Sean Combs’ Case Compared to R. Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein: ‘Diddy Is Screwed’

Legal experts are weighing in on disgraced rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs’ indictment on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. The indictment alleges a criminal enterprise operating over a series of several years that involves coercing individuals to participate in various sexual acts.
“Diddy is screwed,” Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Newsweek. “The big takeaways are, obviously, these are very serious charges. Everyone talks about the racketeering and how there’s potential life sentence, but more importantly, some of these charges carry mandatory minimum sentences in prison.”
Cathy Fleming, a principal in Offit Kurman’s Litigation Practice Group, also emphasized the severity of the charges to Newsweek.
“They have charged very serious crimes in a federal court alleging issues related to sex trafficking, meaning misusing the victims, and there’s serious time consequences if someone is convicted of this,” Fleming said to Newsweek.
Tre Lovell, an entertainment and civil attorney, spoke to Newsweek about the similarities between the R. Kelly sex trafficking case and Combs’ case.
“R. Kelly and now Diddy are representative of high-level, famous and, in this case, in the music world, moguls who have chosen to live a lifestyle which the authorities question is illegal in many respects,” Lovell said.
He said both cases send a message about law and power.
“The government wants to make a statement that says no matter who you are, how much money you have, how powerful you are, we’re not going to let you get away with stuff like this,” Lovell said.
Lovell also explained what has caused the shift in prosecuting these cases that have been ongoing for many years.
“I think it was triggered by the #MeToo movement, when the #MeToo movement happened and it casts this light on the dark world of the entertainment industry,” Lovell said.
Rahmani drew comparisons between Combs’ case and the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein.
“R. Kelly didn’t have a whole lot of rich and famous people participate in acts with him, but Diddy reportedly did and we know that Epstein did, at least according to some of the evidence, even though a lot of those people haven’t been prosecuted,” Rahmani said. “So there are those similarities with Epstein that we may see some pretty famous names that end up being prosecuted or beholden to court as witnesses.”
Rahmani also raised the possibility of other individuals being implicated in Diddy’s alleged criminal scheme.
“Anyone who participated in the sex acts should be really worried,” Rahmani said. “There’s a lot of rumors down here in L.A. I live a mile away from Diddy. [There are] a lot of rumors that a lot of other celebrities participated in these acts. I would certainly be worried if I were them, because they could easily be charged.”
Fleming described some of the difficulties the defense will face if Diddy goes to trial.
“You have to get a jury who says they’re fair and impartial, which for the defense is a challenge, because a lot of people believe if you’re charged you must be guilty,” Fleming said. “That’s an unfair concept and they shouldn’t do that. Everyone’s presumed innocent unless and until the government proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
She said media coverage could also pose a challenge for the defense.
“They also have the problem of pretrial publicity, that this is a big story and a lot of people are writing about it. And there’s always a concern that potential jurors will read about it, make up their minds before they hear the evidence in the courtroom, as opposed to what they read about it in the newspapers and particularly the internet, because the internet is not known for being accurate in lots of respects,” Fleming said.
Lovell said the sheer amount of evidence in the case can also pose some difficulties.
“When you have what the prosecutor said is up to 50 witnesses and victims, and you have video evidence and physical evidence they got from the houses, and if indeed it corroborates each other, that’s very compelling,” Lovell said.
Prosecutors will also face some struggles as they argue their case, according to Fleming.
“They’ve got to convince all 12 jurors that the person they’ve charged is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on all elements of the crime,” Fleming said. “And they also have the challenge of they’ve got a very famous defendant, and that makes it a highly watched proceeding.”
Fleming spoke about her own experiences being a part of high-profile cases.
“There are differences. The first is that the press is out there, and they do a lot of investigative work, which can either help or hurt, depending on what the facts are,” Fleming said. “Another part of it is that there’s a lot of press in the courtroom. People in the courtroom at trials, including, generally, the judge as well as the participants, behave differently. They’re conscious of the press being in the room.”
Prosecutors must also face off against someone who can afford a lot of resources.
“Having a lot of resources can help a defendant significantly, because they can afford to hire not only the best lawyers, but they can afford to hire investigators and find out ways they can help to attack the government’s case at a trial,” Fleming said.
Witnesses called in the case could also feel worried about facing the defendant, according to Rahmani.
“They may be afraid of him, and he may intimidate the witnesses,” Rahmani said.
While fame can often impact high-profile cases, Lovell does not think that will benefit Diddy.
“I would think that, based on the allegations and how serious they are, I don’t really think his celebrity is going to help him,” Lovell said.
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