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CNN International: Source: Hezbollah Pagers Explode In Lebanon, Wounding Hundreds; Sean "Diddy" Combs Charged With Sex Trafficking; U.S. Attorney: Indictment Alleges That Combs Abused And Exploited Women For Years. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 17, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Let's get right to our breaking news in Lebanon.
A Lebanese security source tells CNN that hundreds of people have been injured after an attack targeting the pagers of Hezbollah members across the country. An Iranian news agency says that Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon is among the wounded. We just got a first footage of one of the attacks. We do want to warn you, though, it is disturbing. This is one of the videos circulating on social media. The Lebanese Health Ministry is urging anyone who has a pager to throw it away, and it is warning hospitals to be on high alert as casualties come in.
Let's bring in our Chief International Security Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, who is joining us live from London. Nick, give us a sense of what's the latest right now.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, you have to try and get your head around exactly what this must be like for, frankly, many ordinary Lebanese in the past hours, multiple hundreds, it seems, of pagers exploding across the country here, not just in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Dahiyeh, a stronghold for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, also in the back of Ali -- Ali Al-Nahri and Riyaq as well, towns where these explosions have also been heard as well, and in fact, a country really just trying to get their head around exactly how extensive these multiple small explosions have indeed been and almost unprecedented for years, moments where their own internal security forces have indeed asked those in Beirut and other parts of the country to try and stay off the roads, simply to facilitate the sheer volume of casualties that they're dealing with here.
And I've seen some of the footage from hospitals, it seems, alternately, there are many who are significantly injured by these devices, it seems exploding, still unclear at this point exactly why. Much speculation as to whether this is the result of some possibly some kind of cyberattack or perhaps some more elaborate plan that may have involved infiltrating these devices to some sort of larger explosive, but others too, in some of the images you see as well, more likely injured.
Now, given the scale of what we're seeing here, and we're talking hundreds of injured and suggestions possibly that number could get even higher, it is quite clear that this has hit multiple towns across the country and may well also have impacted those who don't necessarily appear to the civilians, the women, the children, who may not necessarily have been the specific target of this. Now, it does appear many of the injured, many of those whose devices exploded, were members of Hezbollah. It's going to be impossible to get an accurate read as the volume of casualties potentially inflicted on that group, given the secret of nature, their own security apparatus will keep very tight rein on that.
But, it's absolutely clear we're talking about a significant number of injuries across the countries. I'm pretty sure that will turn to deaths at some point. And Rahel, this comes at an utterly key time, because we've been enduring now months of speculation as to whether the slow grind of war between Israel and Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon might slowly turn into a larger conflagration. There had been tit-for-tat airstrikes, rocket launches for weeks now, flaring up in just the past month or so when indeed Hezbollah took a very limited revenge, it seems, for a strike against one of their commanders, again in the southern suburb of Beirut, which was partially preempted by Israeli airstrikes, it seems, hitting rockets, indeed, before they took off.
That led many to believe, potentially, the episode of Hezbollah and Israel launching a conflict against each other, a full-on conflict sort of no holds barred, so to speak, that many had feared for over a decade. Now, that moment may indeed have passed. I think there are many analysts looking at this extraordinary event here, thinking that the coordinated nature of multiple communication devices exploding across a country must be down to some malfeasance, some external actor causing them indeed to explode, and then wondering whether this is indeed it. Is there any Israeli involvement?
The Israeli government has said they have no comment on this for now, and whether, more importantly, is this the prelude to something else? Because obviously, taking out a communications network like this has its uses, if you're about to attempt a larger operation, and of course, the damage being done now to the command and control of Hezbollah, multiple members now reeling from light or serious injuries, that has great utility, if indeed you are Hezbollah's enemy and looking to do something more substantial.
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So, Lebanon here, having been for nearly a year now deeply on edge because of the tension, the violence between Israel and Hezbollah, Hezbollah launching attacks against Israel in solidarity, they say, with the Palestinians in Gaza on the receiving end of Israel's operation there. This, I think, a moment where many Lebanese are concerned that this extraordinary series of explosions across the country, hitting supermarkets, hitting people as they drive their scooters, it seems, just going about ordinary life, some indeed even at home as well. Important to point out, it's quite possible that some people injured here had nothing to do, indeed, with Hezbollah, whether this heralds a wider, more dangerous moment for that conflict entirely.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And as you point out, we're sort of approaching the one-year anniversary of October 7th, and we've been seeing these cross-border skirmishes essentially since then.
Nick, stand by, if you might.
