Faith Jenkins Discusses the Latest in the Diddy Case

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00:00Hi, I'm Faith Jenkins, former Manhattan prosecutor

00:03and host of Killer Relationship on Oxygen.

00:05And I'm here with Ebony to discuss the latest developments

00:08in the Sean Diddy Combs legal case.

00:11The charges are the following, racketeering.

00:13That involves allegations that Diddy ran

00:16a criminal enterprise engaged in sex trafficking,

00:20drug distribution, forced prostitution,

00:23and other illegal activities.

00:25The RICO Act is often used to prosecute individuals

00:28involved in organized crime, so we're waiting to see

00:31if that statute is going to be implicated here.

00:34Sex trafficking is another charge.

00:36He's accused of organizing and facilitating

00:39sex trafficking operations, including coercing women

00:43into participating in drug-fueled sex parties

00:47known as freak-offs.

00:48The prosecution alleges that these women

00:51were trafficked across state lines for these events.

00:54And lastly, he's accused of drug distribution.

00:58Authorities found large quantities of illegal drugs

01:01they say during these raids, which were reportedly used

01:04to facilitate the sex trafficking and exploitation of women.

01:09If found guilty at trial, Diddy faces significant jail time.

01:12It could be up to life in prison.

01:14He was not bailed for really two main reasons

01:18that the judge looked at in the bail hearing.

01:20One, dangerous to the community.

01:22The allegations are that he is a serial abuser,

01:25serial corruptor, and he will take the opportunity,

01:28if he can, to continue to abuse and intimidate witnesses

01:32and affect the legal process

01:33so they won't testify against him.

01:36The second factor is risk of flight.

01:38You'll see that the defense turned over

01:40not just his passport, but the passports

01:42of all of his children, including his baby,

01:45saying to the court, he's not going anywhere

01:48and his family's not going anywhere either.

01:50But those arguments were not enough for the judge,

01:52particularly the judge was concerned

01:55about witness tampering.

01:57The items found in Diddy's homes during the raids

02:00are significant for a few reasons.

02:01The prosecutors are saying they suggest

02:03a well-organized and large-scale criminal operation,

02:07which could lead to RICO charges.

02:09Here's what was discovered and how it connects

02:11to a potential broader criminal organization.

02:14One, firearms.

02:15Authorities say they found illegal firearms

02:18during the raids.

02:19The presence of these weapons,

02:21particularly if unregistered or connected to other crimes,

02:25raises concerns about the use of force or intimidation

02:29within this alleged criminal enterprise.

02:31Two, drugs.

02:33Various drugs, including meth, oxycodone,

02:37were reportedly discovered.

02:39The drugs are tied to allegations

02:41that they were used to coerce women

02:43in participating in these sex parties.

02:46Next, they say they found these freak-off supplies.

02:49Investigators recovered over 1,000 bottles

02:54of baby oil and lubricant,

02:56which they say were allegedly used during these sex parties

02:59Diddy is accused of organizing.

03:01Now, the defense is going to argue that,

03:04listen, he shops in bulk, he buys from Costco.

03:07What's illegal about having so many bottles of baby oil?

03:11But the prosecutor's statement is that,

03:13no, this is evidence of a systemic effort

03:15to plan and orchestrate these illegal activities,

03:18these parties, coercion of women,

03:21which points to this larger-scale criminal operation.

03:24The potential sentence depends on several factors.

03:27For example, racketeering,

03:28a conviction could result in a 20-year sentence per count,

03:32especially if the court finds that he was involved

03:34in an ongoing criminal enterprise with multiple violations.

03:39So what is the defense going to be?

03:41What is the defense's strongest argument?

03:43When you have a vast amount of electronic surveillance,

03:45which the prosecutors are saying they have,

03:47they said they have videos of freak-offs,

03:49cell phone videos, hard drives, plus 50 to 60 witnesses.

03:54So the defense is not gonna argue that this didn't happen.

03:57The argument is going to be that everyone involved,

04:00they're all adults, they're consensual,

04:03that they wanted to be there.

04:05But the prosecutors are having a pretty detailed outline

04:08of the charges, so we'll wait to see

04:10how Diddy will address these charge by charge.

04:13Federal authorities, including Homeland Security,

04:16will continue to investigate this case.

04:18They will continue to gather evidence,

04:20interview witnesses, examine financial transactions.

04:24There may be more developments

04:25as they uncover additional aspects

04:28of the alleged criminal enterprise,

04:31which could result in more charges being filed

04:34or even additional defendants being implicated.

04:38So you may see more co-conspirators being named,

04:41or an opposite of that,

04:43you may see more co-operators come forward

04:46because the authorities are going to give them incentives,

04:49stay out of jail cards, to cooperate in the investigation.

04:53There is still potential here for a plea deal.

04:55While Diddy has so far maintained his innocence,

04:58it's possible that as the case progresses,

05:01his legal team might explore a plea deal

05:03to avoid a lengthy trial and potentially harsher sentencing

05:07if convicted on all these charges.

05:09However, this would depend on the strength of the evidence

05:12and the willingness of prosecutors to negotiate.

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