case of Mr. Combs – is that there could be pending charges that will be levied against him in the near future, him or his business.”
Those charges could also mean his business assets are frozen and his movements are restricted, Saunders says.
What does an HSI warrant entail?
According to Lonergan, obtaining search warrants for raids like those conducted at Combs’ homes involves handing a federal judge “a sworn affidavit with sufficient evidence to believe there’s probable cause, to a pretty high standard … (and) that there’s evidence of crimes at the locations you’re going to be serving the warrants.”
The searches at two locations required sign-offs from multiple federal judges. Prosecutors assigned to the investigation would review this affidavit before it heads to the judge for a signature to ensure they agree there’s sufficient evidence for a warrant.
HSI agents will investigate a potential case, and any charges would be brought by the Department of Justice.
“This is a full-on open criminal investigation,” Lonergan says. “Those different judges in those different districts all found probable cause in each district to believe there would be evidence of criminality in his houses.”
Will Diddy be arrested?
In his March 26 statement, Combs’ lawyer confirmed that “despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way.”
That Combs was not detained doesn’t mean he won’t potentially face charges.
It’s possible nothing was discovered in the houses to corroborate their investigation. Or, as Lonergan says, Combs is not deemed a flight risk as prosecutors take their time building a case.
Regardless, agents would have arrested Combs if prosecutors were ready to indict him on criminal charges.
“There’s also another possibility they go in and they find a bunch of evidence. Then they’ve got a whole bunch of new stuff to investigate,” Lonergan says.
“The bigger the cases the longer they take to come to charges. And in all honesty, when it’s high profile, the Department of Justice (and) the prosecutors are slower to charge because they don’t want to charge something wrong in the public eye.”
Do the lawsuits from alleged victims play a role in probe?
Since Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, sued him in November, accusing him of sexual assault, physical abuse and sex trafficking, three other women and one man have come forward with their own lawsuits.
Combs and Cassie settled for an undisclosed amount a day after her lawsuit was filed. Within a week, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging she was drugged, sexually assaulted and abused, as well as a victim of “revenge porn,” in 1991. That same day, an anonymous accuser claimed Combs and singer Aaron Hall sexually assaulted her and her friend in 1990 or 1991. A few weeks later, an anonymous accuser filed a lawsuit in December alleging Combs and his associates raped her when she was 17 years old.
Most recently, a music producer who worked with Combs on “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” sued him in February, accusing him of “engaging in serious illegal activity” including sexual assault, sex trafficking and racketeering.
If Combs is criminally charged and goes to court, details in his previous civil cases, even those involving nondisclosure agreements, potentially could resuface. Alleged victims such as Cassie could be summoned to testify.
“Courts are usually very careful about bringing in any prior bad acts of the accused. But as an attorney, you certainly would try to have that evidence admitted,” Saunders says.
Ann Olivarius, senior partner of McAllister Olivarius who specializes in cases involving sexual discrimination, harassment and assault, says Cassie “can’t be forbidden from testifying.”
“If she’s subpoenaed,” or summoned to appear in court, “she has to testify,” Olivarius says, though prosecutors “may have to have big debates about what she can say or not.”
What does this mean for Diddy?
Olivarius sees Cassie’s lawsuit as “a signal to others (saying) ‘Come on, use your voices. Tell your truth; go after this guy. He’s got vulnerability now.’”
“There’s been some justice (because) the currency in our society of justice is money. And she’s been able to get a good bit of change and she’s able to bring him to yield,” Olivarius says of the singer’s legal settlement with Combs. “He’s had to actually say, ‘OK, you got me. I’m going to pay you to go away and shut up.’ So, I think it’s a huge success.”
The raids, lawsuits and possible litigation could affect Combs’ legacy.
“What we’ve seen is that the legacy of an individual really comes down to who’s controlling the narrative,” Saunders says.
“I am sure that there are individuals that will say, ‘Let’s separate the man from the music’ (or) ‘Let’s celebrate his music.’ But in a lot of ways … the most important takeaway, whether the person is an authority figure, a music mogul (or) an actor, is that these individuals leave in their wake mothers, fathers, sons and whole families destroyed. And that can’t be ignored.”
She adds, “That should not be covered over because the person was able to contribute to a catalog of music.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.