I want to now bring in Ben Wedeman, who is currently in London. Ben, you and I have spoken plenty over the last year. You have spent the better part of the last year in Lebanon. Just give us a sense of your reaction to this news, and help contextualize this for us, as opposed to all of the cross-border skirmishes that we have seen the last year.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, those cross-border skirmishes are sort of just the daily background music in southern Lebanon, but this event today involving hundreds, perhaps over 1,000 individuals, being injured in this incident, this infiltration by presumably Israel of Hezbollah's communication network represents a level of escalation that perhaps is even greater than the 30th of July assassination of Fuad Shukr, that Hezbollah senior military commander killed in an Israeli drone strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut. It represents a real sort of also symbolic blow to Hezbollah that Israel, presumably, Israel, is able to get into a critical communications network and caused so many injuries. It really is just the latest in a series of blows to the organization.
Now, you will recall that in response to the assassination of Fuad Shukr, about four weeks later, Hezbollah launched more than 300 rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for that assassination, but that had very little impact, little effect on the Israelis. The question is, how is Hezbollah going to respond to today's incident, which in many respects, is an even more significant and heavy blow to Hezbollah than the assassination of its military leader. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It is the question. Ben, standby.
I want to bring back in Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, I mean, Ben critically made the distinction, presumably Israel. But, how might, if at all, how might Hezbollah retaliate to this? Is there any sense of past events that we could turn to, to get a sense of what an appropriate response might be?
WALSH: We have to remember here that this is going to be a militant organization struggling to reach each other. The suggestion is these pagers were being used to add an element of secrecy so that their smartphones, potentially, were less vulnerable. Now, if indeed that is the case, they're going to be, as I say, probably concerned to even get in touch. That will delay, potentially, some of the decision making in here, certainly. But also, remember too, I mean, it's not that call it reluctance, but we have not seen Hezbollah, since the killing of Fuad Shukr, necessarily going in as hard as some potentially felt they might do.
And there was a lot of suggestions, telegraphing from Hassan Nasrallah, their leader, that there might be a response. They would choose their timing for that. And then we had that moment where Israel preemptively struck, it seems, rockets hiding out in parts of southern Lebanon, which seemed to have potentially diminished the nature of the response. Yet, Nasrallah was able to, I think, rhetorically claim part of that as a victory and a response.
So, this is a whole new level, as Ben was saying, I think, but it's a whole new level that speaks to weakness, really. This is infiltration of their most intimate networks here. We don't know the extent of the commanders hit here, or exactly how badly their command and control was being damaged by this. We don't even know how many Hezbollah, indeed, have been impacted, and that's going to be a key question in the hospitals and for Lebanese authorities in the hours ahead.
But, it does certainly leave them in a place of great vulnerability. They can't probably speak to each other with great confidence right now. They will be struggling to work out who is around, what is their potential, what their capabilities may still be. And remember too, it does appear, from what we've been seeing in the past months, that Hezbollah are not eager for a wider conflict with Israel. There had been much thought that Israel was not eager for a wider conflict with Hezbollah.
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But, in the past days, we've heard a lot more talk from Israeli officials about how the possibility of a diplomatic solution in northern Israel to allow the tens of thousands of Israeli residents who had to move away from that border area because of Hezbollah's rocket attacks. The notion of a diplomatic solution had begun to fade, and that the military moves may indeed have been necessary. In fact, the U.S. envoy there had been hearing such talk from Yoav Gallant himself.
And so, it is the timing of this which is so key, a moment in which diplomacy appears to be ebbing, doubts as to whether or not we're going to see renewed bids for a ceasefire deal, getting real emphasis from the United States' ceasefire in Gaza, so key to stopping the violence in northern Israel and from southern Lebanon as well, between Hezbollah and Israel. So, many questions here. But, Hezbollah will be keen to show that they have some deterring capabilities to strike back, but probably also reeling from quite how intimate and strident it appears this attack has been, from what we can see in the past hours so far.
SOLOMON: Nick, standby, Let me bring Nick back -- Ben, excuse me, back into this conversation. Ben, Nick made the point that there is still a lot we're learning. We're still learning the scope of the attack, how many people were injured, the extent of those injuries. In terms of the Iranian Ambassador in Lebanon being injured, we do have these new -- this new reporting into CNN that according to the state media, who cites his wife, his injury is a superficial injury, and he is currently under observation in the hospital. Talk to me a little bit, Ben, about what you make of just the fact that he himself was injured in this attack. How does that factor in, and how does that impact things here? WEDEMAN: Well, it certainly adds another level of tension when you involve an Iranian diplomat in this incident. And of course, on the first of April of this year, there was, we presume, an Israeli strike on the Iranian diplomatic complex in Damascus, which set off, of course, a whole new round of tensions in the Iranian first time ever direct strike on Israel as a result. So, bringing Iran into it sends a message, of course, from Israel that the -- they hold Iran responsible for what is going on in Lebanon. But, it also means that that's another level of pressure on the Iranians to respond. So, certainly, from an intelligence point of view, today's incident for the Israelis, presuming that it is the Israelis, it's a significant victory, but it brings with it the danger of a further level of escalation.
