This case *may* prove to be as culturally significant as the Epstein/Maxwell cases. We'll see.
The opening paragraph pulls no punches. It accuses Combs of setting up and operating a huge, multi-faceted criminal enterprise that provided him victims, money, protected his reputation, concealed his behaviors, etc.
This indictment extends to and impacts Combs' many businesses, all of which are complicit in enabling and/or concealing Combs many alleged crimes.
This includes the labels Bad Boy, Combs Enterprises, Combs Global, his record labels, adult bev company, media assets, etc.
Combs displayed a "persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals."
Combs forced people into sex work, drugging them, threatening their finances, their careers, and using violence if need be in order to "ensure participation."
Incidents of abuse involving Combs date back decades, and it appears prosecutors have some witnesses to these 2009 and 2016 incidents.
Yeah, I think there will be more charges and more indictments soon.
The Combs Enterprise.
Purposes of the Combs Enterprise
-Operating a global business
-Enriching members and associates
-Preserving, protecting, promoting, and enhancing the power, reputation, and brand of Sean Combs AS AN ENTERTAINER
-Preserving, protecting, promoting, and enhancing the power, reputation, and brand of Sean Combs THROUGH VIOLENCE, COERCION, ETC.
-Providing Combs with abuse victims
-Enabling Combs and others to engage in various unlawful acts
-Securing loyalty
-Protecting Combs Enterprise from Law Enforcement
Means and Methods
"Freak Offs"
"In or about March 2024, during searches of COMBS' residences in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California, law enforcement seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant."
What a monster.
Firearms were seized as well. We might see more charges for those.
More details of Combs and associates using violence, threats, bribes, etc to protect their enterprise and keep the abuse going.
If the allegations are true, what a monster. What an absolute monster.
Obviously this is all very Epstein/Maxwell-like, but in the Hollywood/Music Industry context. This is going to be a HUGE case, maybe trial, and will have a massive cultural impact.
The Racketeering Conspiracy
Whoa, the indictment alleges multiple acts of:
Kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transport of a prostitute, illegal sex acts, narcotics offenses, and ofc conspiracy to commit racketeering.
He didn't do all that alone.
All of the above was the intro and Count One-Racketeering.
Next is Count Two-Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion (Victim-1)
Wonder how many victims will eventually be brought forward?
Count Three-Transport to Engage in Prostitution
Forfeiture.
I've seen recent reports that Combs and his empire of businesses and assets are valued somewhere north of $800mil. Fox reported in April of this year that he may be worth over $1bil.
🧵Former Special Counsel Jack Smith wants video of his 8-hour deposition released and continues to ask for the opportunity to testify in a public hearing.
This has been Smith's repeated request since October.
The reason it wasn't public is because House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan declined to make it so.
Though he didn't rule out a future public hearing.
It would be great to get the video of the 8-hour closed-door session released and also have a public hearing.
Both sides will use it for political gain and reinforcement of their preferred narratives, so it will be annoying in that way but could also be useful...
They argue Richman's "is improper multiple times over," and "[his] Rule 41(g) motion is not a valid or meritorious motion for return of property, but instead a transparent effort to suppress evidence in the Comey matter."
"Richman does not genuinely want any property back—after all, the government merely has copies of his data."
🧵Just days after United States v. Comey was dismissed for Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan being unlawfully appointed, Daniel Richman, who is Person 3 from the indictment in the Comey case, filed a civil case against the DOJ.
Richman wants the property seized pursuant to the four Arctic Haze search warrants that were executed on him years ago returned and/or deleted and the government to be restricted from using any of it.
The materials gathered during that investigation became the source of much of the evidence in the now dismissed Comey case, and if prosecutors are going to refile that case, they will need these materials.
🧵 When a group of about 15 Antifa members attacked the Prairieland ICE Detention facility in North Texas on July 4th, vandalizing vehicles and structures and shooting a police officer, they invited a federal response that has now escalated into a landmark case.
*For the first time, Antifa was defined in a court filing.
*For the first time, charges of terrorism were leveled at Antifa members.