Combs claims he’s the victim of a “witch-hunt” and has slammed the use of “military-level force” against him.
The rapper’s lawyer, Aaron Dyer, released a statementto Daily Mail on Combs’ behalf about 24 hours after the Homeland Security investigation.
“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,” Dyer said.
“Mr Combs was never detained, but spoke to and co-operated with authorities,” he said. “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.”
Combs was spotted at an airport 15 minutes from his home in Miami on Monday evening. The Coming Home hitmaker was seen in conversation with customs agents at the airport, but was not detained.
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“This unprecedented ambush — paired with an advanced, co-ordinated 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,” Dyer said.
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
Two properties belonging to the rapper in Los Angeles and Miami were searched on Monday by federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, two law enforcement officials said.
They said the searches were connected to a sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York. It’s not clear whether Combs was the target of the investigation. The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, Homeland Security Investigations said it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners”.
Sean "Diddy" Combs performs during the MTV Video Music Awards in September in Newark, New Jersey. Photo / AP
The lawsuit alleges Combs, Harve Pierre, the former president of Combs’ record label Bad Boy Entertainment, and an unnamed man gave the accuser drugs and alcohol and then took turns raping her inside Daddy’s House Recording Studio, a studio owned by Combs and Bad Boy, in 2003.
Combs, 54, denied the allegations in a statement. A request for comment from Pierre was sent to Bad Boy Entertainment.
According to the lawsuit, Pierre met the teenager in Michigan and flew with her on a private plane to meet Combs.
A sexual assault lawsuit filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs by R&B singer Cassie was settled last year. Photo / Getty Images
“As alleged in the complaint, defendants preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City, where she was gang-raped by the three individual defendants at Mr Combs’ studio,” the accuser’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement. “The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life.”
The accuser’s lawyers say the claim was brought under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which allows accusers to file civil complaints involving sexual assault claims after the statute of limitations has run out.