Now, as Nick was rightly pointing out, clearly, Hezbollah is reeling at the moment because so many of its operatives have been injured, and its systems of communications have been compromised. So, it's questionable how it can react at this point. But, there is the danger that it feels that it has been shoved into a corner, because until now, by and large, not completely, but the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have been restricted to the border area. Hezbollah has other weapons it hasn't used so far, which have a much farther range than what they have used, and higher accuracy.
So, there is a danger of escalation at this point, and the fact that an Iranian Ambassador has been injured, perhaps only superficially, but the symbolism is enough to add, as I said, another layer of tensions onto an already huge pile of concerns at the moment. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Ben Wedeman, thank you.
Let me bring back in Nick Paton Walsh, because Nick, I understand you are actually getting some reaction from Hezbollah. What are they saying?
WALSH: Yeah. They have issued a statement, while relying on a machine translation here, I'll paraphrase for you. They're saying about 3:30 local time today, a number of pagers exploded, some of which were owned by Hezbollah members and units. And they say the explosions, the cause of which they say are as yet unknown, led to the death of a girl and two brothers and many, many injuries. They say they're investigating this. And I think this is an early reaction. Certainly, I think it's some of the first indication we have of deaths related to these explosions, not surprising, frankly, given some of the images we've been seeing emerging from around Beirut and Lebanon more broadly.
But, as Ben was saying, important to think about the psychological impact of what we're dealing with here. This presumably was a pager system specifically distributed by Hezbollah members to improve their security, and now it appears to be the source of an extraordinary attack of which they say the cause is yet unknown.
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There is only really one candidate you can probably think of at this time, and it leaves Hezbollah with an exceptionally complex task of working out who of them is still around, capable of being part of a response, whether, with this level of compromise of their communications network, a response is a good idea right even now, and whether or not too this is the first part of something who their opponent might be considering, or the entirety of that operation. Still extraordinary scenes we're seeing across Lebanon here, with multiple, hundreds of devices, it seems, exploding not simultaneously, but similarly. So, quite remarkable. Now, Lebanon asking people to stay off the roads just they can get people to the hospital fast enough.
SOLOMON: That's just incredible. Ben Wedeman, we thank you. Nick Paton Walsh, I thank you as well.
And I want to now bring it to the conversation Seth Jones. He is a Senior Advisor to the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Good to have you, Seth. Your top line reaction to this news.
SETH JONES, SR. ADVISOR, INTL. SECURITY PROGRAM, CSIS: Well, I think what this really highlights, whoever was involved, and there is certainly a lot of questions about the Israelis, is that tensions can continue to escalate. When I was recently in Israel and visited the border areas, the Israeli perspective right now is the situation with the north is untenable. They are deeply concerned about Hezbollah actions in what's generally called the Blue Line and Litani River, that area in between those areas.
When the 2006 war ended, both sides agreed to UN Security Council's 1701 which created a buffer zone between the Litani River and Israel, also included part of Syria. The Israeli concerns right now are that Hezbollah has repeatedly violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701, fired against Israel from territory that they agreed not to fire from. Israel has, after October 7th, has removed a number of its civilians from areas in northern Israel.
And I think now that we're seeing Israel sort of start to wrap up the war in Gaza, they are starting to turn north. I'm not saying that any of this is justified. I'm just trying to pull us back into the strategic situation that's going on right now where Israel is really trying to change the situation on the ground and create some sense of security on its northern border. That may have been rational for actions right now. We still don't know exactly what happened, but certainly very concerning to see.
SOLOMON: Seth, do you think the perspective, though, from the Iranian or the Hezbollah side is that this has now been contained, that this is Israel's response, and that this is now contained? Or, as our reporter Ben Wedeman, who spends a lot of time in Lebanon, reports extensively in Lebanon, indicated in his reporting that perhaps if there was a question earlier about whether Iran and whether Hezbollah really wanted a wider war, after this event, they may feel like they're backed into a corner in terms of retaliating, how do you see it? How do you think the perspective will be from that side?
JONES: I think there is no question right now that Hezbollah and the Iranians, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, the paramilitary arm, the longstanding relationship with Hezbollah, will want to respond to this. They had a relatively muted response recently to the assassination of a senior Hezbollah figure. I think now they're going to have to respond. I mean, there are a couple of ways of doing it. They can respond horizontally. So, we can see activity by the Houthis or other allies of the Iranians, or we could see Hezbollah, which I suspect is going to happen, shoot off a range of rockets.
