A video exhibiting embattled music legend Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking his then-girlfriend in a Los Angeles resort in 2016 is probably going so as to add extra urgency to a federal sex-trafficking investigation into the star.
The video exhibits Combs chasing, kicking, dragging and hurling a glass vase at Cassie, a singer whose actual identify is Casandra Ventura. It was obtained Friday by CNN and corroborates elements of a civil lawsuit Ventura filed in opposition to Combs final yr, which was settled a day after it was filed in U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York.
The video isn’t associated to the federal probe, however it’s drawing extra consideration to the continuing investigation.
Legislation enforcement sources advised The Instances that Combs is the topic of a sweeping inquiry into sex-trafficking allegations that resulted in a federal raid in March at his estates in Los Angeles and Miami. Combs has not been charged with any crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
Allegations in opposition to Combs have piled up lately. 4 ladies have accused him of rape, assault and different abuses, courting again three many years. One of many allegations concerned a minor.
A regulation enforcement agent carries a bag of proof on the entrance to a property belonging to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs
(Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
Credibility points
Los Angeles protection lawyer Lou Shapiro mentioned the video provides to the jeopardy Combs is dealing with.
“This video paints him in an awful light. If the people were giving him the benefit of doubt, that is over,” he mentioned.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, agreed.
“There is no legal or moral justification for what Diddy did. He violently attacked a defenseless woman,” Rahmani mentioned, including that the “video doesn’t lie.”
When Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs’ lawyer strongly denied any wrongdoing by his shopper, saying the declare was “riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation and seeking a payday.”
The video, each Shapiro and Rahmani mentioned, presents main credibility challenges for Combs. “The problem here is he denied hitting [Ventura] and then in this video he is even kicking her when she is down,” Shapiro mentioned.
“Diddy’s sharp denials early on are going to hurt him as the investigation progresses,” added Meghan Blanco, an Orange County protection lawyer who has expertise with federal sex-offense circumstances.
A consultant for Combs didn’t instantly reply to The Instances’ request for touch upon the video.
Ventura’s lawyer, nonetheless, mentioned the video exhibits his shopper was telling the reality.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Douglas H. Wigdor mentioned in an announcement. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
What the video exhibits
The recording, dated March 5, 2016, exhibits Ventura in a hoodie and carrying a duffel bag, strolling in a resort hallway towards an elevator. Combs will be seen operating down the identical hallway, shirtless and holding a towel round his waist.
Safety footage captured from one other angle exhibits him grabbing Ventura’s head and throwing her on the bottom, the place he kicks her a number of instances. He may also be seen selecting up her luggage and attempting to tug her again to the primary hallway.
The footage additionally exhibits Ventura utilizing a resort cellphone by the elevators, in addition to Combs going again to his resort room after which individually seemingly shoving Ventura right into a nook. He’s additionally seen throwing a vase in her course.
In an announcement Friday, the Los Angeles County district lawyer’s workplace mentioned it was conscious of the video, and referred to as the pictures “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch.”
“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” the assertion mentioned. “As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives on the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Might 15, 2022.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / Related Press)
Ventura’s lawsuit
Ventura’s November lawsuit detailed the incident, which occurred on the InterContinental resort in Century Metropolis. After Combs fell asleep, Ventura tried to depart the room, the lawsuit mentioned, however he awoke and “began screaming” at her.
“He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her,” the criticism mentioned. “He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape.”
The 2023 criticism mentioned Ventura, who was courting Combs on the time, was “stuck in this vicious cycle of abuse” and took a cab to her condominium after the alleged assault however returned to the resort searching for to apologize to him for operating away. The resort’s safety workers inspired her to return dwelling, the lawsuit mentioned, and knowledgeable her they’d seen footage of “Mr. Combs beating [her] and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”
Authorities stroll on a road close to a property belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs’
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
Intercourse-trafficking probe
Little is understood in regards to the federal probe, together with the identities of any alleged victims. Individuals with data of the investigation mentioned federal investigators are searching for telecommunications and flight data associated to Combs. Again in March, investigators looking Combs’ Holmby Hills dwelling emptied safes, dismantled electronics and left papers strewn in some rooms, sources advised The Instances.
The U.S. Division of Homeland Safety investigates most sex-trafficking operations for the federal authorities. Authorized consultants say one motive the company could possibly be concerned on this case is as a result of the ladies concerned within the allegations in opposition to Combs may be from different international locations.
A supply acquainted with Homeland Safety’s felony inquiry mentioned investigators have interviewed a few of the individuals tied to the sex-trafficking allegations within the lawsuits in opposition to Combs.
Combs’ legal professionals have strongly criticized the federal probe, calling the searches of his houses “militarized” and a “witch hunt.”
“This unprecedented ambush — paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence — leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits,” lawyer Aaron Dyer mentioned in March.
