Following the federal raid at homes owned by rapper and record producer Sean "Diddy" Combs in California and Florida, a prosecutor who worked on the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein's girlfriend spoke out on Wednesday regarding the raids.
Investigators with the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants at properties belonging to Combs in Miami and the Holmby Hills suburb of Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.
In recent months, Combs has faced several legal battles, with lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking. The raids were reportedly tied to sex-trafficking allegations leveled by different plaintiffs, the Associated Press reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement that it had "executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners."
Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's long-time girlfriend and associate, was found guilty in 2021 of sex trafficking women and girls for Epstein to abuse and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. She has maintained her innocence and has appealed her conviction. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of trafficking minors for sex in Florida and New York between 2002 and 2005. He died in a Manhattan jail cell in an apparent suicide two months later.
On Wednesday in response to the raid at Combs' homes, Rebekah Donaleski, a partner at Cooley LLP and a former federal prosecutor who supervised the successful prosecution of Epstein's girlfriend, Maxwell, gave her insight into the raid, adding that it was an "aggressive step" that signals there are cooperative victims.
Newsweek has reached out to Donaleski and Combs' representatives via email for comment.
"The fact that they are taking this aggressive step tells me they have cooperative victims and they're moving quickly to make a case," Donaleski told ABC News. "A search, especially one that is this high profile, signals they have confidence they have strong evidence and the speed with which they have moved tells me the evidence is compelling."
Donaleski continues to explain that the raids could help authorities uncover details that could corroborate the allegations.
"Any innocuous detail that you can corroborate that's what you're trying to do. Perpetrators keep mementos. They keep photos, videos, things like that," Donaleski added.
However, in response to the raid, Combs' attorney, Aaron Dyer, told Newsweek in a statement emailed on Tuesday, "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated. Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities."
Donaleski is not the first to talk about the raids as many celebrities have since spoken out about the rapper and the allegations he faces.
Rapper 50 Cent was among them, as he mocked Combs on social media. The pair have been feuding since 2007, after 50 Cent suggested, without proof, that Combs was involved in the killing of hip-hop legend The Notorious BIG.
"Now it's not Diddy do it, it's Diddy done," 50 Cent wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "They don't come like that unless they got a case."
This comes after last month, a music producer filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of coercing him to solicit prostitutes and then pressuring him to have sex with them. The producer, Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, alleges in the lawsuit that he was sexually harassed, drugged and threatened by Combs for more than a year. Jones produced several tracks on Combs' The Love Album: Off the Grid and is seeking $30 million in damages.
Combs' attorney Shawn Holley disputed the allegations, previously saying, "We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies."
In a separate case, Combs' ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November, alleging years of sexual abuse. The lawsuit, which accused Combs of forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed, was settled the day after it was filed.
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
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