I mean, the real big concern for me is that Hezbollah has a range of standoff weapons, rockets, missiles, upwards of 200,000. So, if this thing continues to creep up the escalatory ladder, Hezbollah has a lot that they can throw at Israel.
SOLOMON: It's interesting, because the last year or so, I mean, repeatedly, we've reported on these fears globally, that an escalation was inevitable because of these cross-border skirmishes, and you have to wonder if that's the moment that we are currently in.
Seth Jones, we will have to leave it here. But, we so appreciate your insights today. Thank you.
JONES: Thank you.
SOLOMON: We'll be right back with more.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. We will continue to follow that breaking news out of Lebanon.
But, turning now to the U.S., U.S music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared in a New York courtroom just a short time ago. He has been indicted on federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. The allegations are part of a 14-page complaint. An attorney for Combs says that he will plead not guilty to the charges. He was arrested at a hotel in Manhattan Monday night. Sources close to the investigation tell CNN that he was taken into custody by Homeland Security investigators.
Joining us now from outside the courthouse in New York is CNN's Kara Scannell. So, Kara gives a sense of what's happened so far.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Rahel. So, the indictment against Sean "Diddy" Combs has been unsealed. He is charged with three counts, including conspiracy, racketeering, as well as sex trafficking. What prosecutors outlined in this indictment is the scheme that they allege began as far back as 2008. They say that Diddy has engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and others. They describe in this indictment, these allegations, that Diddy would hold parties that were called freak-out parties that he would -- there would be drugs at the parties, that some women would be drugged. They would be forced to have sex with male prostitutes. And according to this indictment, this was a pattern that Diddy had
repeated, saying that he was also aided by some employees, some household aides, even security team members, who helped facilitate these parties and then helped facilitate what they said was the cover- up when some of these victims wanted to speak out and go public. According to this indictment, some of these individuals helped Diddy silence these women by keeping them locked up in hotel rooms or in their residences, trying to keep this under wraps.
Now, also, according to this indictment, Diddy had maintained some sort of control over these women by including having threatening them physically, assaulting them physically, having weapons on hand and also threatening their career. He is the CEO of Bad Boy, the recording label, and a lot of these women were in the business or wanting to get into the business.
Prosecutors also alleged that once their investigation came to light, when they had searched Diddy's homes in Miami and Los Angeles, that they uncovered some guns at his home, as well as some of the materials that were used in these parties, including 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. They also said that once these searches became public, that Diddy then allegedly tried to bribe some of these witnesses and prevent them from speaking out, even speaking with some of them to try to give them a false narrative. Prosecutors say some of that was actually recorded.
Now, Diddy has not yet appeared before a judge. He is inside the courthouse behind me, being processed. Once this case does go to a judge, he will appear there. These charges will be read to him. It's unclear if he will be arraigned today, but he will certainly face a judge, and his lawyer has said that he will plead not guilty if he does enter his plea, and they are hoping, according to his lawyer, to try to get him to be released, although that is not clear. It's not clear whether prosecutors are going to seek to detain him. Other defendants who have been charged in sex trafficking cases, including Jeffrey Epstein and R. Kelly, the other recording artists. They were all detained after they were charged. It's not clear what that is going to turn out to look like today. That will be up to the judge.
It will be interesting to see what the prosecutors are going to say.
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We are expecting the U.S. Attorney Damian Williams to hold a press conference any moment now. He will talk about this case, whether their investigation is ongoing and he might even address whether they want Diddy to be detained. But, still a lot to unfold today, as we wait to see Diddy appear in this courthouse behind me, which should happen in the next couple of hours. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Certainly a lot happening here. Kara, give us a sense, one, on legally, what's happening today, versus the arraignment, as you pointed out, and how quickly or how soon this may actually be before a jury.
SCANNELL: Right. So, Diddy is in court now. He is being processed. This will be up to the judge. They could have him enter his plea and be arraigned on the charges. That is when he, according to his attorney, will plead not guilty. If the judge just decides to set bail or deal with whether he even is released, then he will return for an arraignment. But, this is something that will be worked out in the courtroom. Then once this is behind us today, this will then kick off this process heading toward a trial. Diddy's lawyer saying that they want to move quickly. They want to fight. He believes that that Diddy will be found innocent at the end of all of this. They could move fairly quickly for a trial but quickly, meaning somewhere between several months from now, maybe a year.
But, this will be something that his lawyers appear to wanting to push forward and get this through the court's system. That, though, will inevitably take some time. There is always motions. They are always trying to throw out some of the charges before it gets even to a jury. That will all continue to play out over the next couple of months. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Kara Scannell live outside there in Manhattan. Kara, thank you.
