Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs latest: Rapper sent back to jail as shocking texts after Cassie hotel attack revealed

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel reminded people that Donald Trump once referred to Sean “Diddy” Combs as a “good friend” on his show – hours after the music mogul pleaded not guilty to three federal crimes.

Myriam Page reports:

Diddy was charged with racketeering, or violating RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), for running a “criminal enterprise” that allegedly aided him in carrying out sex crimes.

Racketeering is a form of organized crime in which a group of people set up a fraudulent coordinated scheme to repeatedly collect a profit.

RICO is a statute that was created to prosecute the Mafia and other organized crime rings. It made it easier for prosecutors to bring multiple charges against multiple people so long as it was part of the same criminal enterprise. It also added new penalties that prosecutors can use to leverage a plea deal.

In Combs’ case, prosecutors are alleging he ran the “criminal enterprise”, made up of close associates, assistants and others, to help coerce women into his orbit, abuse them and then conceal any abuse from outside individuals.

An attorney for Dawn Richard, a singer and former member of “Danity Kane”, said she applauds the indictment against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and called it “strikingly similar” to the complaint her client made against the music mogul.

“We applaud the grand jury’s new indictment of Sean Combs, which is strikingly similar to the federal complaint we filed last week on behalf of our brave client, Dawn Richard,” Lisa Bloom said in a statement to The Independent.

“Given the brutal beating of Sean Combs’ girlfriend caught on video and the eight people who have now accused him of abuse in court filings, including Dawn, this arrest seems long overdue. It’s a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning. May justice be delivered to Mr. Combs. We implore other accusers to come forward in solidarity and join us in this fight.”

Richard filed a lawsuit against Combs in early September, accusing him of acting inhumanely toward her, abusing her and sexually harassing her.

Elie Honig, an attorney with experience trialing “complex international sex trafficking rings”, said his review of the indictment showed a “bleak” outlook for Combs.

“Given what I know about the SDNY and its racketeering and sex trafficking prosecutions – the outlook for Combs is bleak,” Honig wrote in an op-ed for Intelligencer on Wednesday.

Although prosecutors did not provide extremely specific details about their evidence in the indictment, Honig said the allegations they’ve made in the indictment, letter to the judge requesting Combs remain jailed and U.S. attorney’s press conference indicate the prosecution has “valuable” backing.

He said prosecutors’ reference to “dozens of victims and witnesses” means the defense team will have a “tough” time undermining each one.

Honig said prosecutors likely will use a public video of Combs physically assaulting an individual which could support their allegation that physical violence was a core aspect of the racketeering charge.

“Racketeering (or ‘RICO’) charges are a cheat code of sorts for prosecutors,” Honig said.

Federal prosecutors allege Combs used those around him to create a “criminal enterprise” that continuously enabled his alleged criminal behavior – like coercing women to participate in his so-called “Freak Offs”.

Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, asserts that his client is an “innocent man with nothing to hide”. During the arraignment, Agnifilo indicated that the charges brought against him stemmed from nothing more than a consensual but strained relationship due to infidelity.

Although the case is in its early stages and nowhere near trial-ready, Honig said he can “already see the defense taking shape… ‘He’s a sex freak, but he’s not a criminal’.”

A woman who claims Sean “Diddy“ Combs shot her in the face in a New York City nightclub back in 1999 has described the news of his arrest as “one of the best days ever.”

Natania Reuben was at Club New York in Manhattan in December 1999 when gunfire broke out, injuring three people. She miraculously survived, but the bullet scarred her brain.

Reuben described the moment that her teenage daughter, Nirvana, broke the news of Diddy’s arrest to her on Monday. Reuben told The Daily Beast: “I said, ‘Are you kidding me, really?’ She said, ‘Yes!’ I just screamed out to God, ‘Thank you, merciful father!’”

Rhian Lubin reports:

In November, Combs was hit with three lawsuits filled with allegations of sexual and physical abuse, in just one week – a startling occurrence that would open a floodgate of other allegations and investigations.

Here’s a look back at that moment.

Sheila Flynn reported:

Here’s a reminder of the charges Combs faces.

According to a three-count criminal indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Combs ran a decades-long criminal enterprise that aided him in egregiously abusing women through sex crimes, physical violence and emotional manipulation, federal prosecutors said.

The rapper, who has been accused of rape and sexual abuse in at least nine civil lawsuits this past year, was arrested in New York Monday night and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

On Tuesday morning he appeared in Manhattan federal court to plead not guilty to the charges.

Today is he expected to appear in court to appeal the decision to deny him bail.

The prosecution alleges there are more than 50 potential victims in relation to the charges against Combs.

In a memo supporting the request Combs remain in jail until trial, the prosecution said the government has conducted interviews with “over 50 victims and witnesses, many of whom saw or experienced the defendant’s abuse”.

The total number of alleged victims is unclear, but the memo added the prosecution “only expects that number to continue to grow”.

Combs, who was arrested on Monday night at a hotel in Manhattan, knew the charges were coming.

His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the rapper travelled to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo added.