P. Diddy: Civil Suits Continue To Mount With No End In Sight

The latest:
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.

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 Wang 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,” Wang 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.

Six of the new lawsuits came this week via Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who said in a press conference earlier this month that he was representing at least 120 new Combs accusers. This could also mean that many more are to come in the next few weeks. But what does all this volume of horrific account actually amount to? 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’ 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. Presumption of innocence seems to still be the order of the day here!

Attorney Wang VonCannon told reporters thatit is possible Combs was indicted before the investigation was complete because prosecutors may believe he is dangerous and had been tampering with witnesses. “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,” Wang 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.”

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.

“He still has some hold,” this accuser told CNN. If that's true, than this could dragged on for many months if not years to come. Dealing behind closed doors, and illicit conversation always add a new layer of problems to a web of intricacies that is already entangling much of the entertainment community in its threads.