And coming up for us, pagers exploding across Lebanon. Our breaking news coverage continues in just a moment.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
A few minutes ago, we told you about that breaking news on Sean "Diddy" Combs. The music mogul is being charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs appeared in a New York courtroom a short time ago. You may remember Kara Scannell outside of that very room, outside of that very building. We are now waiting for a news conference from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Just as soon as it starts, we will bring it to you.
But, for now, we want to turn back to our top story, that attack across Lebanon. A Lebanese security source tells CNN that hundreds of people have been wounded after an attack targeted the pagers of Hezbollah members. Iranian state media say that Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon is among the wounded. We're about to show you footage of one of the attacks, and we do want to warn you that it's disturbing. Videos like this are circulating on social media, and they show the moment that pagers exploded. You see it there. The Lebanese Health Ministry is urging anyone who has a pager to throw it away, and it is warning hospitals to be on high alert, as casualties come in.
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Let's now bring in Paula Hancocks. She is following developments from Abu Dhabi. Paula, what's the very latest that we know now?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, at this point, we are expecting a press conference from the Ministry of Health. So, we should have some new information for you shortly. At this point, the Ministry of Health have, as you said, told people
to throw their pagers away, to discard them, suggesting that this is not an attack that is just affecting Hezbollah members at this point, hundreds believed to be injured. They've also not only put hospitals on high alert, but the Ministry of Health has been calling people back to their jobs at hospitals. Health workers have been told to report back to work because of the sheer number of injured that are traveling to hospitals and that are needing to be treated at this point. We also know that there has been a public call for the public to donate blood, which would suggest that some of these injuries are significant.
Now, we are waiting for that press conference. We should get an updated idea of just how significant this event was, but it certainly does seem to have encompassed an awful lot of the country. We know that the southern suburbs of Beirut, for example, the Hezbollah stronghold, we hear from Lebanese security forces, have been affected, also the Beqaa Valley, which is further northeast, and also parts of southern Lebanon as well. So, this is not just one isolated area. It's not just one -- or number of isolated cases. It really does appear to be very significant.
We have heard also that Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon was injured in this attack. We're hearing, though, from, Fars, from the Iranian state media, that they are super -- it's a superficial injury, and he is currently under observation in hospital. We understand that two embassy officials were also injured at that point.
Now, of course, the questions are being asked, who is responsible, certainly across Lebanon. There would be no question about who is responsible and elsewhere here in the region. Israel's military is not commenting at this point. But, we have certainly seen tensions rising between Hezbollah and Israel. Just in the last 24 hours, we saw that the security cabinet's meeting in Israel agreed that there was an extra objective to the current war in Gaza, the war against Hamas, and that, according to the cabinet, was going to be to allow tens of thousands of Israelis that had been moved from northern Israel, because of that tension with Hezbollah, to be allowed to go back to that border area. So, certainly, this has been front and center for the Israeli politicians in the last 24 hours.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Paula Hancocks, keep us posted on that major developing story.
I want to turn our attention now to the other major story here in the U.S., where we go to live to New York, where the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is currently holding a news conference. Let's listen.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: -- conduct as alleged in the indictment to carry out this conduct. Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and the obstruction of justice.
Let me say a little bit more about the charges. The indictment alleges that Combs abused and exploited women and other people for years, and in a variety of ways. As alleged, Combs used force, threats of force and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers, some of whom he transported or caused to be transported over state lines. Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called freak offs, and he often electronically recorded them. The freak offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics, such as ketamine, ecstasy and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant.
As alleged, when Combs didn't get his way, he was violent, and he subjected victims of physical, emotional and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the freak offs, and that Combs hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times by their hair. On one occasion in March of 2016, that conduct was captured on video and later reported in the media. Specifically, Combs kicked, dragged and threw a vase at a victim in a Los Angeles hotel when the victim was attempting to flee.
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As alleged, these assaults often resulted in injuries to the victims, which took days or weeks to heal. In addition to the violence, the indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freak offs. He used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the freak offs as collateral against the victims, and the indictment alleges that he maintained control over the victims in several ways, including by giving them drugs, by giving and threatening to take away financial support or housing, by promising them career opportunities, by monitoring their whereabouts and even by dictating their physical appearance.
Because of all of this, the indictment alleges that the victims did not believe they could refuse Combs without risking their security or facing more abuse.
The indictment also alleges other acts of violence undertaken by Combs and others, including violence against witnesses to his abuse, kidnapping and arson. The indictment alleges that on more than one occasion, Combs carried or brandished firearms to intimidate and threaten victims and witnesses.
Now, Combs did not do this all on his own. As I mentioned, Combs has been charged with RICO conspiracy. He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way. Those individuals allegedly included high-ranking supervisors in the business, personal assistants, security staff and household staff. The indictment alleges that those individuals facilitated the freak offs. They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens and lighting. When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the freak offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers. The indictment also alleges that they helped Combs cover up his
crimes. During the March 2016 incident at the LA hotel that I mentioned earlier, a member of the hotel security staff intervened, and Combs attempted to bribe the staff member with a stack of cash to make sure that what happened was kept quiet. And as the indictment alleges, in late 2023, after public allegations were made about Combs' crimes, he and others pressured witnesses and victims to stay silent, including by making phone calls to witnesses and victims and giving them a false narrative of what they had experienced. And as alleged, Combs used others to help conceal his abuse, by monitoring and preventing victims from leaving a location in order to hide their injuries or by locating and contacting a victim who had attempted to flee.
As part of this investigation, in March of this year, Special Agents from HSI executed search warrants at Combs' residences in Miami and Los Angeles. They also executed a warrant for Combs' electronic devices. During those searches, agency's evidence of the crimes charged in this indictment. They seized firearms and ammunition, including three defaced AR-15s and the large capacity drum magazine. They also seized evidence of the freak offs, electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak offs with multiple victims, and they seized cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Combs' staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak offs, more than 1,000 bottles altogether.
Here are some of the items that we recovered during the searches. As you can see here, this is a drum magazine, large capacity, and it contains, I believe, 59 rounds. I mentioned as well wat we recovered, three AR-15s. This is a close up shot of one of the AR-15s, and you can see right here, the serial number has been thoroughly defaced. Another picture of more ammunition and parts of two AR-15s right there.
Now, I want to be clear about two things. First, this office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous you may be. No one should doubt our commitment on that.
A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City.
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Today, he has been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York.
Second, we are not done. This investigation is ongoing, and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly. Anyone with information can call 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.
I want to express my deep appreciation for the victims and witnesses who have used their voices and help bring this criminal conduct to light. We would not be here without them. I also want to thank the dedicated case agents on the HSI trafficking in-person squad in New York. They had been with us since day one and have worked tirelessly on this investigation. They will continue to be invaluable partners to us. I also want to thank the incredible agents and analysts from SDNY who have also provided tremendous assistance on this case. I'm deeply grateful for their continued work.
And finally, I want to thank the outstanding career prosecutors from SDNY who are handling this case, Meredith Foster, Emily Johnson, Christy Slavik, Madison Smyser and Mitzi Steiner, and their supervisors, Jamie Bagliebter and Jacqueline Kelly. They are members of the Civil Rights Unit in our criminal division. We created the Civil Rights Unit when I became U.S. Attorney. I'm deeply proud of their work on this and so many other cases.
I'll now take some questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aaron Katersky, ABC.
AARON KATERSKY, ABC NEWS SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Damian, thanks. The indictment describes aggressive, open, violent, hedonistic abuse that you say was recurrent and widely known. Why did it take law enforcement so long to intervene? How many women were victimized by Sean Combs, and how many others were involved?
WILLIAMS: Look, our investigation is ongoing. We are committed to bringing justice to everyone who has been victimized by the defendant. I can't tell you why it took so long. I think the better focus is on the fact that we are here today, and we are committed to making sure that justice is done. Next question.
KATERSKY: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julia Ainsley, NBC.
JULIA AINSLEY, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: Thank you for doing this. You said we are not done and that Combs did not do this alone. Do you foresee that there could be other charges related to this case?
WILLIAMS: I'm not taking anything off the table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Janon Fisher, Newsday.
JANON FISHER, REPORTER, NEWSDAY: What's the difference between the sex trafficking and promoting travel for the purpose of prostitution?
WILLIAMS: Well, there are different crimes with different elements. I don't think we should get into the nitty-gritty of the legal discussion right now. But, the sex trafficking, we believe, they're all serious offenses, but the sex trafficking conduct carries some significant penalties, and we are gratified that we were able to bring that charge.
FISHER: One more coercive than the other?
WILLIAMS: I'm not going to be able to get into that. But, you can look it up. And yes, sex trafficking, especially when it involves coercion or force, is a very serious crime and it carries significant penalties.
DARLA MILES, REPORTER, ABC7NY: Good afternoon. Darla Miles, ABC7NY. Thank you for this press conference and for the details. Two questions. In context of this indictment and the information that was presented to the grand jury, are you able to clarify the number of victims? It's mentioned plural in the indictment. But, can you specify the number of victims just for this particular indictment? And secondly, can you provide details about the alleged arson?
WILLIAMS: Unfortunately, I'm unable to provide either. The number of victims, you are correct. We are intentional in saying multiple. The details of the arson incident are limited to what we have in the indictment and also the detention letter that we filed, which contains more details than the indictment does at various points. But, we don't have anything more beyond that. Next question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Linh Tran, CNN.
LINH TRAN, SENIOR PRODUCER, CNN: Are any of his accomplices or associates under investigation? And additionally, could he face any more charges?
WILLIAMS: So, the investigation is ongoing. That means both as to him and to anyone else who we believe committed the crime with him. Next question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Juliet Papa.
JULIET PAPA, REPORTER, 1010 WINS: Hi, good morning, from 1010 WINS. Any indication that some of the women or victims here were imprisoned in his residences, and did he have locations where he kept them, and did they were not allowed to leave? And also, he is indicted here, although there were searches and raids in LA, Miami. Why in New York?
WILLIAMS: Well, I'm bias.
[11:45:00]
I'm the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. I think that we have an outstanding track record of bringing some of the most impactful, sprawling, complex, difficult, sex trafficking, human trafficking, labor trafficking, you name it. The Southern District of New York can do it. And so, we're very proud of that. And so, the scope and complexity of this investigation isn't something that we ran from. It's something that we embrace, and we will continue to do that.
As to your question about whether he imprisoned anyone, all I can say is that, I mentioned this March 2016 incident where something was caught on video, where a victim was attempting to flee, and there was violence that was associated with it.
PAPA: Was that at the residence or a hotel?
WILLIAMS: That was at a hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matthew Lee, Inner City Press. MATTHEW LEE, FOUNDER, INNER CITY PRESS: Thanks a lot. Does your office intend to seek remand? Are you reaching a bill package, and if you're willing, can you -- how would you contrast this with the R. Kelly case in EDNY in terms of the elements? Thanks.
WILLIAMS: So, we will be seeking detention. We have filed a letter laying out our reasoning for seeking pretrial detention. I'm not going to be able to expand beyond what's in the letter, but it contains all of the reasoning and it contains the law as well. There is a presumption of detention in a case like this, and we think that's warranted.
LEE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Annese, New York Daily News.
JOHN ANNESE, REPORTER, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Thank you. I was hoping to get some more detail about the searches of his residence, the guns, the cases of lubricant, and the videos. Where were they found amongst his residence? Were they all scattered around the houses in one place? I kind of wanted to just get a better picture of how that stuff was found.
WILLIAMS: Well, look, I think that some of the details that you're seeking are in the detention letter. So, for instance, some of the AR- 15s, two of the three defaced AR-15s were found in his bedroom closet in Miami, broken down into parts, along with magazines, with ammunition loaded in them. So, some of that detail is in the detention letter. Beyond that, I'm not going to be able to be able to get into where other items were restored.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ben Kochman, Post.
BEN KOCHMAN, SENIOR COURTS REPOTER, NEW YORK POST: Hey. Thanks for doing this. Your office was the office that had been prosecuting Jeffrey Epstein before he died in custody. I have not read your detention memo yet. That's the first thing I'm going to do after this ends. But, does it -- does the memo address, or is your office concerned with Combs' safety in custody, given what happened with Epstein?
WILLIAMS: So, we are concerned with anyone's safety whenever they are detained prior to trial. It's part of our obligations to keep people safe as well as part of the criminal justice system. So -- but, I do not draw any sort of connection between Jeffrey Epstein's suicide and what may or may not happen to any other defendant while they are detained pretrial. And of course, the decision whether to detain the defendant will be up to a judge. Our position is that pretrial detention is warranted under the law and based on the fact of this case, and I'll leave it at that.
KOCHMAN: Are some of the prosecutors on this case some of the same prosecutors that had been handling that or that worked on the Maxwell case?
WILLIAMS: So, I'm not going to get into the staffing. I will say that this team, this group of AUSAs, this incredible group, has been working on this case around the clock, and they've had their hands full. Next question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gus Rosendale, NBC News.
GUS ROSENDALE, REPORTER, NBC NEWS: Good morning, sir. Combs' attorney said that his client has been cooperative with investigators. He said that this morning. I was wondering if you would have a reaction to that.
WILLIAMS: Let me just say this. I think that generally, with increasing frequency, the word cooperative or cooperating has taken on tremendous elasticity and it no longer really bears any relation to what the word means when we use it in a very specific context. So, responding to lawful process and the like does not qualify as cooperation when we use that term here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Sisak, AP.
MIKE SISAK, REPORTER, AP: Thanks. To that end, was there any discussion of Mr. Combs surrendering? I understand he was taken into custody at a hotel in Manhattan last night, and maybe that wasn't the plan. Can you elaborate on how that came about and why that was?
WILLIAMS: I'm not going to be able to get into any sort of operational details as to how he was taken into custody and when. He is in custody right now. He will be appearing in court later today.
SISAK: Was there any discussion of him surrendering, given they claim he is cooperating?
[11:50:00]
WILLIAMS: I'm not going to be able to get into law enforcement tactics or operations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How come they're not charged with obliterating (inaudible)?
WILLIAMS: Well, I can't get into the charging decision. It is very meaningful to us that weapons were possessed. As we allege in the indictment, part of the reason why this conduct was so pervasive and harmful was because victims and others didn't necessarily feel comfortable denying him his wishes, as we allege, because of the presence of firearms. I should leave it there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks. Last question, Jacob Shamsian.
JACOB SHAMSIAN, CORRESPONDENT, BUSINESS INSIDER: Jacob Shamsian, Business Insider. Thank you. Given that he is the sole defendant in this case and that you allege is part of a conspiracy that involves members of his companies, do you anticipate a superseding indictment that bring allegations against other members of his companies or other co-conspirators as well?
WILLIAMS: Again, I can't take anything off the table. Anything is possible. Our investigation is very active and ongoing. And I think a lot of you who cover this office know that when we say such things, that developments are certainly foreseeable. But, I cannot predict them sitting here today.
All right. Thank you everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
WILLIAMS: Thank you everyone.
SOLOMON: All right. We've just been listening to U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, really outlining the case they have currently against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, also outlining and showing, as we can see in this shot here, some of the evidence they have, what they say is evidence of these crimes.
We'll now bring into the conversation for a bit more context, Jeff Swartz, who joins us live from Tampa, Florida. He is a former Florida State Court judge. Jeff, give us your sense of these charges and what they mean, sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER FLORIDA STATE COURT JUDGE: Well, the charges that have been brought are all encompassing of a number of violations of California penal law as well as federal law. It's all in the indictment. The reason why I think some of the California charges, which could have been more elucidated and made overt acts, as opposed to just alluding to them, is really an issue that I think the SDNY is going to have with venue. I think they have jurisdiction because of the events in a New York hotel room with Cassie (ph), but most of the things they're describing, all took place in California.
This is a typical thought process of the Southern District of New York. That's why they call them the sovereign district of New York. They believe that they can cast their wide net all over the world and all over the country without concerns as to whether the case really belongs in another district.
So, I think that if I were the defense attorney, I'm not only going to move to dismiss this indictment, which will be denied, but I will move for a change of the venue to the Southern District of California, where most of the events took place, and where the forfeiture count that is taking away Diddy's home in Southern California and probably all of his money, which is deposited all over the place. To take that away from him in a forfeiture count would probably sit.
So, it'll be interesting to see how they go about doing this. I'd want to move it to Southern California, because celebrity cases have a different flavor than they do in New York. So, I'm kind of looking at that. He is looking at life, spending rest of his life in prison.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Jeff, what do you make of the evidence that they outline there? I mean, this is obviously their case. The defense will present their case and the defense will present whatever evidence they think they have. But, what do you make of the evidence that we've seen thus far? SWARTZ: It sounds like they have a large number of cooperating witnesses. They have a lot of probably people who were facilitating some of these crimes are already cooperating. The reason why there are no named co-conspirators is that they don't really want to cast a wide net. They want the attention solely on Diddy. They don't want any attention on anybody else. They are still working out plea agreements with some of these people. That's why he will not discuss a superseding indictment. He will not -- the U.S. Attorney will not discuss any of the real details involving who was there, who was involved, whether there are additional defendants which could be named. This is what's going on behind the scenes right now.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, he was asked by one of the reporters, will you be seeking superseding indictment, and he said, and I'm paraphrasing here, we are not done yet. So, you can read between the lines, if you choose.
Jeff, what do you make of the fact that they're seeking detention that they're hoping to, as I understand it, keep him in custody as this process plays out?
[11:55:00]
SWARTZ: Clearly, this is something that was anticipated. I was asked about it earlier this morning by some people, and I basically just said, yeah, this is a case where they're going to ask for detention. They're probably going to get it if they took in Epstein, if they took in, I forgot the name of the other person who was indicted, the other rapper who was indicted. The truth of the matter is that this is what's going to happen, and he has to recognize that. That's another reason why they want jurisdiction in the SDNY, because in the Southern District of California, there is a real possibility he would have been able to post a bond.
SOLOMON: OK. And just for our viewers watching, we do expect Sean "Diddy" Combs to appear in court in just a few hours, in about two and a half hours.
Jeff Swartz, we always appreciate your insights and perspective. Thank you. I'll talk to you soon, I'm sure.
SWARTZ: Nice to see you. You're welcome.
And thanks for being with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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